The Witches of the Dark Power

by Gabriella Lepore

  ‘You mean, with Tol?’ Mia exhaled in a rough breath. ‘Colt is not Tol!’ She choked back a sob. ‘He is not Tol,’ she said again, quieter this time, as though she was trying to convince not just them, but herself, too.

  ‘Hun,’ Madeline intervened, ‘this isn’t your mother’s fault. She’s not trying to upset you. But you need to open your eyes here, babe. Colt and Tol, they’re cut from the same cloth. They’re Hunters.’

  Amos nodded.

  Mia stood up and staggered woozily for the door. As she did, Cassandra and Madeline jumped from their seats.

  ‘Where are you going?’ Cassandra cried. ‘Don’t even think about going looking for him!’ The tone of her own voice shocked her.

  Mia turned to face them as she lingered in the drawing room doorway. ‘I have to find Dino,’ she murmured. ‘I need my brother.’

  As Mia stumbled into the bedchamber, Dino leaped to the door to greet her.

  ‘You’re awake!’ he exclaimed. ‘Amos said you’d be out cold for hours.’

  ‘They all think Colt’s guilty!’ Mia ranted breathlessly.

  Dino pulled a face. ‘Uh . . . Mia, he is guilty.’

  ‘You should hear the things they’re saying about him!’ Mia went on as though Dino hadn’t spoken. ‘They’re comparing him to Tol!’

  Dino’s brow creased. ‘Weren’t you doing exactly the same thing a couple of hours ago?’

  ‘That’s different. I was mad at him then.’ She threw up her hands. ‘Anyway, you were the one who said he wasn’t like Tol.’

  ‘Yeah, well, I’ve had a colossal change of heart.’ He folded his arms. ‘Wait,’ he backtracked, ‘so you find out he’s trying to kill you, and suddenly you’re not angry at him anymore? That’s seriously messed up, sister.’

  ‘He’s not trying to kill me!’

  ‘Oh, okay,’ Dino scoffed. ‘It’s just a coincidence that he keeps the book with the spell to kill you in his room, marked to the exact killing page.’

  ‘You know what, Dino?’ she began, floundering to retaliate, ‘people in glass castles shouldn’t throw stones.’

  He became rigid. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

  ‘Hmm.’ She tapped her pursed lips with her index finger, pretending to think. ‘Now, let me see. Who else around here has tried to kill me recently?’

  Dino’s jaw dropped and a look of anguish crossed his face. ‘That’s not fair! I was under the influence of Tol.’

  ‘I know you were,’ said Mia fervently. ‘Because I know you—and I know you wouldn’t kill me. Neither would Colt.’

  ‘But I’m your brother. He’s a Hunter.’

  Mia squeezed her eyes shut. ‘Dino, please, you have to believe me. This is a mistake. I’d bet my life on it.’

  He raised an eyebrow. ‘Interesting choice of words.’

  ‘Listen to me,’ she appealed, clutching at her heart. ‘Someone out there wants to kill me. But it’s not Colt.’

  ‘Then who it is?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ Mia knotted her fingers through her hair and looked helplessly to the dark night beyond the bedchamber window. ‘Maybe it’s Tol.’

  ‘Tol’s dead,’ Dino reminded her in a clipped voice.

  ‘Then maybe it’s . . . Demetrius!’

  Dino ran his hands across his face. ‘You can’t go accusing people just because you don’t like them.’

  ‘Hey,’ she refuted, ‘I like Demetrius. Unless he’s trying to kill me, in which case I hate him.’

  Dino paced across the room and sank onto his bed. ‘If only you could use that same logic towards the real culprit. Colt.’

  Mia pretended not to hear. ‘We have to find him,’ she decided. ‘Where do you think they’ve taken him?’

  Dino stared at her, wide-eyed. ‘We do not have to find him. Actually, we have to do the exact opposite and hope to hell he doesn’t find us.’

  ‘We can’t just sit here doing nothing!’ Mia cried.

  ‘We can.’

  ‘And what about Colt? What if he’s innocent, and the real culprit is still roaming free?’

  ‘Relax,’ said Dino, holding up his hands. ‘There’s nothing you can do right now, anyway. Colt is long gone, and Amos and the Hunters will be guarding this place like Fort Knox after everything that went down tonight. No one’s getting out, and no one’s getting in. All you can do is get some sleep and talk to Wendolyn in the morning.’

