by Rye Brewer
We all breathed a little easier when it did.
“Mom, this is Sirene. Sirene, my mother, Tabitha.”
The two of them acknowledged each other, then Sirene turned her attention back to Sara.
“Have a seat,” she said, and sat beside her on the lounge.
Mom fixed more tea—I could sense that she was paying attention to every word, even if she acted like she was giving Sirene space.
I watched from a spot by the window while the witch examined my sister. She inquired how long she’d been exhibiting this power, how it had progressed.
“And you’re sure this is because you drank tainted blood?” Sirene asked.
“I can’t imagine another way it would have happened,” Sara said with a shrug.
Sirene frowned. “I see.”
I didn’t like that response.
Sara stared at her. “So? Is this temporary? I mean, will it just—go away as fast as it started?”
I could tell Sirene wanted to be positive. I could tell she was hesitant to admit the truth.
“This is unfamiliar territory for me,” she said. “I’ve never known of an elemental witch who was created. Elemental witches are born—at least, that’s been my experience until now. Your situation is entirely new to me.”
“Oh, no…” Sara’s tears started flowing—the longer she cried, the harder she cried.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and crackling noise filled my ears. I cringed, taking a step back.
“I don’t want to hide for the rest of my life,” she wept. “I would rather die than live in a hole somewhere.”
The crackling intensified.
I held my breath.
There was more than one reason why Sirene was the perfect choice to help us.
A warm wave of peaceful calm spread over the room, and it wasn’t long until Sara calmed down again.
Only the occasional crackling sound erupted.
“You won’t have to hide forever,” Sirene promised. “There’s another possible solution. It would involve some time, but in the end, you would be able to rejoin your world without anyone knowing about your powers.”
“What should I do?” she asked.
“You’ll have to train with an elemental witch.”
“A what?” Sara almost shrieked.
I would’ve reminded her that she, too, was an elemental witch—but my shoulder was still smarting from my mistake back at that place under the warehouse.
Sirene stayed calm. “Just think, you’ll learn to control this. You won’t have to fear losing control of yourself. It won’t take very long—and you won’t be in any danger, I can promise you.”
“Who would teach her these skills?” Mom asked, coming from the kitchen with a worried frown.
“Someone I trust,” Sirene replied, and the way she said it told me there was no room for argument. “Someone who won’t tell anyone who your daughter is—or what she’s capable of. No one in the human world will be any the wiser.”
I thought of something. “There is one who knows.” All eyes turned to me. I continued, “Raze.” I looked at Sara. “But I know he wouldn’t tell anybody.”
“No. He helped me. I don’t know where I would be right now if it weren’t for him,” Sara added with a fond smile. “I trust him.”
“Then, that’s all. Correct?” Sirene asked. “You didn’t tell anyone else?”
Sara started to shake her head—then gasped.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, going to her side.
“Someone else knows. Oh, no. I forgot all about her.”
“Her?” I raised a brow.
“Philippa.”
“Philippa!” I knew I shouldn’t have lost my cool, but I couldn’t help it. “Of all the people in the world, why did you choose her to tell about this?”
“Anissa…” Mom warned.
Frustration got the best of me. “You don’t understand. There couldn’t be anybody worse than her. She hates us and has never once tried to hide it.”
I looked out the window and wished I could throw myself out, instead.
Philippa.
There was no way she wouldn’t tell someone.
She hated me and maybe hated Sara even more.
It didn’t matter if Sara learned to control herself or not, Philippa knew what she was capable of. And she would just love having a way to get rid of us once and for all.
10
Anissa
I couldn’t sulk forever, and I couldn’t make Sara feel worse than she already did. I reminded myself that she was relying on me to be strong.
My tantrum had ended the conversation—the chamber was silent. I felt a little embarrassed as I turned to Sirene. “You said you known a witch you trust, someone who can help Sara?”
“Yes. I know an elemental. We go back a long way.”
“But why would a witch help a vampire?” I asked.
The bitterness between the species went both ways—they hated us just as much as our kind hated them. Maybe even more.
“Leave that to me,” she said with a knowing smile before standing. “Allonic, I need to create a portal out of here.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think that would be wise. A witch’s portal in ShadesRealm would be a beacon for the other shades. They would know a witch was here and swarm the tower.” He turned to Mom. “You would suffer Ressenden’s wrath.”
My ears pricked up at the phrase Ressenden’s wrath. “Who’s Ressenden?” I asked, even as the name stirred something in my memory.
I had heard that name before, but where? I remembered. Sorrowswatch. But I hadn’t found out who the name belonged to, had I?
Allonic scowled. “A family member. From my father’s side.”
I could almost taste the bitterness in his voice.
His father’s side. The shade side. I guessed there wasn’t much love lost between them.
“Who is he to the other shades, I mean?”
“He makes decisions. His son rules the shades, while Ressenden acts as an advisor.” His scowl deepened. “He’s deeply against a half-blood ruling the shades, hence my being unable to take a position of power—even though it’s my blood right.”
