Alice’s attention settled on her seal on the desk.
Fight them.
Destroy them all.
“Looks like this is yours. Keep it safe.” Miv wrapped it in paper, sealing it with wax. “Ciara changed when she cracked hers, the voices persuading her to do terrible things. I hope if yours breaks, you are strong enough to withstand it.”
Alice hobbled down the busy road, ignoring all the cars that beeped at her to get out of the way. Rain thundered down, soaking her clothes to the point they clung to her like a second skin. Still, she paused at the entrance to the 24/7 motorway café, lifting her face to the rain as it washed through her loose hair, cleaning her of the muck and dust. It was cold, freezing. Yet she stood there for what seemed like hours.
“Hey?” a voice called out. “Do you need help?”
Alice smiled, keeping her eyes closed for a few seconds more before she moved towards the entrance.
The café was warm, with only a few tables occupied. The waitress held the door open, mouth agape as Alice made her way inside. Her clothes were torn, her wounds open and weeping. The manacles were still heavy on her wrists, the chain broken and limp between them.
“Are you okay?” she asked. “Do you need me to call someone?”
Alice hesitated. “May I use your phone, please?” she replied, even her voice hurting. She hadn’t looked in the mirror, not even in the reflection of the glass but she knew there would be bruises around her throat.
The waitress scrambled behind the counter, grabbing her mobile from her coat pocket. “Please, take your time. I’ll grab you something warm while you wait.”
“Thank you.” Alice sat down at the furthest table, her back against the brick wall. There was a window to her side, but she made sure she faced forward. The other customers turned to stare, but quickly returned to their meal when Alice unsheathed her sword, setting it on the bench beside her.
“Here,” the waitress placed a hot mug of tea down on the table, adding milk and sugar beside it. “On the house. Just let me know if you’re peckish and I’ll get the chef to make you up a full English breakfast.”
Alice smiled again, hoping it reassured her. Waiting until the waitress had stepped away she dialled the number she had memorised.
“Storm,” came the quick reply. “Who is this?”
Alice just listened, lips trembling.
“Hello? Anybody there?”
“Riley...”
“Alice? Is that you? Where have you... what happened...” The connection muffled, Riley barking orders in the background. “KACE, GET THAT BLOODY COMPUTER OF YOURS IN HERE!”
“Riley, erm, I’m sorry…”
“Hey, hey, sweetheart. It’s okay, just stay on the line. Kace is tracking the number you’re calling from as we speak. Are you safe?”
Alice closed her eyes, gripping the phone so tight it creaked in her ear. She nodded, then laughed to herself knowing he couldn’t see the gesture. “Yeah, I’m safe.” She pulled the tea closer, welcoming the hot steam against her face. “Riley, I’m so sorry…”
“Hey, listen to me, okay sweetheart? There’s nothing to be sorry about. We’ll figure this out.” Some more muffling before he returned to the receiver. “I know where you are, you’re a few hours out. Stay tight. I’m coming.”
Chapter 29
Alice looked through the kitchen window, the kettle boiling beside her.
“Are you sure you’re ready?” Sam asked, his arms crossed as he sat on the kitchen counter, watching her. “I think you should wait a while longer.”
Alice immediately clutched at her seal draped around her neck. She had kept the chain long, hiding it beneath her shirt. She wasn't sure where to keep it, and until she found somewhere safe, she would keep it close.
The voices were still there, whispering, urging her to break it, but they were drowned beneath the wild magic that still flowed along her chi.
They were loudest when she was alone.
Sam touched her shoulder, making her jump. “Can you hear them?”
Alice immediately dropped the seal, hiding it beneath her shirt once more. “It’s fine,” she lied, pouring the boiling water into four mugs. “I’m fine.”
Sam stroked across her cheek, giving her a sad smile.
She pushed one of the mugs towards him.
“You coming outside?”
“Yeah,” he said, hesitating. “I’ll be out in a minute, I just have to finish packing something.”
