“That’s all I have today. Meet me here tomorrow afternoon. Late afternoon. We’ll start off with stretching. Then some running. And we’ll get back to it. Ok?” He proposed, treating me with some respect that I didn’t expect.
I nodded my response as sweat dripped off my hair and onto the mat. I noticed that Zane was looking more ashened than before.
“Maybe you should join me with the running. You’re a little worn. Are you feeling your age?” I taunted him cockily.
He gave me an arrogant look, supposedly to keep me in line, but I smiled to myself.
"Not tired." He grinned, exposing his fangs which had extended to a degree that his mouth wouldn't fully close, and his eyes changed to that cold luminescence. "I'm hungry."
I swallowed hard. I didn't think Zane would bite me, but I didn't let those thoughts keep me from quickly getting on my jacket and heading upstairs to the door with Sera and Finn tagging behind me.
Chapter Twenty
Coming home, neither one of us knew what to make of the situation. Neither of us said anything on the way back. Sera's comfort strengthened the closer we got home. Her body loosened with each step. Finn, on the other hand, never let me see his emotions, but I knew he was somber. I couldn’t tell it from any body language or facial expression, but I could pick up on his aura. It felt heavy and oppressed.
“Finn, what’s going on?” I asked him, wanting to know why he was so quiet and solemn when we were finally comfortable in our own house.
He scratched his head in a nervous gesture. “Caden, much of this you will have to through on your own.”
“I know.” I felt my stomach churn.
“There’s much that I can’t watch you go through.” He looked away.
“So that means what, exactly? That you’re disappearing?”
“Not exactly. I will be around. But if I engage any further into this situation, there will be others looking for me.”
I gave him a quizzical look, which he chagrined.
“There is so much that I can’t tell you. But trust me that I have your best interest at heart. I was never meant to be your friend. I was asked to guide you.”
“But I have so many questions.”
He sighed, closing his eyes. “You have to stop looking for the answers. It will only put you in more danger. This world is supposed to be caged in suspicion. It’s what will keep everyone safe.”
You’re Fae, aren’t you? I asked him in my head, knowing he couldn’t hear me, but dying to know the answers to my questions. Did Zane know? Did Sera? What was my connection to him? Was the house his?
He grabbed my head softly, sighing; and then he pulled me in close in an embrace. It was the only time that he had shown any softening toward me, and it was unexpected. There was so much in that embrace that I believed he was trying to tell me, but I couldn’t figure it out. But our bond felt right like it belonged. Something in the hug made me feel whole. It only felt awkward on my end for a second, as both of our energies crackled around us. My otherworldly power was still new to me and just seemed to extend itself when I was around anything Fae. It was like Finn or Underhill woke it up, but then it quickly settled back into my skin, disappearing for the moment.
He pulled back abruptly, giving me a brave smile and then left.
“Are you okay?” Sera asked tenderly in a way that reminded me so much of Flora.
“Yeah,” I responded meekly. “Sera?”
“Hm?” She asked as she walked into the kitchen, preparing dinner. She bent down to peer into our pan cabinet.
“Finn is Fae…, isn’t he?”
I heard a clash of pans and then a pause. I waited for her to say something or stand up to look at me, but she sat there, looking into the pan cabinet.
“Sera?”
She grabbed a medium saucepan from the cupboard and stood, placing it on the stove without turning around. I waited a few more seconds before wanting to ask again, but just before I was about to ask I heard her sigh in defeat.
“I can’t respond to that,” she replied quietly, her shoulders slumped over.
“Because the Fae are not to be investigated?”
She nodded, still with her back toward me.
“Well can I ask something else?”
“Like?”
“Can you explain the councils to me?”
Her shoulders straightened, and she turned around with the saucepan, holding it under the sink. “That, I can talk to you about. You should know.” She poured water into the saucepan and then turned back to the stove, setting the burner on high to boil the water. Then grabbed another small saucepan, doing the same thing. Turning back to me, she pulled a stool up to the counter, while I grabbed a stool from the other side of the port window.
“There are two factions, the Casti and Scelesti.”
“Good and Evil.”
“Right. But within those, there are subgroups. Some have houses. Some have councils. Others have covens. And so on.”
“Vampires belong to?”
"They belong to houses. Houses on either faction. Most of the time, their territories are certain cities. They have a ruler; usually, a master and their houses are filled with others they have made and those under them who have made others."
“But Zane doesn’t belong to one…”
“He did. One of the Scelesti. Now, he probably doesn’t, or he may have his own house. I don’t know.”
“And the Venatrices have a council in Montana ruled by three?”
“Yes. In a little town that is secluded, so they can harness their skills without anyone noticing.”
“Are they part of both sides?”
“No, just Casti.”
“And I’m not part of that?”
Sera shrugged a shoulder and got off the stool, looking for the macaroni and cheese box. “You might have been. But your paternal side may have led to more problems considering that no one knew who your father was. So your mother didn’t want you in any part of it. So we honored her wishes.” Sera opened the box and poured the noodles into the boiling saucepan, turning down the heat so it wouldn’t overflow. And in the other, she dropped a couple of hot dogs in the pan.