Power.
Allonic’s use of the word stirred something else. He had talked about power before, hadn’t he? When he told me why he’d drank Valerius’s blood. He wanted the power in case he had to call back on it at some point. Was Ressenden part of that?
“What can we do if Sirene can’t throw a portal here?” I asked.
He looked at her—she had been sitting patiently as we talked things over, waiting with her hands folded in her lap.
“We should course away from here. Put as much space as possible between the tower and where we eventually throw the portal,” he said.
“How far?” I asked, even though he wasn’t talking to me.
“Not entirely out of ShadesRealm,” he decided.
“Are you sure we should do it here at all?” I asked.
“What other choice do we have? Sara can’t go to Duskwood. I could take you back to the human world, and Sirene could throw a portal there, but there’s a chance a vampire will see Sara. We can’t risk that. If we’re far enough from the tower, we won’t draw attention to it, so even if another shade knows the portal is there, they won’t come here.” His highest priority was protecting Mom.
I wondered why she stayed at the tower at all, if she was in so much danger from the shades. To be near him? To avoid the human world?
There were other realms in which she could hide, if that were so. Just another thing that had changed about my life, knowing that the human world was only the beginning of worlds.
Sirene took Sara’s hand and helped her to her feet. “I’ll take you to Hallowthorn Landing. You’ll be able to train there, and you won’t have to worry about a threat from your fellow vampires.”
“And I’ll take you wherever you need to go,” Allonic told me.
“Wai
t. What?” Sara came to me, reaching for me. “No! You need to come with me! Why aren’t you coming?”
“Sara, I can’t. I have to find out how this happened in the first place, remember? We have to be sure this doesn’t happen again. If it does, and this vampire isn’t lucky enough to have help, others will find out. And anyone who was staying at the Bourke high-rise will be under scrutiny. Do you understand what that means?” I took her face in my hands. “Have I ever let you down before?”
“No,” she whispered. Her chin trembled.
“It’ll be all right. I promise. You go and get your training done, and I’ll find out who did this. And when it’s all over, we’ll be together again. Okay?”
“I just want it to be over now.”
“I know. Me, too. We’ll get through it.”
Mom stood beside us with a hand on each of our shoulders. “I’ll go with you,” she said, and she was talking to Sara.
Sara stared at her. “Mom, serious?”
She nodded. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to be alone. I haven’t left ShadesRealm in a long time, but if there was ever a reason to do it…” She shrugged, then turned to Sirene. “Would that be all right?”
Sirene nodded. “Of course. I’ll be sure accommodations are made for you. It might go better for Sara if you’re there, too.”
I heard what she didn’t want to say. If Sara was always in an agitated mood, her training would go much more slowly. Mom might be the presence she needed to hold herself together.
I smiled at Sara. “All right, then. You won’t be alone. And you’ll feel so much better once you get your training done. We’ll be together later, I promise.”
She nodded, then took my hands. “Please, do something for me.”
“Name it,” I smiled.
“Please, don’t tell Scott about this.” Her grip was almost painful, and her eyes burned into mine. They shifted back and forth, like she was searching for reassurance. “Please.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
If Philippa hadn’t already done it. She’d keep her mouth shut if she knew what was good for her… I hoped.
“I’ll think up a way to make sure they know there’s a problem, but I won’t bring you into it.”
“Thank you,” she breathed. “I couldn’t stand it if he knew.”
“I’m sure it wouldn’t change the way he feels about you, by the way. Scott’s one of the good ones.”
A brief smile floated across her face. “Even so, I don’t want him to know.”
“Understood. It’s between us.”
We didn’t talk about it anymore as we left the tower—Mom looked back at her chamber one more time before leaving—and soon, we were coursing far enough away that a portal wouldn’t throw suspicion on her if discovered.
Once again, I had the time to do a little thinking as I coursed behind the rest of them.
I asked myself how I was supposed to tell the Bourkes about the tainted blood without telling them I knew someone who drank it.
11
Anissa
We let Allonic take the lead as we coursed away from Mom’s tower since he knew where he was taking us. I hoped it was far away enough that none of Allonic’s friends would spot us—not that they were friends. I couldn’t help but see how similar we were in many ways. We both grew up on the fringe, but at least he knew why they treated him the way they did.
It took forever for me to understand why Sara and I were never accepted within the Carver clan. And he had a mother there to help him understand. To protect him.
I shook that thought out of my head before we slowed to a stop—he was a lot younger than either of us, and he needed protection more than we did.
We were miles and miles away from the tower when Allonic decided we had gone far enough.
I looked around and saw that both the tower and the mountains under which Sanctuary was hidden weren’t much more than blips on the horizon.
The sky was getting lighter. We didn’t have much time before the sun rose—the memory of the burns I’d received from the sun was still fresh, even if the burns had healed.
“I think this is a safe place,” Allonic decided as he placed Sirene on her feet. “Much further and we would enter territory unknown even to me.”
