by LJ Swallow
"Maybe I saw nothing in Vincent's head ‘cause he's under their control."
The room sinks into a shocked quiet as Andrei remains oblivious to what he's saying.
"The construct theory?" I ask. "A necromancer working with a shifter who hates witches? I agree, this makes no sense. "
"You think?" says Andrei. "Talk about one tangled mess. How are we supposed to deal with any of this?"
"We need to consider that Vincent is connected to the murdered witch," says Tobias.
Ash's shoulders slump. "Possibly, but he doesn't like vamps and I don't see why they'd do what he asked."
"But they must be connected," says Jamie.
"I don't remember anybody strange at the place—they were all shifters," says Ash. "Unless they were there and blanked from my memory?"
"I think the memory blank happened elsewhere, otherwise your friends would've seen something," says Tobias.
"Maybe they were blanked too?"
"No, that would be too much to achieve without one person noticing. Unless they were drugged, but they seem to remember most things, don't they Ash?"
Ash nods. "I think they're hiding something, but they barely talk to me because I'm not ‘loyal' to Gilgamesh."
"Do you think this, and the attempt to frame Andrei, is connected to Lorna's death?" I ask.
"I don't know," says Tobias. "I hope they are, or we have two problems on our hands and we need to narrow down which one is a threat to Jamie." Tobias nods at Jamie. "We haven't forgotten you. And until we manage to remove the block in Ash's mind, we need to watch Vincent—and each other—closely. Maeve, we need to practice your mental magic skills with Sofia and me."
"You're the better teacher," mumbles Andrei.
"Yes, but Maeve must still attend lessons with Sofia, as that is expected. I'll keep up the extra training. I am more skilled than Sofia at creating mental blocks; she can help you with the divination. Which brings me to my next point." Tobias shifts to face Ash. "Did you organise your party yet?"
Ash's eyes widen. "Gilgamesh weren't allowed to mix until today. I haven't had a chance yet. Do you think this is a good idea?"
"We need your to be seen publicly challenging him, because that way we may be able to draw him out. I believe we need to see how Vincent and his followers behave, perhaps study Vincent a little closer."
My stomach lurches. "You're not suggesting I try to mind-read him, are you?"
"I don't think Maeve should approach Vincent," says Andrei in alarm.
"No. I'd like her to watch what happens. We can't walk in guns blazing, trying to take him down."
"Have you spoken to Theodora about Vincent?" I ask Tobias.
He links his fingers together in his lap. "No. I have not."
"Do you suspect her?" Jamie can't hide the horror in his voice.
"No, I'd rather we found out what was in Ash's memories first before revealing what we know to anybody. Theodora is careful who she trusts, but we can't discount others finding out."
Ash looks up, eyes hopeful. "Can we try tonight?"
Tobias shakes his head. "Tomorrow morning."
Ash drops back and smiles, the first I've seen all evening. "Sounds good. I'll arrange the party and get the invites out. Hopefully by then, I'll have my memories back."
The mood lifts. We've still more questions than answers, but have a new determination to find them. A unity growing as others' falls apart.
Tobias gestures at Jamie. "Have you found anything about the building yet? Any clues to what's beneath the school. I refuse to believe Maeve's visions are merely hallucinations, especially after the experience in the sanctum last term."
"No, but I'll keep trying."
"And what do we do about Jamie's issue?" I interrupt.
"Work with Sofia on that. At some point, a clearer location will appear. I suspect the darkness and fog in your visions is something clouding the future." Tobias checks his watch. "I have somewhere I need to be."
"Where?" Jamie's response is quick and filled with suspicion.
He sighs. "If my movements are that important, then I'll tell you. I'm going to bed. Is that acceptable?"
"Yes," mumbles Jamie.
"Alone?" says Andrei slyly. "Or meeting somebody?"
I fix my eyes on a spot on the wall as his question echoes my conversation with Tobias.
Ignoring Andrei's impertinent question, he leaves. Andrei chuckles. "Sensitive, much?"