"What are the benefits of being part of the group?"
Sera hadn't turned back around and stood, stirring the noodles.
“Well, you’d feel like you belong to something,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders. “Your group usually has your back. They can supply you. There are quite a few benefits. But a lot of emotional drawbacks as well.”
“Is there a human council?”
Sera looked over her shoulder and smiled gently. “There is a council that is as close to a human council as possible, known as the Mortalis Council. Humans that have preternatural skills belong to that group. But in regards to humans, the Mundus Noctis is meant to be secret. For the most part, being part of that council, those extra special humans help as best as possible. They protect the Casti when they need protected or petition them for help. They are like the mandated reporters for the Mundus Noctis. Those kinds of things."
“Is there a council for each side? Casti and Scelesti?”
“There is in theory, but the Scelesti rarely use their councils. They are not very organized and like be their own individual leaders.”
"Zane said something about ‘mages.' What are they? And are they on both sides?"
Sera turned off the stove for both the hot dogs and macaroni. Dropping down to get a colander from the cabinet, she set it over the sink and dumped the noodles in there. Then set the saucepan back on the stove, working quickly to set up the sauce, adding a little bit of Velveeta cheese to make it taste all that more cheesy.
“Mages are more like a class then a species. Anyone can be a mage; vampire, human, immortal. Just have to be magically strong enough. They are able to physically manifest magic. Firebolts, ice bolts. That sort of thing. They are much stronger than witches, who are all human and work with spells. Mages don’t need words for their
magic; just concentration. They are stronger than warlocks, who are the human opposite of witches and are strictly bad. But mages can be good or bad. They have their own groups, but report to their species’ group when there are extenuating concerns that need to be reported to the council of nine.”
I pondered all of what I had heard. I knew there was much I was missing, but it gave me at least a background. I stared for a while, as Sera put the finishing touches on dinner, thinking back to Zane. Zane and his wolfy eyes.
“Sera.”
“Hm.” She was grabbing plates now, spooning up our dinner, and putting the hot dogs into buns.
“Werewolves. Are they are part of both factions?”
She placed one plate in front of me, and another in front of her, sitting back down on the stool across from me. “Hm. Never really thought about them. Perhaps. They do have their own groups called Packs within the Casti, much like vampires have houses. Because of their species, they are known as the bodyguards of the Casti. And I suppose they might have ‘bad’ packs, but those packs have become more like feral wolves, savage and uncontrollable. But I think those wild wolves are outside of the Scelesti. They become one hundred percent animal. ”
“You said something about a council of nine?”
"Mm-hm," she mumbled, chewing a bite of her dinner. "Really, the elders of nine. They are the most powerful representatives from each subgroup. Some are voted in from their groups; others are part of a monarchy, like the vampires. From what Ms. Weber has told me, currently, Lord Tacitus is the presiding member of the Casti vampires. If or when he dies, his son, Maxentius, would take his place. But regardless of how they come to be, there are always elders of nine so there cannot be any tied votes. And they meet once a year at a convention in a secret location to discuss new regulations, outdated traditions. That sort of thing. Sometimes the subgroups come with complaints, business deals, or just a need to socialize with others. The conventions are about a week long.” She put another bite into her mouth.
I stuffed a bite into my mouth. “Has Ms. Weber ever been to a convention?”
“Not that I know of. And regardless of what you are learning, know that I have never been part of the Praesides. So, I’m not really supposed to know any of this because I am merely a human.” She rolled her eyes.
“Do they all speak that language that Finn and Zane were using?”
“The Old Language?”
I nodded as she finished chewing.
“Yep. It’s expected. It’s the oldest language and common between the factions and people. Like math being universal.”
“Have you learned it?”
“Not really. I have been trying, but it’s hard to learn.” She grimaced, finishing her dinner.
“So you couldn’t tell me what Finn and Zane were saying?”
She shook her head. Then got up, rinsing off her plate and put it in the dishwasher. I polished off my dinner, reflecting on the details about the Mundus Noctis. Sera grabbed my plate when I finished, rinsed it and put it in the dishwasher also. She pointed to the answering machine.
“Will you check the messages?”
I hit the button on the answering machine, which was just over to the right on the dinette counter.
“You have one new message. Sunday, 5 PM. ‘Caden, it’s Meredith. I’m over at Nate’s house. We were hoping you’d come over later. Give us a call.’ End of new messages.” At least she didn’t sound mad, but I knew it was time to talk about all this with them.
Sera smiled gently. “Go, honey. You have had enough grown-up experiences for a while. Just be careful and call me when you get over there. I’ll be expecting a call in fifteen minutes.” She wrinkled her nose. “ A little socialization wiggle room.”
I gave her a small smile. I really didn’t think my experiences with the Mundus Noctis were going to end by going over to Nate’s, but at least it wouldn’t be about me. And I felt like I had an adequate amount of information that I couldn’t be shocked any more than I already had been. So, I put my coat back on and walked out the door.