  Mia exhaled sharply. She stalked to her bed and collapsed onto the mattress.

  ‘Everything will seem better in the morning,’ Dino called from across the room. He extinguished the candle at his bedside and they were swallowed by darkness.

  Yeah, right, thought Mia. She rolled onto her back and stared up at the shadowy canopy over her bed. Colt, she willed, where are you?

  While Dino slept soundly, Mia lay restlessly in her bed. Occasionally she’d drift off to sleep, only to dream of Colt. He’d come to her in her subconscious, at first holding her safely in his arms, but soon his grip would become too tight. He wouldn’t let go—even as she wheezed and choked for air. But she didn’t fight it.

  She would awaken from each dream, clammy with sweat and gasping for breath in the darkness of the bedchamber. Each time she’d wake, she’d wish to hear his voice. She longed to hear him tell her that he wouldn’t hurt her—that the others were wrong about him. But all she heard was the low moan of the wind outside.

  Until . . .

  ‘Come to me.’

  Mia’s eyes opened. Was this another dream?

  ‘Come to me,’ came Colt’s voice, as clear as though he were right beside her.

  In a stupor, she rose from her bed. She didn’t hesitate or question her actions. She wasn’t dreaming anymore; she was under a spell. And not for the first time. She had been under an Enticement spell before—one cast last summer by Lotan when he had wanted to draw her to him. To kill her.

  ‘Come to me,’ Colt’s voice seduced her to obey.

  In her trance, Mia was only aware of the feeling of floating as she walked along the corridor and down the staircase.

  Her fingers skimmed the cold brass door handle of the castle’s heavy oak door. She was nearly outside.

  Then she was shaking. Or being shaken.

  ‘Come to me,’ Colt urged.

  But something—whatever it was—was drawing her out of her trance.

  ‘No, no, no,’ she murmured. ‘He’s calling me. I have to go to him.’

  All of a sudden she could feel the cold floor beneath her bare feet with harsh clarity. The Enticement was broken. She longed to fall back under the spell, to hear Colt’s voice in her mind again. Why did they stop her?

  She blinked, dazed but awake now.

  Jonathan stared back at her, his pale eyes riddled with concern.

  ‘You’re sleep walking,’ he told Mia, gripping her shoulders with both hands and shaking her.

  ‘No,’ Mia mumbled. ‘Let me go. I have to go to him.’

  Jonathan’s eyebrows drew together. ‘Go where? Mia, you’re dreaming.’

  ‘N-no . . .’ she stuttered, her own voice finally breaking through her haze.

  She looked around, abruptly aware that she was downstairs by the castle entrance in the dead of night. Her mind grew fuzzy.

  ‘I . . . I was . . . Why am I here?’ she managed.

  Everything was a blur now.

  ‘You were sleep walking,’ Jonathan explained.

  ‘Oh. I was?’ her voice echoed eerily in the corridor.

  There was something she needed to recall, she was sure of it. A feeling? A voice?

  ‘Unless . . .’ Jonathan squinted and peered into Mia’s grey eyes. ‘A Hunter hasn’t taken your blood, have they?’

  By Hunter, Mia knew he was referring to Colt. She winced.

  ‘No,’ she said, looking down at the floor. ‘Of course not.’

  Jonathan reached out and took hold of her hand. ‘Have you ever heard of a Hunter ritual called Enticement?’

  S
he swallowed.

  ‘Because what I saw just then looked a lot like—’

  ‘I’m sorry, Jonathan,’ Mia interrupted, pulling her hand free. ‘I have to go to bed. Sorry for waking you.’ She turned and ran up the staircase.

  ‘That’s okay!’ he called after her. ‘I was awake anyway!’

  But his words were lost on Mia. She wasn’t listening. All she could think about was the memory of scraping her finger on the ragged stone in the wall crevice. And Colt’s lips brushing across the broken skin.

  She felt sick as the realisation dawned on her.

  Colt had cast an Enticement over her.

  Chapter Nine

  Hunter Blood Is Thicker Than Water

  Colt paced agitatedly along the border of the pine forest. This wasn’t his usual border. No, that was several miles south. This was new territory, beyond the sanctuary of the castle grounds. His quick, restless strides cut ribbons through the thick layer of mist he’d created for himself.

  Colt looked up to the sky. A haze of purple fog shrouded the full moon. Dark magic was afoot.

