Rise of the Arcanist Series: Books 1 - 6

by Elizabeth Kirke

  My chest felt tight as I tried to make sense of it. “So… are you saying I have to stay there for six months before I kill her?!”

  “No!” she sneered. My relief was short-lived. “It means you have only six months to kill her. Otherwise, she will expect you to complete the ritual and pass from initiate to disciple.”

  On one hand, I had been expecting to face Alaria considerably sooner, on the other, the fact that it taking six months was even a possibility was horrific. That would mean Thomas and Dani would have been trapped there for a year! Could they even survive another six months of weekly fights?

  Serana watched me, expression unreadable. Rak rubbed against my leg and purred softly. I gasped in horror.

  “What about Rak?!” I cried. “If she’s testing people just like on Mystic Cay…”

  Serana nodded once. “You must leave your familiar here… if you do not wish him dead.”

  My knees felt weak, but with no other choice, I nodded in agreement. I opened my mouth to agree verbally too but couldn’t make myself speak. Instead, I nodded a second time.

  “You expect her to do this alone?!” Ember cried, unknowingly saying exactly what I was feeling.

  “She won’t be alone,” Mariana said firmly. “Thomas and the others are there.”

  An unexpected surge of joy struck me at her words: I wouldn’t be alone! Sure, I’d be on my own for going to this meeting and actually getting into the castle, but once there I would be with Thomas and TS, Dani, and Charlie! I'd know for sure that they were safe and I'd be able to tell them the plan and they’d help me with Alaria. Together, we could beat her.

  “No,” said Serana.

  “What?” I managed to say.

  “It is critical that no one know you are in the castle. Not even your little boyfriend.”

  “Wh-wh…” I started. She expected me to do this completely alone?! “Why?” I finally demanded.

  “Because Alaria will be watching,” she said. “You cannot be recognized by anyone. Not blood casters. Not Victor’s minions. Not your friends.”

  “How am I supposed to keep them from seeing me if I have to run around acting like a servant?”

  Serana held up two small bottles. “This one,” she said, giving one a little shake, “contains a potion that will alter your appearance and your smell. You will be unrecognizable. And you will not give your friends even the slightest hint that you are not who you appear to be.”

  “But—”

  “One wrong move,” snarled Serana. “One single reason for any of them to suspect you and Alaria will kill you and anyone she saw you speaking with.”

  “None of them have seen me,” I cried.

  “Are you certain? You were on Mystic Cay after all.” She pointed to Turner, who had been sitting so quietly on the other side of the barn I had forgotten he was there. “You know of two MES agents who are or were with my sister. Can you be absolutely sure that nobody from MES or the Cay will recognize you? Would you bet your life on it? Your friends’ lives?”

  I bit my lower lip and turned away. No. I couldn’t be sure. “But…” I wasn’t sure what I was even trying to protest.

  “This potion will work for six months, by design of course,” continued Serana, as if she hadn’t just completely shaken me. “If you do not kill Alaria by then, either the potion will wear off and she will kill you or you will fail her test to become a disciple and she will kill you anyway. And if you are foolish enough to risk everything for the sake of letting your friends know you’re there to save them, then you will likely all die.”

  I blew out a shaky breath and tried, desperately, to think of something to say. A way to insist I could tell them without being caught… but Serana was right. It was one thing to assume they could all be close to each other without being suspicious, but a witch couldn’t be seen with any of the non-humans without raising some eyebrows. One mistake and…

  “What does the other potion do?” I asked after what felt like hours, feeling oddly defeated.

  “It will turn you back, should you succeed early.”

  I forced a weak smile as I took them from her. At least Serana thought I had enough of a chance to bother getting me a counter-potion. Funny enough, it helped me feel just a tiny bit better.

  “Do you remember the spell to take Alaria’s power?” Serana asked.

  I nodded and when it became clear she was waiting, recited it.