I saw lightning in the far distance of the black sky, symbolic for the storm that was approaching my life. I kept trying to think of what Meredith, Jesse, and Nate had to tell me about their roles in all this. After all, what could be more shocking than Finn being Fae, Ajax being a gatekeeper to the portal of realms, and having a former Scelestus vampire as a Venatrix mentor. I knew my friends weren’t Fae because I didn’t feel the same power from them. And I was pretty sure they weren’t vampires because they didn’t have any similarities to Zane. I was in such deep thought that I hadn’t even bothered to look at Underhill as I passed it on my way to Nate’s. In fact, I was still thinking about what they had to tell me as I stood in front of Nate’s door not knocking, just staring. He opened the door not too long after I had gotten there, pleased to see me.
“Hey, Meredith is upstairs in my room.”
“Jesse’s not here?” I inquired.
“No. He’s spending time with Ajax.”
That was more than enough to earn a suspicious glare from me now knowing what I did about Ajax, but Nate continued, ignoring my reaction.
“Do you want anything to drink or anything to eat?” He offered with a smile as I stepped through the door.
“No thanks. But I do need to let Sera know that I made it here.”
Nate gave me his cell phone, and I made a quick call to Sera fulfilling my promise and then I gave it back to him.
“Are you up for this?” He asked leading the way up a set of steps in the split-level house, after pocketing his phone.
“I guess we’ll see.” I followed him up and looked around his house with a new set of eyes. Still, there was nothing that set off alarm bells in my mind that the Spencers were anything but human. A human decorated family room was ahead of us with a very human looking dining room and kitchen to the left of it. They were decorated a little sparsely with a white-beige, tan, and grey color scheme. Everything was precisely placed and extremely tidy. Even Mr. Spencers hutch with artifacts that he had collected on various vacations over the years was very neat. I had always just assumed this was because the Spencers spent most of their time at the hospital, but perhaps it was because the house was just a set up for a human-like appearance.
Nate opened up the door to his room, which was the second bedroom on the right across the family room. His bedroom was very Nate like; dark grey walls with posters of metal, rock, and alternative bands; a keyboard next to his closet, and computer desk with computer and chair in the opposite corner of the room. His room had always been a bit too cluttered to be staged.
Meredith was sitting on his black and grey bed, waiting for us.
“Hey, Caden,” Meredith greeted me cautiously. I could smell her anxiety even if she appeared to be sitting peacefully on the edge of Nate's bed.
“Hey.”
The room fell silent. I took in everything around me. Meredith smelled like honeysuckle and herbs through her anxiousness. Nate smelled subtly like dark spiced chocolate and his hair gel. I knew I would forever recognize them without seeing them. Meredith’s anxiety and concern overpowered my nostrils.
“I suppose we should tell her who we are,” she surprised me glancing at Nate. She paused perhaps looking for some response from Nate, but he didn’t say anything. “Caden, I am a witch.”
I gave her a surprised look with my eyebrows raised. I was more shocked that she was more human than what I was thinking.
“I am a real witch who belongs to a coven . . . with my mom . . .” Her eyes looked up like she was remembering something. “At least we used to until a warlock came and destroyed our coven. My mom and I are the only ones left.”
I was still looking at her, analyzing her because I didn’t feel her power like I had with Finn or Underhill.
She continued, “You know with magic and stuff.” She shifted uncomfortably on the bed under my gaze.
“You don’t practice magic,” I responded trying to sn
iff out the magic or resemblance.
She looked down at her hands. "No, I haven't in a while. After that warlock came into town and believed that he had killed everyone, my mom pleaded with me to not practice magic anymore." Her face dropped with grief.
“I’m so sorry, Meredith.”
She shrugged. “I can’t say that it’s ‘ok’ because it hurts being cut off from the magic, but this is really about you.” She looked up at me with hope in her eyes. “And what this means for us that you are here.”
I wasn’t expecting this turn in the conversation. I thought it was going to be mostly like “I’m ‘XYZ' in the Mundus Noctis, nice to officially meet you." But the look in Meredith's eyes was almost adoration. Something very similar to when we had first met.
“What does this mean for you that I am here?” I questioned them cautiously.
“That my mom’s petition for Venatrix Malorum from the council finally was approved.” She looked at me quizzically.
I tilted my head. “How much has your mom told you about me?”
She fiddled with her hands. “Not much. Just that your presence here was supposed to be kept super-secret. I just thought you were playing dumb earlier.”
I sighed. “Mere, it’s because I am not part of the Venatrix community. I was raised human, and that act that you may have thought I was putting on earlier in school wasn't an act. I am learning about the Mundus Noctis for the very first time."
“So...you really didn’t know?”
I shook my head.
“And that petition…?”
Nate’s face soured. “I told you, Meredith. The council wouldn’t fulfill it.”
“How long ago did your mom send it out?” I questioned.
“Nine years ago, when the warlock first appeared.” Meredith looked distressed. “They did nothing when our family and friends were killed. And they haven’t really done much of anything since. Just left us on our own.”
I felt disgusted. The more I was learning about the politics of the Mundus Noctis, the more annoyed I was becoming. It wasn't much of a wonder why my parents (both sets) tried to keep Sera and me away from the Mundus Noctis.
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