“There’s territory you’re not familiar with?” I asked.
“There is always something to discover,” he informed me with a wry smile.
I liked how he seemed to be discovering his sense of humor, just like I appreciated his intelligence. I was starting to depend on him more than I ever expected to.
Sirene noticed the way the light was changing, too. “We’ll have to hurry. Say your goodbyes quickly, since the sun won’t wait.” She got to work on throwing the portal as I turned to Mom and Sara.
Mom was smiling. “I hadn’t coursed in so long,” she chuckled. “I forgot how it feels.”
I wished I could smile with her, but all I could think about was how I had to say goodbye to her again.
Sirene didn’t say how long Sara’s training would take, and I had the feeling a lot of that was up to my sister and whether she could control herself long enough to even listen to what her trainer told her to do. I didn’t know how long my work would take, either.
“When will we see each other again?” I asked.
“Whenever we’re supposed to,” Mom said.
“I can’t wait for the day when we can be together and not have to worry about anything.”
“I hope that time comes soon.” She wrapped me in one of her warm, tight hugs and I closed my eyes.
I wanted to soak her in, all of her.
“I’m proud of who you’ve become,” she whispered in my ear.
There were tears in my eyes when I stepped away.
“Do good,” I said to Sara as I hugged her. “We’ll find a way out of this.”
“I love you,” she said.
I held her at arm’s length. “You told me what you wanted me not to tell Scott. Is there anything I should tell him? A message?”
She shook her head. “If he asks, tell him I’m thinking about him, and I hope I’ll be back soon.” She didn’t offer any explanation I could give for why she wasn’t with him, but I guess I didn’t expect her to.
“We need to go, now.”
The portal was a swirling mass of pink and white light, shot through with gold.
I would have expected Sirene to make something so beautiful. I stood by Allonic’s side while Mom took Sara’s hand and gave her a sure, brave smile.
Sara tried to mimic Mom, but didn’t do too well. They were still holding hands as they stepped through, followed by Sirene.
Seconds later, the portal vanished.
I blinked hard to clear the spots dancing in front of my eyes.
“I hope the portal went unnoticed,” Allonic murmured in his low rumble. “We need to hurry away from here, in case it was.”
“Too late.”
I whirled around, gasping at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. Not just unfamiliar—chilling.
It chilled me to the bone.
The man approaching was not just a man. He was a shade, the same as Allonic. He had the same dark skin, the same smooth head, the same glowing eyes. Only his eyes seemed to glow with hatred. He had a long, white beard that brushed against the dark red cloak he wore.
I thought I saw a resemblance between the two of them—faint, but present.
He raised one long arm and pointed a bony finger at me. “I knew I smelled witch’s blood,” he spat in disgust.
I realized he was talking about me and opened my mouth to correct him—but some instinct sealed my lips shut.
Allonic didn’t correct him, either. All he said was, “Ressenden.”
So this was the great Ressenden. He didn’t look so great to me. He might have been when he was younger and his tall, rangy frame had a little meat on it. He had shriveled and withered over the years until his cloak hung on him in folds and folds of
fabric. But his eyes were still sharp.
I had the feeling he had a sharp brain to go along with them.
He hadn’t stopped looking at me, and I held his gaze with my chin raised.
Meanwhile, my thoughts bounced around in my head.
He wanted to hurt me, that much was clear—he did everything but sneer and spit at me.
I wanted to get away from him, far away. Could I course? Was I strong enough to, after coursing twice so recently? I doubted it, but what option did I have other than to try? He wouldn’t be able to catch me, since shades couldn’t course.
I was just about to turn around and course away from there as fast as I could when I remembered what happened the last time I tried to course away from a shade. What was her name? The one who tormented me down in the Sanctuary? Tasara. I remembered the sensation of struggling through quicksand. She couldn’t catch me, but she could stop me with her mind.
And Ressenden seemed to have an even stronger mind than she did. He hated me more, too. The hatred poured off him in waves and threatened to suffocate me.
What could I do? I had to protect myself somehow.
All of this went through my head in an instant, as Allonic tried to position himself between Ressenden and me.
Ressenden sneered. “What’s this? Trying to protect your little witch? You should know better than to waste your time.”
How could I keep him away from me?
I almost wished I were a witch. I wished I could send lightning shooting out of my hands, the way Sara did. That would make him think twice before he threatened anyone.
Then it hit me. I didn’t need lightning. I had something else, tucked away in my boots. Marcus’s training had come in handy. I never left home without my weapons.
Were shades as allergic to silver as vampires? It didn’t matter. Shades bled, and my blades were sharp.
Ressenden’s voice was cold when he asked, “What is the witch doing here?” He didn’t take his eyes off me.
Again, I stayed quiet.
It was better for Sirene and Sara if he thought I was the witch.
I was more concerned with waiting for his concentration to break. I needed enough time to get to my blades. All he had to do was shift his eyes in one direction or another, and I could have them out.