"You're a douche sometimes, Andrei," says Jamie.
Andrei shrugs, stands, and follows Tobias out of the door.
Chapter Forty-Four
MAEVE
As we leave the cottage, I hook my arm through Jamie's as he stifles a yawn. "Another long day."
"Yep."
Ash appears the other side of me and winds an arm around my waist. He pulls me towards him and plants a kiss on my head. There's a lightness to him despite having no answers, as if telling others released a burden from him.
"Will Tobias work on your memories soon?" I ask, looking behind at the professor locking the cottage door.
"I hope so."
Andrei rests against the wall outside the cottage, legs crossed at the ankles and face tipped to the starry sky. He turns his head as he sees us and rubs his neck. "Anybody wanna come out with me?"
"Out where?" I ask.
"Off campus. I don't want to be stuck in Petrescu another night. A lot of them are arseholes to me too, as if I'm to blame for house wars."
"Now?" asks Ash "It's one a.m."
He shrugs. "Maeve?"
"Uh. No. I'm pretty tired too."
Andrei pouts at me. "At least stay and talk for a while."
I look to Jamie, who gives a small shake of his head. I'm tempted to go with him and Ash, but Andrei needs company and support—I'm sure the others understand. Besides, I want words with Andrei about the drugs, as I promised Tobias.
Tobias walks by with a gruff good night and we watch him go. "I'll stay with you, Andrei, but I'm not heading off campus."
He grins. "Sounds good to me."
"I'll catch you in the morning," I say to Ash and Jamie.
Ash tips his head. "You sure?"
"I can handle Andrei, don't worry."
"That's what he's hoping," Jamie says under his breath and I frown at him. "Just saying. Watch yourself with a high vampire."
"Don't fuss. I'll be okay."
I'm unsure how convinced they are, but the pair walk away and Jamie glances over his shoulder as they do.
Andrei doesn't shift from his spot, watching me laconically from beneath his dark fringe until they disappear into the dark. Once they do, he pulls himself away from the wall and approaches. My heart stutters as his hand curls around the back of my neck and mouth moves towards mine.
Before our lips touch, I place a hand on his chest. "Andrei."
"Uh huh." His lips brush mine and I ignore the desire the touch arouses, refusing to respond until we've spoken. "You okay?" he asks and steps back.
"You're taking drugs."
He huffs and crosses his arms. "That doesn't matter. Makes no difference to you."
"Andrei, it does matter. I know what happened recently has affected you badly, but you need something better than drugs to help you cope. Tobias feels the same."
He takes my hand and tugs me towards him, sliding his hand along my back as he rests himself against the wall. My scalp tingles as his fingers push into my hair. "You help me cope, Maeve."
I'll forever associate the scent of mint with Andrei, and how he makes me feel, which isn't helping the situation. He moves his lips across my face, gentle kisses at odds with Andrei's usual style.
"You'd taken drugs on the night I spent with you."
"So?" He pulls me tighter against his hard chest.
"Is that what influenced you? Were you disconnected from me?" The thought tumbled in my head the moment Tobias told us Andrei uses drugs to switch off. Was he switched off from me?
"Uh. I don't kn
ow how much more connected two people could be than we were, Maeve." He smiles and I sigh at him.
"Yes, but did the drugs create a distance?"
When he doesn't reply, I disentangle myself from his hands to move away. The pause before he answers hurts as much as his next words. "A little? I don't know." He reaches for my hands. "Maeve, you know how overwhelmed I am by you. The witch blood is a huge problem for me, you know that too."
"So, without the drugs you would've attacked me?" I ask in hoarse shock.
Andrei bites the edge of his lip. "I don't think so."
"You don't think so?" I push his arm from me and move back again, his nonchalant reaction pissing me off. "'No' would've been a better answer."
"I don't think I'm able to attack you," he says earnestly. "You mean too much to me; you're not only a witch. You know that. The drugs just help switch off the urge."