  Somewhere in the distance, he heard the crunch of fallen leaves. Someone was approaching.

  ‘It’s about time,’ he muttered under his breath.

  The newcomer emerged, battling through the opaque vapours and coughing deliberately in a show of displeasure.

  ‘What’s with all the mist, brother?’ Siren asked, appearing before Colt. ‘Theatrics? On your head be it if I develop respiration problems after this infernal visit.’

  ‘Oh, it’s you,’ Colt noted in disappointment.

  ‘You were expecting a lady friend?’ Siren acted surprised. ‘How gauche.’

  Colt rolled his eyes. ‘Fantastic. Go ahead, laugh at my expense! I’m glad my banishment is so amusing to you.’

  Siren waved his arm, distractedly batting away mist. ‘Seriously, Colt, is this really necessary? It’s going a little overboard, wouldn’t you say?’

  ‘You try being stuck out here all night! Brewing this has been the only thing keeping me sane. It has become my only comfort in these trying times.’

  It was Siren’s turn to roll his eyes. ‘Enough with the dramatics already. It’s only been a few hours.’ He coughed again. ‘Potent,’ he remarked, tasting the enchanted air. ‘What’s the charm on it?’

  Colt toyed with the mist, winding his hand through the grey vapours. ‘When breathed in by unwelcome visitors, it’ll summon an illusion of their deepest fears.’

  ‘Dark,’ Siren mused.

  Colt shrugged. ‘Since you’re here, I will need a small favour.’

  Siren grimaced. ‘That depends on what it is. I don’t want to end up with the same fate as you.’

  ‘You mean underappreciated by those Arcana fools?’

  ‘I mean exiled and’—Siren frowned at the mist between them—‘impractical.’

  ‘I need you to bring her to me,’ said Colt without missing a beat.

  ‘Her?’

  ‘Mia,’ Colt clarified. ‘Bring her here. Preferably in one piece. I tried to call her with an Enticement, but she resisted somehow. Maybe I shouldn’t have imparted so much knowledge and wisdom on her,’ he mused. ‘So just see that she makes it next time, okay?’

  Siren cleared his throat. ‘Forgive me for stating the obvious, brother, but if you go ahead with this, the consequences will be dire. Are you sure you want to do this?’

  Colt held his palms skyward. ‘What consequences could be worse than this?’

  ‘But, to kill the Arcana girl for the Arx?’

  Colt staggered backwards. ‘Has everyone lost their minds today?’

  Siren blinked, confused.

  ‘Why would I kill her?’ Colt ranted on. ‘I don’t covet the immunity of the Arx! I would be bored to tears without the chance of a little death here and there.’

  ‘Oh.’ Siren pondered it. ‘The evidence is certainly stacked against you.’

  Colt laughed in disbelief. ‘Brother, after nearly two decades together, don’t you know me at all? Do you honestly suspect that I’m the one behind this?’

  Siren knit his brow in thought. ‘No,’ he said finally. ‘You’re not patient enough to pull off underhanded and scheming. You’re more of a look-at-me-and-all-I-can-do type of challenger.’

  Colt raised his chin proudly.

  ‘Although,’ Siren deliberated, ‘if you’re telling the truth, then why steal the book? A spot of light reading?’

  ‘I was guarding it!’ Colt yelled, exasperated. ‘I appointed it into my care because no one else is able to protect it as well as I can.’

  ‘Look-at-me-and-all-I-can-do,’ Siren teased.

  ‘Yes,’ Colt sighed. ‘But there’s not a lot I can do from out here, is there?’

  There was a pause as Siren considered his words. ‘And how, exactly, is me bringing you the girl going to help?’ he asked at last.

  ‘I just . . . I just need to see her, that’s all,’ Colt said vaguely.

  Siren’s eyes shone with understanding. ‘For a tryst? How trite.’

  Colt narrowed his eyes. ‘In fact, it would be even better if you could get me back in.’

  Siren snorted. ‘Even if I could sneak you back in, they’d kill us both on sight.’

  Colt pressed his knuckles to his mouth, debating silently. ‘Surely Wendolyn will hear me out. What has she said?’

  Siren’s black eyes flickered to the unfamiliar treetops. ‘Wendolyn is unconscious. The fever has taken hold over the last few hours. It’s worse than we thought.’

