by Lexi Blake
I couldn’t overplay my hand, but I did have one last card to play. “How long will that take? I need to move out soon. I was going to take Dean with us since he knows the way to the door, but I suppose we can make our way there with a map of some kind. Or perhaps you could do a guiding spell.”
If there was one thing Dean didn’t want to miss, it was saving Summer.
He sat up straighter and I saw the stubborn light in his eyes. “I’m fine. I’ve got a headache, but Kelsey is right. It’s already getting better. I should be fine by the time we head for the door. We need to move soon or we’ll miss the second time it opens.”
The kettle started whistling and Erna turned her attention that way. “We can’t miss that. Summer must be brought back home as quickly as possible. We cannot allow the witches to take her into custody. It will be infinitely easier to break her out of the Vampire plane than Arete.”
“I talked to my parents last night,” Dean said. “They’re going to send us everything they can about the building Taggart would hold her in.”
“Excellent.” While we were on that mission I would convince Dean that his mentor wasn’t the cool chick he thought she was. I had to wonder if there was one of these suckers in Summer’s head. Marcus should be able to tell. I discounted his earlier dealing with Dean. He’d been overly emotional and not thinking. He hadn’t been looking for anything out of the ordinary. He’d been totally focused on getting Dean to gut himself. Luckily, Dean didn’t seem to know anything was different about himself, but the quicker I got him out of here the better. If he started to behave in a way that let Erna know he was free, we could be fucked. The witch had power and Daniel was vulnerable.
There was something about Erna…something I didn’t like. My wolf senses were tingling but I didn’t have time to figure out what was off. I wished I had Liv, or that Zoey had brought Sarah Day with her. I liked having a witch on the team.
Something moved right outside my peripheral vision and I turned and saw Arwyna fluttering into the room.
“Hello, pixie,” Dean said, managing a smile.
Arwyna had spent the majority of the night clinging to her priest’s hair. According to the queen, the pixie had a bad reaction to a spell the wizard had used on her, and that was what had caused her near-death experience. She was humming with life today, her ruby wings vibrant in the morning light.
Arwyna fluttered around him for a moment and then moved right on to Erna, who brought up a hand to wave the pixie off, but then seemed to think better of it. “The pixie won’t leave me alone. I thought she was with the Green Man.”
“She won’t hurt you.” I found it odd that a woman who’d spent so much time on Faery planes seemed disturbed by one pixie. She should have been used to the suckers by now. I always thought it was cool when they landed on my hair and hung out for a while. It doesn’t happen often, and they scatter if either of my husbands show up. I apparently had proven that I wasn’t going to make a snack out of them, so I was an approved resting place.
Erna snorted. “Like a pixie could hurt me.” She turned and poured tea into the cup she’d made for Dean.
The door to the back bedroom came open and the royals stepped out, Daniel leading Zoey, with Dev coming up behind her. Dev looked worse for the wear, his hair mussed and a tired look in his eyes. He glanced around the room. “Kelsey, Dean, I apparently have some apologies to make.”
“Nah, we’ve all gone psychotic at some point,” I pointed out. “Hey. It makes us even for that time I tried to take your head off with a baseball bat.”
I hadn’t been in control of my wolf at that point, and I got pretty cranky.
A weak smile crossed his face. “Ah, good times.”
“Well, I nearly got murdered by plants, so I will totally listen to an apology,” Dean said. “And I think I pulled a couple of muscles, too.”
“I deeply apologize, Dean.” Dev bowed at the waist. “I hope you can forgive me.”
Dean shrugged and a grin tugged his lips up. “All right. You were under the influence of a powerful spell. I suppose I can forgive you.”
Erna put the mug in front of Dean. “Well, I don’t know if I will. After all, you nearly injured me, too, and Dean is in my charge. You’re lucky I helped you. My first thought was to simply end both of you. The spell used on those stones was immensely powerful. I will admit I didn’t think the old legends about an Earth plane magician could possibly be true, but that spell makes me rethink much. Kelsey, would you like some tea? If your head is still aching, it could ease it.”
I didn’t want to drink anything she prepared. I put a hand to my belly. “I can’t even think about putting something on my stomach right now. Morning sickness.”
My stomach was perfectly fine, but I was going to use that excuse as long as I could. I had to hope she didn’t want to hurt Dean. Though he hadn’t touched the tea yet. I wondered if in the past he already would have been drinking it. The stone would have made him want to please Erna.
Luckily she was far too busy judging me to notice Dean wasn’t drinking. “Yes, I heard you talking about being pregnant. It’s foolish to be adventuring while you’re carrying a child, but I suspect you know what you’re doing. Green Man, if you want to make it up to me, kindly take your pixie back. She seems to have taken a liking to me. I can’t abide insects.”
Zoey’s brow arched. “She’s not an insect.”
Dev held out his hand and Arwyna flew to it. “I’m sorry. She finds your energy infinitely interesting.” He stared down at the pixie as though listening intently. “She says the energy around you calls to her.”
Erna’s shoulders went stiff. “I’m sure I’m still crackling with energy after being forced to save you all. I would prefer she give me some space.”
