by Fiona Starr
The rainy smell of autumn leaves fills my senses as I take him in. I feel like I am walking a tightrope between him and his brother, and I don’t know how I am supposed to feel.
“You have no idea how happy this makes me, Joely. I thought… because you’re with Angus… I thought for sure you were going to want to only be with him. I was sure you’d be freaked out by all of this.” His voice is soft in my ear.
I lean back and eye him suspiciously. “You say that like you knew this was going to happen.”
He shrugs. “I kind of did. I mean… not this, here. But, I knew you were special the moment we met you that first day outside the tailor’s house. My brothers… when they are in their human form they’re able to quiet their wolves all the way down. But that’s not how it is for me. I feel my wolf all the time, I feel them. Even when I try to fight it. And that day we met, my wolf knew that you were special. I had no idea about the Nightbird and the prophecy and all of that, none of us did until later. But that feeling I got when I first saw you… I just thought it was…”
“A wolf thing?” I finish.
“Yeah.” He laughs and then his face grows distant and pensive. “It’s been years since the three of us have felt this close. And I don’t mean like brothers getting along, not like friends.” He taps his chest. “I mean in here. I think we’ve pushed our wolves aside for so long that we’ve forgotten how it can be. How it’s supposed to be. But then you came along and it’s like something has clicked into place. It feels almost like it used to when Tobias was alive. Not quite, but almost. It feels good. For the first time in a long time, Joely, I feel like there’s something ahead of us, instead of just running away from the past.”
“Oh, Marco,” I feel myself give in to him, to this feeling. I want to experience whatever it is that’s hinting around the edges. I don’t know how it’s supposed to be, what the future holds, but for now, I can be right here… with him.
Marco dips his chin and leans in to me, inviting me to kiss him.
I can tell he’s holding back, waiting for me to make the move. He’s letting me have the final say on crossing those few inches that form the line between before and after. I meant it when I said I wanted to. I need to know if this is as real as it seems.
Marco’s chest rises and falls with his rapid breathing. I press my hand to his chest and lean on him as I stand up on my toes. His heart is beating so fast and his breaths are warm on my skin.
I touch my lips to his and in an instant my skin feels like it’s on fire. I am aware of every place on my body where we are touching and it’s like tiny infernos burning under his hand at the small of my back, and where he holds my hand against his chest, and where my stomach presses against his hips.
“My god. Joely.” Marco’s voice is husky and raw. He touches me cheek and then runs his fingers through my hair, lighting a dozen lines of tiny fires on my skin.
Bells ring through the air as Marco presses me against a tree. Then something vibrates between us.
We pull away and stare at each other, as if neither of us knows where we are.
“Did you hear that?” I ask.
Marco’s mouth hangs open as the bell chimes again, followed by the buzzing vibration.
We both laugh when we realize it’s just his phone and not some magical sign brought on by our kiss.
“Shit, my phone.” He pulls it out and reads the screen. His brow furrows as he takes in the words and I can feel the air around us change.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. Van wants me back at the house right away.” He shows me the screen and the pair of messages from his brother. Get home. STAT.
Marco takes my hand. “Come with me.”
Chapter Twelve
JOELY
Van paces the living room like a madman. He’s whispering to himself and tugging at his hair, his eyes wild and troubled. Marco and I sit on the couch, waiting for him because any time we try to interrupt he loses it.
“Can I help?” Marco says.
“No!” Van barks. “Be quiet. Please. Just let me think.”
That fluid calm essence I felt from Van earlier is gone, replaced by what I can only describe as turmoil. Van glances up at Marco and then me and then stops moving. “Where’s Angus?”
“He had a class,” I whisper, unsure if I am supposed to speak or not.
“Okay. Okay. Give me a second.” Van’s pacing again, but it seems like he’s getting his thoughts together at last. Then he stops and faces us, his hands out in front of him. “Okay, this is going to sound absolutely crazy, but I think I figured out what’s going on with the Society.”
“With the Society what?” Marco asks.
He throws his hands up. “The Vessel. And the rituals. And the tracking. And the students. My god, they are doing sacrifices! But why? I mean, it’s a lot.”
He sounds like a raving lunatic.
Marco grabs his brother by the shoulders and pushes him into a chair. “You need to slow down. Take a breath. Sit still. And when you’re ready, start talking. We’re not going anywhere.” As if to make his point, Marco drops back onto the couch.
Van covers his face with his hands and takes a deep breath. Then he leans back and watches us for a moment. “I think I figured out how Underwood’s been tracking us.”
Marco sits up. “Really? How?”
“He’s using the Vessel of Truth,” Van says. “He’s got it tuned in to us somehow. To our wolves.”
Marco looks confused. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know how to explain it. I don’t see how he could have… unless? Could he have used Tobias’ body somehow to channel a connection?” Van is lost in his thoughts and talking to himself again. “But I was there. Daria. She had Underwood on a video call because she couldn’t stop the alarm going off.”
“What alarm?” Marco asks.
“The Vessel. Aren’t you hearing me?” Van’s frustration is heading quickly into fury.