“Okay.” Alice left him in the kitchen, the sun warm against her skin as she carried the three remaining mugs into the garden. She settled them on the table, smiling at Elduin who glared from his perch on the fence, arms crossed like a petulant child.
“Are you sure you’re feeling up for this?” Peyton asked, sitting cross-legged on the grass in her garden.
Alice rolled her eyes. “Shouldn’t I ask you the same question?” Apparently she had forced their connection open, almost killing him as she used his wild magic to overpower the manacles. She had accidently drained him of his chi, exposing his aura to attacks. He looked paler than usual, with dark circles beneath his eyes.
Elduin growled from the fence, swinging his legs so Poe could play with his shadow beneath.
Peyton shot him a warning in their own tongue, but even that didn’t improve the elf’s mood. Not that she blamed him.
It had only been a week, and she had been up and walking around before Peyton. She would have new scars, and her wrists were still red raw, but she was lucky nothing had broken.
“Let’s get this over with,” he grumbled.
“Arma!” Her shield burst into life around them both, the molecule thin film strong and sure, even without the assistance of her crystal. The misty green, blue and specks of gold floated around the circle, blocking out the sun and wind.
Reaching for a mirror she balanced it on her knees, asking Peyton to do the same.
“Don’t break it,” Sam said from the side.
Alice turned her body, scowling through the shield as Sam lounged in a chair. His legs were bare, draped over the side and free of any marks or scars. She knew he hurt deep down, his friend Ash still remaining in hospital, unresponsive.
“Shut up! That was one time!”
“Wait,” Peyton interrupted. “What? What will happen if the mirror breaks?”
Sam laughed, but without his usual animation. Elduin watched with curiosity, confusion creasing his brow.
“Look,” she said. “Everything will be fine.”
Peyton sighed. “Talk me through this again.”
“I had the idea when I was with White Dawn. Rex had explained to me that the pack gets strength and power from each other, and the Alpha regulates the flow. Together they help each other control their animals’ instincts.”
“Yes, but neither of you are shifters,” Sam reminded them, taking his seat beside the untouched teas. “So what has this got to do with Peyton being your familiar?”
“Well… erm.” She hadn’t really thought it through. “Look, we have no other ideas and nothing else seems to work. Packs do have magic, it’s just different to both of ours. I’m hoping that if we bring in a second familiar the connection will be more…” She made a stretched gesture with her hands. “Spread.”
“And you chose this small creature whose tongue doesn’t fit in its mouth?” Elduin asked. “Daeizan Raeron this is…”
“Enough, Elduin,” Peyton snapped. “Alice, let’s see if your plan does anything.”
Alice held her hand over the mirror, concentrating on pushing her aura down onto her palm. The mirror acted as a catalyst, protecting everything in case of a leak. Peyton had his own mirror. She didn’t want to find out what would happen if she gave him some of her aura by mistake.
Could a familiar connections go both ways?
She didn’t want to find out.
Pins and needles over her elbow, flowing down her right arm into her palm. Before her aura hit the mirror she reached
back, dropping the circle around them.
“Psst, psst, psst,” she called her cat. “Poe, come here boy.”
“Meow!” Poe purred, scratching his side against the fence. “Meow!”
“Go over there you foul beast.” Elduin kicked out his leg, trying to encourage Poe to move. “Over there… what is wrong with this thing?”
Sam hissed, causing Poe to growl in return. He wandered over to Alice, staring at her with his two coloured eyes, tongue caught outside his mouth. When he was close enough she scruffed him, rubbing her face against his as she settled him to sit on the mirror on her lap. Carefully she pushed the rest of her aura out, coating his fur as much as she could. He purred, reaching out to lick the tip of her nose.
The mirror cracked, and she dropped them both before a shard could cut Poe.
“Is it done?” Peyton carefully placed his own mirror on the grass. “Use some magic.”
Alice called her chi, allowing some wild magic to intertwine. When Peyton nodded, she called more.