  “Good. Now, go. Take the potion at least an hour before you arrive. Leave your familiar far away if you value his life. Once you are in the castle do what you can to earn my sister’s trust or at least try to stay on her good side. As soon as you get the chance: kill her.”

  “That’s… it?”

  “Go,” she repeated. “I have already put myself at risk meeting you a second time.”

  I looked at the others, they all looked as stunned as I felt but with that, Serana swept away. She paused in the open doorway, cold air blasting in around her and said, so quietly I almost missed it, “Good luck.”

  ~~~***~~~

  I stared at myself in the mirror for a long time, wondering what I would become when I took the potion.

  “Jen?” Rak said softly, butting his head against my leg. “You have to leave soon…”

  ‘Right,” I murmured. I took a deep breath and drank the potion. It felt like it was burning as it went down. I gasped and sank to my knees, wrapping my arms around me as the pain spread.

  As quickly as it had begun, it stopped. I sensed Rak’s shock and slowly stood. I gasped as I caught sight of myself in the mirror.

  I was completely different. My hair was still brown, but several shades lighter. My eyes had gone from blue to brown and my skin looked like it was a different shade as well. As I examined my arm I realized that a little trio of beauty marks had vanished, replaced by one single on. I laughed breathlessly – because if I didn’t I probably would have cried – even my freckles had changed. I looked back up at the mirror; the entire shape of my face was different. My nose, my forehead, my chin… even my eyebrows were shaped differently.

  I ran a hand over one cheek, honestly surprised that I could feel it as if it were my own, considering the stranger in the mirror.

  “You smell funny,” Rak said.

  “Bad?”

  “Just… not like yourself.”

  I turned my face this way and that, trying in vain to spot something I recognized. With a sigh, I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture, then quickly texted it to Ember.

  I was still staring at my reflection when she replied.

  “Abigail York,” I read, looking at the texted picture of my new MES ID.

  I turned my attention back to my reflection and pulled out my new wand. “My name is Abigail York,” I said. “I’m a blood witch.”

  The words were strange and difficult to say. I wrinkled my nose as I spoke them, but repeated the phrase a few more times, until I felt like I could say it convincingly.

  “I want to become one of Mistress Alaria’s initiates,” I said, remembering the title she had seemed to favor on the island.

  “You ready Jen?” Mariana called.

  “Yeah!”

  No.

  Rak, Shannon, Mariana, and I drove wordlessly to MES, where Ember met us with my new fake credentials.

  “You’re in the system,” she said as we headed off. “I kept your real age and birthday though; the more of the truth you tell, the fewer lies you have to remember.”

  “Thanks, Ember.” I tucked it all away in my purse, then realized I still had my real wand. “Here,” I handed it to Rak. “Hang on to that.”

  “I will.”

  Soon, far too soon, we stopped the car at a restaurant a few blocks away. I took a deep breath, this was it.

  “We’ll be right here,” Shannon said.

  “You know our numbers, right?” Ember asked. “I didn’t want to program them into the fake phone, just in case…”

  “Yeah, I have Shannon’s memoriz
ed,” I said.

  “Be careful,” Mariana said.

  “Okay,” I said, checking the time. “I’ll see you soon.” We all hugged quickly, I gave Rak a kiss on his inky forehead, and then headed off.

  It was a short walk to what ended up being a little community center. I walked through to the room number Serana had written and found a study area with just a few people in it.

  “Can I help you?” a woman asked, coming over to me quickly. Almost suspiciously quickly.

  “Yes,” I said. Deep breath. Here we go. “I’m Abigail, I’m here for a um… interest meeting regarding a certain group I’d like to join.”

  She smiled at me. “Most of our members are referred. Do you have a name?”

  “Morgan Fletcher,” I said nervously. “He said he thought this would be a good fit for me…”

  Her eyes narrowed as she mouthed the name. “One moment.” She strode away and spoke with a man across the room. They cast a few suspicious glances at me and I felt my heart pounding, even though I wasn’t even sure these were blood casters.

  The woman returned and I watched her warily. “When exactly did you last speak with him?”