Marco raises his hands as if patting down the air. “We hear you just fine, Van. You’re just not making any sense. Slow down and take it from the top.”
Van rubs his face and pulls his hand down over the shadow of his beard. “So, I think Underwood uses the Vessel of Truth as some sort of tracking device. I overheard him talking to Daria today.”
“Shit, he’s back?” Marco asks.
“No. He’s still in Moscow, but I think he’s leaving soon, so we need to stop going out for runs. They were on a video call.”
Marco leans in. “And?”
“And Daria was flipping out because the Vessel was acting weird.”
“Weird how?”
“Like humming. Normally, it just glows, you know? You’ve both seen it. When it isn’t part of a ritual it just sits there with whatever light coming out of it.”
Marco and I both nod.
Van nods with us. “Right. Okay, so think about the initiation ceremony. The Vessel picked you out of the crowd. It sensed your magic type and sorted everyone into their Ancient Magic lines, right? If I remember correctly, Joely, you were Tuath Dé. My brothers and I are Lupon Drago.”
“But the Vessel did something different this time?” I ask.
He arches his brow and laughs to himself as if that is the understatement of the year. “Yeah. So, earlier this morning, I was there and the Vessel was doing that humming thing it’s been doing lately. It sounds like something is spinning along the wall inside of the thing. So that’s new—been going on for weeks, so I whatever, right? But then later on today, like an hour ago…” he eyes Marco with a meaningful gaze. “The thing started going off like it was going to explode. It was clanging and banging and shooting out all kinds of light and sparks. Like some kind alarm.”
“An alarm for what?” Marco asks.
Van starts pacing again. “So, Daria’s been running around the Cottage, tearing all the offices apart. She’s looking for something, right? But she doesn’t find it and finally calls Underwood.
She brings him down to the Vessel on video and when he sees what’s happening, he freaks out, but he isn’t surprised that it’s happening. He’s surprised when she tells him how often it’s been happening. She tells him it’s been doing this all week long… ever since he left town…”
Marco shakes his head. “I don’t follow, Van. I’m sorry.”
Van leans forward and stares at Marco. “The first time it happened was Saturday morning. Daria said it went on for hours that day. Then it happened again the next night, and the next few nights. It happened every night for about an hour. And then today, about an hour ago… it started again. And when Daria told him that, Underwood said, ‘They must be very close.’”
“No fucking way!” Marco jumps to his feet and starts pacing the room now. “Each of those times are when we… That can’t be. How could that thing know when we are taking the wolves out?”
Van shrugs. “I don’t know, but it does. Didn’t you go for a run today?”
“Yeah. Angus and I just got back.” He drops onto the couch. “You think that’s how he’s been tracking us?”
Van nods. “Yeah. I do. It makes sense. Because in all the years we’ve been looking for answers, no vampire we’ve talked to has ever said they have the ability to track someone the way Underwood tracks us. Especially not over distances that we know Underwood’s traveled to find us.”
“Then maybe that’s a way out of this. Maybe if we destroy the Vessel that will be enough. Maybe we won’t have to keep running,” Marco says.
“Yeah. I was thinking the same, about destroying it. But not because it would help us. There’s something else I figured out. It has to do with the missing students.”
I perk up at this. “What about them?”
Van shakes his head as if he can’t believe what he’s about to say. “I think he’s feeding them to the Vessel somehow. Not their bodies. He’s doing something else with the bodies. But maybe the Vessel takes their souls or their essences or something. When Underwood turned off the alarm, it started making the humming sound again, and I realized the color of the light was different. It had been blue before. But now it’s green. I never really gave it much thought before but it doesn’t change all that often. I don’t mean when it’s used for rituals. I mean when it’s resting.”
“So when it’s resting the Vessel glows just one color?” I ask.
“Yeah. It usually stays that color for a long time. In fact, I’ve only ever seen it change three times.
“What happened those three times?” I ask.
“Each time the Vessel changed color coincides with when a student has gone missing.”
“Wait a second, that’s crazy,” Marco says.
Van looks over at Marco, his face drawn and tired looking. “Why is it crazy? It all fits.”
“It’s crazy because… Because the school, and the Society… I mean… they’ve been around forever…”
Van lifts his hands behind his head and leans back. “Blakeborne University was founded by Reginald Whitmore Blakeborne in the year 1845. That same year, his partner, Damonson Zachariah Underwood, founded the Society of Ancient Magic, right here on the same campus.”
Marco’s mouth falls open. “The year after we escaped.” He takes a moment to gather his thoughts. “But that means you’re saying all of this, this whole school and the Society, the story about strengthening the lines of magic… it’s all bogus? Why go to all the trouble?”
“We killed his only sons. Underwood is an immortal who has been hell bent on revenge since that night. Somehow he got his hands on this Vessel and has been using it to track us. And I think that tracker is powered by the souls of mages they sacrifice to keep it going.”
“Holy shit.” Marco covers his mouth.
There’s something else he hasn’t explained. “What about the other thing. The humming. You said the humming is new. What do you think that is about?”
“I’ve been around that thing since the start of the last school year. It’s only started humming as of a month ago. I actually know the exact day it started.”