  Colt’s heart gave a thud. ‘Will she recover?’ he asked, hoping that Siren wouldn’t detect the vulnerability in his voice.

  ‘I would imagine so. It’s just a fever, after all.’

  Colt nodded his head. ‘All right. Forget about getting me back in—for now, at least. Just help me get the book out. The girl and the book. That’s all I need.’

  ‘And if it’s you who’s lost his mind?’ Siren considered. ‘What if this is all part of some clever deception and you’re just using me as a pawn?’

  Colt fixed him with a steely stare. ‘Does it matter, brother?’

  Siren relented, smiling wryly. ‘No,’ he submitted. ‘No, I suppose it doesn’t.’

  When Siren returned to the castle, it was still night time. Only his own footsteps could be heard as he paced across the courtyard. If anyone knew he’d been to see Colt, he’d be a traitor, and probably suspected of being an accessory to Colt’s crime—or alleged crime.

  The allegations seemed unlikely to Siren, but stranger things had happened. If a Hunter went rogue, there was no telling what lengths he would go to in his quest for power. If Colt was covering up his true intent, he was certainly fooling Siren.

  But, as Colt had said, did it really matter? Siren had no allegiance to Mia and the Arcana. He was a Hunter, and as such, his allegiance was to his coven. To Colt.

  Perhaps I must be loyal to Wendolyn, too, he supposed. After all, she had taken him in and raised him from a toddler, just as she had done for all of them—Colt, Siren, and their fallen brothers, Lotan and Roc. The four Hunters had grown up together. They’d been a family . . . Until Tol and his henchmen came along and destroyed everything, murdering Lotan and Roc in cold blood.

  After that, only Siren and Colt remained. Talon and Finn arrived soon after, recruited from a colony of Hunters in the north. They were tolerable enough, Siren supposed, but they were young and new, and not his brothers yet. Perhaps they never would be.

  In his world, he only had Colt.

  He opened the castle door and slipped inside. He would do his duty. When Colt called the girl to him, Siren would make sure she went this time.

  ‘Siren!’ came a hushed voice from inside the castle vestibule.

  He tasted the air. Arcana, he deuced. Using his Sententia power, he detected the emotions of the boy. Nervous. He could work with that.

  Jonathan stepped into the candlelight.

  ‘I’m here to take over the watch,
’ Siren improvised. ‘You can retire to your chamber now.’

  ‘That’s okay,’ Jonathan declined, fumbling over his words. ‘I’m awake, anyway. I might as well help you stand guard.’

  Siren almost laughed at the notion of Jonathan helping him with anything. Get lost, little boy, he thought irritably. He tried to remember how Arcana talked amongst themselves. ‘Your offer, though appreciated, is not necessary,’ he strung together calmly. ‘You are free to go.’

  ‘There’s really no point,’ Jonathan replied. ‘I haven’t slept in weeks. In fact, I’ve given up trying!’ He planted himself at the foot of the staircase and flipped open the book he’d been reading by candlelight.

  Siren frowned. This wasn’t in his plan. ‘You’re having trouble sleeping?’ he mused. ‘I can help you with that.’

  ‘Really?’ Jonathan looked up to meet the Hunter’s wolf-like eyes. ‘How?’

  Siren detected his nervousness increase. Good. A bit of fear will help this along nicely.

  ‘Relax your mind,’ Siren instructed. And let me do the rest, he added silently.

  Jonathan set his book on the bottom step and gazed at Siren.

  ‘You want to go to sleep,’ Siren coaxed, stepping closer and placing his hand Jonathan’s shoulder. ‘You are tired. So tired that all you can do is . . .’ He slowly pushed down on a pressure point in the grove of Johnathan’s neck.

  Jonathan’s eyes glazed over and his expression became woozy.

  ‘. . . sleep,’ Siren finished.

  With a thud, Jonathan collapsed on the bottom step, snoring into the open pages of his book.

  Siren smirked. Leaning back against the banister, he crossed his ankles and prepared for his next challenge.

  Mia.

  If Colt timed this right, she would be drawn downstairs at any moment, and all Siren would have to do was let her walk right on by. It was child’s play.

  Getting his hands on the Tome of Black Magic, on the other hand, would be a little more difficult. But Siren loved a challenge.

  His ears pricked at the sound of a door opening from somewhere upstairs.

  The scent of the girl rushed through the channels of the castle. She was approaching.