  I took a deep breath and as I frantically thought of something to say, I remembered Ember’s advice. “It’s been a long time… back sometime in the spring, I guess. He told me to make arrangements to go to Mystic Cay…” Her eyebrows raised just a bit in recognition. “But by the time I had everything sorted out something had happened…”

  “A hurricane,” she said with a dark smile.

  “Yes.” I tried to match her expression. “I wasn’t able to get in touch with him after that, but I have been keeping an ear out for information about… this.”

  “May I see your wand?”

  I pulled it out and, with a quick glance around for non-magics, held it horizontally for her. “Sus.”

  She examined it a moment, then nodded in satisfaction. “Very good,” she said, as it rolled itself closed again. “Are you alone?”

  “Yes,” I said, confused.

  The witch looked around and then whispered, “And your familiar?”

  The question caught me off guard and I blurted the first thing I could think of to keep Rak safe. “He’s dead.” She looked surprised. The thought of Rak being dead made it easy to give her a smile that was obviously hiding pain. “A sacrifice escaped,” I lied, making sure I committed it to memory. “It… didn’t end well for her, but… It was too late for my familiar.”

  “You survived?”

  I nodded; it was rare, but did happen. “I suppose our bond wasn’t very strong.”

  “Well then, one less thing to worry about. Have a seat.”

  I did as she suggested and waited. Several agonizing minutes ticked by. At last, she returned to the front of the room. It was just us, the wizard she had spoken to, while two other witches and another wizard had taken seats near me. One of the witches and the wizard had familiars with them.

  “Good evening, I am Kayla and I am here on behalf of Mistress Alaria. She is pleased by your interest in becoming one of her disciples. First, you must prove yourselves by being initiates for six months. Are you prepared to do that?”

  All four of us nodded and agreed.

  “As part of your initiation, you will be asked to do some difficult things. Are you willing?”

  We nodded again. Interesting that we weren’t even told what yet. I wondered if initiates didn’t know about the vampire thing until arriving at the castle.

  “Please Mistress Alaria and you will be chosen as her trusted disciples,” Kayla said.

  Again, we agreed.

  The wizard went out a door in the back of the room and a moment later returned and murmured something to Kayla.

  “Very good,” she said to him, before turning to us with a broad smile. “Come with me.”

  Nervously, I got up and followed the others out of the door. It led outside to the parking lot behind the building. There, waiting by the curb, was a very familiar bus.

  My heart leapt into my throat and I stopped in my tracks. How could I have been so stupid?! The interest meetings at Cavaliers resulted in everyone being forced onto the bus and going straight to the castle. Why on earth did I assume this would be different?!

  “Your first test of loyalty begins now,” Kayla announced. “We leave tonight for Mistress Alaria’s castle. Join us. There will be no other opportunity if you decline.”

  I could feel myself shaking as I boarded the bus with the other witches and the wizard. I sat, wondering if this was how Thomas and the others felt when they got on board, this sense of dread. I wondered too, if one of them had sat right here where I was now.

  I turned to the window and almost jumped at the strange reflection gazing back at me. I heaved a sigh as the bus rumbled to life; at last I was on my way to the castle, but once there I wouldn’t even be able to let them know it was me.

  A whirl of emotions flew from Rak as the bus began to drive. Confusion, alarm, fear, and then… understanding as he realized what was happening. It was followed by a gentle poke on my tongue. I closed my eyes and tried to feel as calm and peaceful as I could, hoping he could feel my love and know that I was ready to do this. The emotion came back to me and I smiled a little. Rak knew. He’d tell the others. It was all, technically, still going according to plan, just a bit faster than I expected.

  I yawned and wondered just why I felt so tired all of a sudden. Of course, I realized when I heard other yawns, the sleeping potion. So, they were using it on us too.

  With a sigh, I shifted my weight and gazed at the window, spotting my reflection again.

  “I’m Abigail York,” I mouthed to myself. If I forgot that, we were all dead. “Abigail York. Blood witch.”