Peyton smiled. “I feel it, but it’s an echo of before.”
Poe casually licked at his paw, seemingly unaffected.
“How can I still use the wild magic?” She felt it, like sparkles against the flames of her chi. “I just assumed as our connection weakened, so would the wild magic.”
“It was wild magic that originally created the first witches, and you're the closest to those ancestors. It makes sense that you’re able to harness what you stole, making it your own.”
“Stole?” Alice snorted. “I’m taking this as a win!” Alice pumped her fist in the air, hissing out in pain as her ribs protested. She chuckled, groaning as she opened her third eye, searching for Poe.
A gasp escaped her mouth.
A thin, gold thread connected to Poe, moving along with him as he made his way back to Elduin. Alice reached for it, the thread evaporating as soon as her hand passed through, reforming once nothing obstructed.
“What is…”
“Alice, that looks like a pack.” Sam appeared beside her. “How can you see…”
The gold thread connected Poe to Alice, disappearing into her chest. Another thread was woven around Peyton, and another around Sam.
A darker thread, red in colour connected Peyton to Elduin.
“Sam, what is this?”
“Alice, this is pack magic. They’re the threads of life, only strong dominants can see them.” Sam reached over to the thread that connected them, his finger passing through. “I guess when we were younger we sort of made our own pack, just me and you. Everyone, regardless of Breed, connects to one another though the threads of life.”
“Sam, they’re beautiful.” She called her chi, watching the threads connected to both Poe and Peyton shimmer.
“I can’t see anything.” Peyton frowned. “Will this harm us in any way?”
Sam shook his head. “No, we’re not really a pack. But it shows there is some spiritual link between us all.” He shrugged.
Alice called her chi once more, wild magic lighting up the threads before she closed her third eye.
“Alice,” Peyton said, slight worry to his tone. “Do you feel that?”
“What?” Alice concentrated, able to feel both Peyton and Poe through the familiar link. It was like before, a warmth as if she stood beside a hearth. But it wasn’t as overwhelming, more like a trickle.
“I can’t close it.” He frowned with concentration.
“Does that mean anything?”
Poe meowed, followed by a sneeze. A bolt of lightning shot out of his nose, hitting the fence before dispersing. Everyone remained silent, watching Poe for any reaction.
“Meow!” he purred, curling up to sunbathe on the grass.
Elduin frowned. “What’s going on? Does the creature with fluffy mittens usually do that?”
“I don’t even know where to start.” Peyton pinched his nose. “Come on, let’s go and leave them to deal with the cat.”
“Wait,” Alice interrupted. “What about…”
Peyton shook his head. “I can’t feel you unless I really concentrate. Whatever spell you have done has subdued the connection, for now at least. Unless you plan on trying to absorb me again, I think we’re okay.”
Sam smirked. “Come on, I’ll show you both out.”
Alice waited, raising her face to the sun for a moment.
“Hey, Alice!” Sam called from within the house. “What are you doing with…” His words were muffled.
“Sam, I can’t hear you,” she said as she made her way inside.
“I said, what are you doing with…” His words were lost once again.
“SAM!” she laughed, moving into the living room covered in cardboard boxes. “I said I can’t hear you!” They had a few weeks before they had to leave, but they had decided to get a head start in packing. Sam had been in charge in finding them a new home, and has so far kept his choice secret. She trusted him, but from his mischievous twinkle she shouldn’t.
“I said, what are you doing with your spooky book?” He gestured to the leather-bound grimoire that recently moved to live on the coffee table. Her parents somehow subdued the influence of her seal for years, and she hoped her mother had written it down somewhere.
“I’ll pack them when I’m ready.” She closed it, the grimoire growling at her touch, pages moving as if to cut her.
A glint to her left. Alice reached over a box, finding a small gold token with the sigil of a jawless skull.
“Oh shit!” Sam said when he noticed. “Sorry about that, I found it ages ago in your jewellery box and used it for a stage show. I was supposed to return it.”