“And what day was that?” I ask.
“I didn’t connect it at the time, but now it’s obvious to me. The humming started the day we all met you. I think it’s sensing that our wolf sides are more active now.”
“I knew it. You feel her too!” Marco says.
Van looks at Marco and rolls his eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’m not ridiculous. Don’t put that shit on me.”
I try to pretend I’m not here in the same room as they argue about me.
Marco points at Van. “You can lie to Angus. You can lie to yourself, but you can’t lie to me. Not about this. I know you felt the shift that day. I know you can still feel it. Things are different since Joely got here.”
“No.” Van gets to his feet and heads out of the room.
Marco grabs him. “Don’t walk away. I know that you don’t want to think about this. Because I know exactly what you’re feeling. What you felt. That thing that changed. You’re afraid it’s going to quiet that part of you that still feels Tobias.”
Van rips his arm from Marco’s grasp. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“We have to talk about this!”
“No, we really don’t!
Marco glances at me and I can tell he’s not enjoying this. “Is it so hard for you to admit that Joely has brought that feeling back? It’s almost like it was when Tobias was alive.”
Van’s face goes rigid. “Nothing can replace Tobias. Don’t you even think that. Not ever.”
“I know. Nothing can replace him. Tobias was our brother, and he was your twin. Nothing will ever change that. But can’t both things be true? Can it be okay if Joely kind of fits into the hole Tobias left behind?”
Van looks right at me and the look in his eyes is one of hostile contempt. “Her being here has alerted the vampire who is hunting us. How could that possibly be okay?”
Van’s words hit me like a slap across the face. I touch the place on my cheek where my sister bruised me, wondering if he did actually hit me. I am so stunned, and hurt, and surprised. But under all of those emotions something else bubbles up and I realize I am also furious.
I get to my feet and cross the room so I am right in his face. “I didn’t ask for this, you know. I think you forget that sometimes. I have done nothing to hurt you or your brothers, and there’s no way I can control my part in your stupid prophecy. But don’t you dare blame me for your feelings.” I poke his chest, hard. “Anything going on in here is squarely on you.” My voice starts to shake so I stop.
“Sorry Marco.” I grab my bag and storm out, careful to hide my angry tears.
Chapter Thirteen
JOELY
I don’t know why I am surprised that I didn’t sleep at all last night. I try not to dwell on the fact that Angus never came by and pretend that everything is as normal as ever. But my sneaky memory reminds me that the last time Angus went quiet he said it was because of Van and their super damned important mission.
No. I won’t do that. I am not going to diminish what they’re facing. Damon Underwood is hunting the three of them, and that’s very real. And as hard as it is to admit, it seems equally real that I’ve put them at risk just by being here.
So, maybe I should stay away.
After what Van said yesterday, and the way he looked at me… It’s clear how he feels about me, and so should it come as a surprise that Angus ghosted me again?
I think about that for a moment and decide, yes… it is a surprise. I thought we moved past that after last time. And I deserve better than this. I pull out my phone and reason with myself that I can allow myself one single text. And this time I am not going to be angry or assume anything. I’m just going to be myself.
Hey. Missed you last night. Everything ok?
He doesn’t reply. I toss my phone in my bag and finish getting ready, trying to convince myself that nothing is wrong and he’ll
show up today with a pile of class work that he was up late working on.
Speaking of which, I should be doing the same thing. All this drama is starting to impact my grades and I can’t allow that. But, I also can’t deny that I am still hurt. I don’t want to come between the brothers, after all they’ve been through they don’t need me forming a wedge of any kind. Then the other side of my heart screams that they are grown men and doesn’t Angus deserve the chance to make up his own mind about anything? Yes, he does.
I go round and round in my head, and nothing feels good. I try to look into the future, but I can’t see anything. All I know is that I’m falling in love with men who have lived in the world for over two hundred years. That knowledge makes me feel small and inconsequential. How can I think I’m so important to them in the scheme of things? I mean, I’ll be dead and gone one day and they’ll still be alive, looking exactly the same as they do today.
God, what a thought.
“Knock knock!” The door to my dorm room opens as Roz sticks her blond head inside. “Rise and shine, it’s coffee time!”
I smile at my friend. “I need another minute,” I say, pulling my hair back into a messy bun. I stare at my reflection and make a promise to myself that I won’t let myself get lost in all of this craziness going on around me. I know that I am in the middle of all of it, but maybe there’s a way through it that still sees me graduating from college and having a life.
I am still a student at this university, even if my love life and my personal life are falling apart, and even if there’s a vampire who is using the school to feed his personal revenge fantasy.
Roz picks up my copy of the children’s potion book and laughs. “I think Professor Fester looks for reasons to give these to as many students as she can.”
“I think you’re right,” I say, checking my face in the mirror to make sure I’ve covered my bruise as much as I can, then I grab my bag. “Sebastian said pretty much the same thing.”
“Well, you should count yourself lucky Fester put you with him. He’s always top of the class. Wrecks any hope of a bell curve for the rest of us lowly mages, the jerk.” Roz hops off my bed and opens the door for me. “Let’s go. Breakfast waits for no man.”