  ~~~***~~~

  Magic Sacrificed

  Rise of the Arcanist

  Book Six

  A More than Magic Serial

  Elizabeth Kirke

  Copyright 2020 Elizabeth Kirke

  Cover by T.M. Franklin

  Editing by Rachael Riches

  Formatting by EK Formatting

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author.

  Chapter One

  Jen

  When I woke up it took me a moment to get my thoughts together. Where was I? Oh, right, the bus. I swallowed nervously as Kayla’s voice broke into my thoughts, announcing that we had arrived at the castle.

  Of course, I would have known that without her telling us; my bond with Rak seemed muted and distant and when I tried to focus on it the sensation became fuzzy. My head started to hurt and I wasn’t sure if it was the bond or the aftermath of a sleeping potion, but I knew it would do no good to concentrate on Rak, not after months of watching TS try and fail to reach Thomas. I also didn’t want to do anything that would give away the fact I had an active bond.

  I took a deep breath and followed the others off the bus. It was clear that calling this a castle was not an exaggeration. We came to a stop in front of a towering stone wall; I had to crane my neck to see the top. I spun around in a small circle, with stone rising up all around me. I couldn't see evidence of any wards on the walls, but I trusted Dani that they were there.

  We followed Kayla through a small door and down a series of dark stone hallways. I considered pulling out my wand to use a night vision spell but since nobody else was I didn't want to be the first. I hoped that blood witches didn't have some sort of enhanced night vision or something. At last, we stopped in a small room with several witches and wizards, all wearing the same plain brown clothing.

  In one corner was a woman, sitting silently in a chair, watching us. For one wild moment I thought it was Serana, then I realized I was looking at Alaria without her siren aura. I quickly turned away from her, hoping she hadn't noticed and forc
ed myself to breathe.

  I was actually standing in a room with her. This had all happened so fast. How many days had it been now since TS and Charlie had vanished? Just a few short weeks, not even a month…

  “Welcome,” Alaria said suddenly. Silence fell. Her voice was just as chilling as I remembered.

  Kayla gestured for us to line up, so we quickly did. She and the wizard who seemed to be already initiated joined the rest of them on the other side of the room.

  “I’m pleased you decided to join us on the first steps of your journey to true power,” Alaria said as we finished getting into position.

  “Mistress,” Kayla said, she stepped back and gestured to us. “This is Sarah, Abigail, Jim, and Lucy.”

  “Are you really an arcanist?” Sarah blurted.

  An icy smile crossed Alaria’s face and she raised one hand. With a flick of her wrist she sent an honest-to-god lightning bolt across the room and into Sarah’s chest, throwing her to the ground. Everyone gasped and I felt like every single hair on my body was standing on end. A hot, burning electrical smell filled the air.

  Even though I had seen her stolen powers before, I didn’t have to act surprised; I wasn’t even sure witches could use electric magic and of course, nobody could use magic without a wand.

  Alaria watched as Sarah began to struggle to her feet. “The first thing you will learn,” she said softly, “is that you do not question me. But to answer your question…” Her smile somehow grew even more chilling. “Yes, I am an arcanist.” As she spoke she rose several inches off the chair, to another round of gasps from the new people.

  “Someday,” said Alaria, “this power will be yours as well. As long as you learn your place and prove your loyalty to me.” She straightened and slowly lowered her feet to the floor, then stood and took a few steps toward us. I desperately wanted to back away but held my ground as the others did.

  “You will find this place is filled with foolish non-humans who believe themselves superior to us.” Alaria laughed at the thought of it and everyone else laughed along with her. I quickly smiled and cackled with them, as if I thought it was just as absurd.