Alice turned the token, studying the etchings around the edge. “A show?”
“Yeah,” Sam said. “I was a sexy pirate!”
The laugh that erupted lasted for minutes, her stomach aching by the time she had finished. The idea that Sam had used the token as a stage prop for his stripping Pirate show tickled her.
Sam grabbed the token, rolling it between his fingers.
“Do you know what,” she said when the laughter died down and Sam had placed the token back in the carboard box. “I hate this house, I’m glad we’re moving.”
“Baby girl…”
“I think we should leave Frederick a welcome gift, don’t you?”
Sam grinned, rushing into the kitchen and returning with a paint can and brush. “You ready?” he asked as he opened the lid to the dark blue, almost black paint.
“Thank the goddess for your love of D.I.Y.” Alice dipped her brush, stepping over to write ‘FUCK YOU!’ in large letters across the living room wall.
Sam stayed back, hand clutching his chin as he watched her paint as if he was in an art gallery. “Now that is perfection,” he said, putting on a fake posh accent. “The colour, the composition, the simplicity is just…” he dramatically made a kissing sound. “Gorgeous darling. A masterpiece.”
Alice laughed, handing over the brush so Sam could express himself too. She hated the house. She hated the memories that were no longer happy, her biological father ruining it. Her first thoughts were no longer the times when she laughed as a child, her brother playing hide and seek or her mother baking cookies. No, she only saw the nightmares of Jackson shouting. Jackson shutting himself away after an argument with his wife, or the daemon Jackson summoned to take her.
No, she hated the house. And she hated him.
“Kyle would have enjoyed this,” she whispered.
Sam paused, dropping the paint brush. “Yeah, he never understood why we lived here.”
“Hmmm.” Alice found herself sitting on the floor, legs crossed. The wall was a mess of profanities and crudely drawn pictures. Paint fumes tickled her nose as Sam settled beside her.
“Have you spoken to him lately?” Sam asked, nudging her shoulder. He brushed a hair away from her face, and from the wetness she knew he had left a streak of blue.
Dread once told her Kyle would return home when he wa
s ready. It was sound advice. Her brother needed time to understand the events with The Knights, and when he was ready she would be there to help him. “He’s an adult.”
“Yeah, but he’s an adult with issues.”
Alice turned her head. “Aren’t we all?”
Sam chuckled. “Touché.” He rested his head against her. “I think Elduin and Peyton are madly in love and should mate and adopt five-hundred little elf babies.”
“Five-hundred, huh?”
“Yep,” he chirped, stroking Poe who decided to sit between them for attention. “Just like you and Riley.”
Alice remained silent, watching the paint dry.
“Come on baby girl, talk to me.” He nudged her again. “It’s been over a week and you haven’t mentioned him. What happened when he picked you up?”
Alice pursed her lips.
Nothing had happened, because she had never felt so complete than when he stepped into the café, drenched from the rain. She had launched herself at him, locking her arms around his neck as if she would never let go. But she couldn’t have him.
“He hurts himself when he’s with me,” she finally said, voice cracking. “I can’t do that to him.”
“Love can hurt, baby girl.”
“It’s not the same.”
“Is it not?” He climbed up, hands on his hips. “All I’m hearing is one excuse why you shouldn’t be together. Not all the reasons why you should.”
“I don’t want to be the thing that destroys him.” She couldn’t.
“Then find a way around it.”
Alice wrapped her arms around her knees. Poe headbutted her hand, purring when she scratched behind his ears. “Find a way around it,” she murmured.
But what if there was no way around it?
Chapter 30
Alice got out the car before she lost the nerve. She had a key, but she still lifted a fist to knock on the door three times.
“Please be in,” she whispered, nervously dancing from one foot to the left. “Shit.”
What if he was at work? What if he didn’t want to speak to her? Riley had driven across the country to get her when she called, and in return she told him she needed time to herself.
Knight's War: A Witch Detective Urban Fantasy (Alice Skye series Book 5) Page 21