Arwyna seemed to be saying something but I couldn’t hear her, and Dev merely nodded and then placed her on his shoulder.
“When can we leave?” Daniel asked. “I’m eager to get to the Vampire plane. Will we have any trouble entering? Do they simply allow anyone in?”
“It’s guarded on the Vampire side, but I’ve already taken care of things,” Dean said. “My parents have made arrangements to allow you access. If anyone asks, you’re meeting with Malone Corp.”
“I can certainly talk business,” Dev offered. “Will this affect your parents? We intend to break Summer out.”
Dean simply shrugged. “Nah. Corporate warfare is a big thing where I come from. Like sometimes there are literal wars. It’s why a man like Taggart is so sought after. No one will blink an eye, and if Lodge InterPlane decides to come after Malone Corp, my father will happily go into battle. He recently signed this new head of security and he wants to put him up against Taggart and see what happens.”
I didn’t think I would like living on a plane where the rich literally ruled everything. “Your Highness, they also sent us the blueprints to the building. I think you should study them. We need a plan of action. We won’t have much time.”
“Dean can help you,” Erna said. “He’s excellent at glamours. Dean, don’t underestimate the vampires. They will be ready for battle magic. Your best option is to get in and out without detection.”
“I will not allow them to take my daughter,” Daniel promised. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Normally that meant we would absolutely win the day since the king could pretty much take down anything. Now those words simply worried the hell out of me. I had to think about the fact that all of this would be for nothing if we lost the king. “Have we considered contacting the witches and trying to reason with them?”
Erna snorted. “There is no reasoning with Arete.”
“You have family there, right?” The queen took a seat at the table with Dean.
“I don’t consider them family anymore,” she replied, turning away. “But I was born into a minor house, the sixth of seven daughters. I was considered weak among a somewhat weak coven. My sister managed to elevate the house. She was very strong when
it came to battle magic. But such honors require balance.”
“Oh, I’ve heard that word before,” Zoey said with a frown. “I’ve found that balance usually means someone gets their ass kicked.”
It was true, and oftentimes I did the ass kicking. Balance is a serious thing.
Erna’s shoulders moved as she washed out the kettle and put it away. “Balance in this case is another word for sacrifice. Our mother had to choose one of us for the trial.”
“I suspect this isn’t a courthouse trial,” Daniel said gravely.
“No,” Erna agreed. “They performed a spell on me, several, actually, to take my power into themselves. Basically my sisters and mother offered me up to be fed upon so their positions could be enriched. I survived and even managed to keep a spark of my power, but I will never forget, nor will I forgive.”
I didn’t want to feel sorry for the woman. So I didn’t. Bad shit happened, and a person comes through that bad shit one of two ways. They either understand how awful it is to have bad shit happen and try to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else, or they lose that piece of themselves that allows for compassion and become every bit as bad as the monster who tortured them in the first place.
Erna had taken Dean’s free will. I was starting to wonder what else she’d taken.
“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” Zoey said, proving her heart was way softer than mine. “Is that why Summer went to the witch plane? Are you not allowed back?”
Erna turned, drying her hands on her apron. “I would be considered a servant in my coven since my power was taken from me.”
“But you’re incredibly powerful,” Dean said.
“You certainly felt powerful to me.” Dev massaged the back of his neck. “I’ve got the aching muscles to prove it.”
“It took a long time, but I managed to grow the spark I kept into a fire,” she replied with an arrogance I was starting to get annoyed with. “I am stronger now than any of my sisters. I might be the strongest witch in Arete.”
“Then why send my daughter, who has no power, there to find the book?” Daniel’s gaze had sharpened as though he’d scented something. When the king got that predatory look in his eyes I’ve learned to sit up a bit straighter and pay attention. He didn’t take the crown simply because of his muscles. He was smart, too, and turning human again wouldn’t affect his brain.
“I am known on the witch plane, and honestly, her skills as a thief were much more important than spells,” Erna replied. “Though it seems to me a spell might win in the end since we can’t actually read The Path now that Dean touched it.”
“The Path?” Dev asked.
“It’s what the witches call their book of prophecy,” Dean supplied helpfully. “And Erna’s right. From what I’ve studied, no amount of supernatural power could have helped with that book. It’s got some serious magical defenses.”
“There is only one way to get the book.” Erna put a hand on the big, leather-bound tome.
“And what’s that?” I asked, staring at it. The Path. I should have known it wouldn’t be a literal path, but still, my hubby could have been a little more plain.
“The book has to want to go with you,” Erna replied, as though books making decisions on their own was an everyday occurrence. “Summer has a light about her. And given that her own magic is safely bound, it was a good bet that the book would allow her to steal it. If it hadn’t chosen to go, it would still be on Arete.”
“Then why was it a crime?” Zoey asked, indignation plain on her face. “It seems like the book knows what it wants, and it wanted Summer.”
“Don’t attempt to use logic on fanatics.” Erna sighed and sat down at the table. “The Path has been in Arete for millennia. It has chosen queens, and the words in it have changed the course of our history again and again. I assure you the idea of it being in foreign hands will set my people to war, but it was necessary. If we don’t stop the convergences, there won’t be any world left to war on.”
“I thought the point of stealing that book was to study the prophecy about Dean.” I said the words but didn’t take my eyes off that book. I had no intention of leaving here without that book in my hands. It didn’t matter that all the words had disappeared. We would find a way.
Never leave The Path.
See. Grammar matters, people. It matters a lot.
Erna’s expression shuttered. “Yes, you would suspect that, but they’re a stubborn people. And of course it’s about Dean. But Dean can’t do what he was born to do if the convergences kill him. Now that we have The Path, we can find a safer place while I figure out how to break the binding on it so we can read the words. However, none of this will happen until you find Summer and bring her back home. Summer must not be left with the witches.”
Daniel stood. “I’m ready. We should go as soon as Dean is feeling better.”
Erna moved to the young man and frowned as she looked down at him. “Dean, you didn’t drink your tea.”
Dean shrugged. “I don’t like the smell. I’ll be fine.”
“But I told you…” Erna began.
I was about to distract her with…well, I hadn’t come up with anything, but that blaring alarm went off again, saving me from having to do something stupid to get her off track.
We all got to our feet as the alarm seemed to be trying to make my brain bleed.
“What the hell is that?” Daniel made it to the front room first and stood at the window looking out over the yard.
“Demons,” I said. “That is a mega shit ton of demons.”
And they were all coming our way.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Zoey
I was distinctly happy I hadn’t had much of a breakfast because the sight in front of me would have made me lose it. There had to be fifty or sixty Planeswalkers coming our way. “I thought they were solitary creatures.”
“They are,” Dev said, his voice barely above a whisper. “No one I know has ever seen more than one of them at a time. I think we should go out the back.”
“They aren’t healthy.” Daniel moved toward the door. “They’re not here to start a fight.”
I stepped in front of him. I was glad he was feeling better, but he wasn’t thinking. “Danny, there’s a reason you didn’t get involved with the last one. Let Devinshea take care of this. We don’t know why they’re coming.”
Dean stepped up. He stared out the window, and he’d gotten some color back in his cheeks. His eyes narrowed as he seemed to concentrate. “They’re looking for help. They’re desperate. They’re dying.”
It was handy to have a mind reader with me, though it had been explained that Dean’s powers weren’t exactly that precise, but in this case I would take it. “Can you tell why they’re coming here?”
Dean’s eyes closed briefly.
I looked back out that window, a sinking feeling in my gut because there were so many of them.
“I think they’re looking for Summer,” Dean said. “That’s not exactly what they’re thinking. They don’t know they’re looking for Summer, but what I get from them is a deep need to find magic. They’re looking for the source of the magic that feeds them.”
Erna gasped behind me but I didn’t have time to deal with her. I didn’t like the idea that someone was thinking of feeding off my daughter.
“Do they mean Summer harm?” I asked.
Dean shook his head. “I don’t think so. They’re attracted to here for some reason. I can’t tell much more. I might if I could get closer to them. When I was with Kelsey earlier, I managed to make contact with the one in the barn. I got into his head.”
“Dean, that’s dangerous,” Erna said. “You can’t do that. I forbid it.”
Dean’s eyes flared, and I realized this might be the first time since he’d met this woman that his mind had been free enough for him to rebel. Unfortunately, I couldn’t have him do that because Kelsey and I had decided keeping Erna in the dark was important. The witch was
strong and powerful, and Devinshea was still recovering. Erna also knew where our weaknesses lay, and I knew she would go after Daniel first.
My worry for him had become a physical ache in my body.
I stepped in front of Dean. “Erna, don’t you think it’s important that we figure out why they’re coming? How about this? Dean will go with Devinshea and Kelsey and he’ll read their intentions for us. Some of these demons look like they’re in better shape than the last one. We might be able to simply talk to them. If we can’t, we’ll discuss what to do. Perhaps you can cast a spell to help.”
“I don’t like the fact that you people are manipulating Dean,” she said.
“They aren’t manipulating me,” Dean shot back.
I couldn’t have a throw down right then. It was obvious we weren’t going to be able to hide the fact that Dean was no longer under thrall for long. I doubted even explaining what had happened to him would slow the situation down. I got the feeling Dean would either not believe us and confront her, or believe us and get pissed off. He was so young. He hadn’t played the kinds of games the rest of us had been forced to play.
Kelsey and I had decided the best way to handle the situation was to split Dean off from Erna and decide how to move forward from afar.
But first we needed to deal with the current situation.
We couldn’t get to the door if it was blocked by demons.
“They’re coming from the other side, too.” Kelsey walked in from the kitchen. “So sneaking out the back isn’t going to work.”
“We have to talk to them, Erna,” I said. “It would be so much easier if we had Dean to help us.”
I didn’t like the bland expression on Erna’s face as she nodded.
“Yes,” she agreed. “I suppose you will have to speak with them and attempt to figure out why they keep coming here. After all, Summer doesn’t have any magic now. They should leave her alone. I’ll watch the back to ensure they don’t get in that way.”
“I’ll help you.” Kelsey stepped away from us.