I swat his hands away. "Omigod, Andrei. Do you understand how this puts a different spin on the night? That you had to be high to have sex with me."
"No! The drugs were wearing off when you walked into my room."
"But still in your system."
He reaches out to me again, hand on my cheek as worry flickers across his face. "Maeve. I swear I felt everything that happened—emotional and physical—and I'd do that again in a heartbeat, without drugs."
I take a deep breath. "I want to help you, Andrei. I love and care about you, but this worries me. How can I get close to you if you're not yourself?"
He pulls himself from the wall again and frowns. "I am myself."
"In my world, I'd call this self-medicating. This isn't occasional drugs at a club. You're using drugs to hide your pain. To stop yourself feeling again. This pushes me away."
"I'm not pushing you away. That's what you're doing right now."
I drag a hand through my hair. Is this the only way I can help Andrei? I hate to push him, but I need to. "I can't spend time alone with you while you're sabotaging yourself, Andrei. If you want me to help you in other ways, talking things through or—"
"You don't understand," he blurts, face darkening. "You don't fucking understand what I've been through." Andrei wraps his arms around himself. "I need to forget."
I falter in my anger and touch his hand. "What happened? Did someone hurt you?"
"I spent three days convinced I'd die. Two days in Ravenhold hearing whispered death threats from those who hate the Dominion. I was trapped—in my head and in that nightmarish place. I didn't think I'd come back!" His hands shake as he moves them into his pockets. "Sorry if how I cope isn't good enough for you."
He triggers memories of how I felt while he was away; the worry and grief I fought by fighting for him. "I'm sorry this happened to you, Andrei."
I wrap my arms around his stiffened figure but he doesn't hug me back. "The worst part? This will happen again."
His tone is as rigid as his body and I squeeze him tighter. "We can help you. I'll always help you."
"And look what happened when you did." He takes both my forearms in his hands and holds me away, eyes brighter. "You almost died helping me. Why the fuck would I want someone to die for me?"
He's jittery, less in control and worrying me. "I didn't know what would happen—and I didn't die. We protect and help each other," I say, gritting my teeth. Andrei stares at his shoes and I take on a gentler tone. "Don't disappear again. I've only just met the real Andrei."
He opens his mouth to say something and I interrupt, "And don't you dare tell me you're not worth helping, or I'll slap you."
I manage to pull a small smile from him. "I might like that."
"Andrei," I warn.
He rests his forehead on mine. "Let me cope in the way I know how."
"I can't," I whisper. "You need to reach out to us for help, not bury yourself."
"Maeve." I shiver as his lips brush mine again, my mouth parting until I almost yield to him.
"Come back to me when you're not high," I murmur. "I want to kiss the Andrei I fell in love with, not a half-person."
He huffs. "This is over-the-top. Look at me—I'm not dangerous to you if I've taken Lix."
I chew on my lip. Over the top? Maybe. My heavy heart worries I'm pushing him away when he needs me, but if I allow Andrei to continue, he'll disappear back into the shadows in his head.
"I'm not saying I don't want you around, or that I feel any differently about you." I reach out to touch his face. "But I want to be with the guy I fell in love with, not one buried under drugs."
He frowns. "I still think you're being ridiculous."
"Will you stop?" I ask, eyes fixed on his.
He dips his head and my heart sinks. "So, you are rejecting me?" he says to his shoes.
"No, Andrei. I will spend as much time with you as you want and need from me to help. I'll be here for you—we all will. But if you don't stop the drugs, I can't go any further with you." He looks up and my stomach twists into a sickening knot. I wind my arms around him and hold his tense figure to me until he relaxes.
The temptation to escape from everything with one of Andrei's kisses grows as the warmth between us spreads, but for now this is the right thing to do. He holds me tightly, face buried in my hair, close to my neck but I don't flinch. "I can't kiss you or be with you in that way until we fix this, but you can have all the hugs you need." I murmur against his chest.
His breath ruffles my hair as he sighs. "And when I stop?"
I smile. When not if. "You can have all the kisses you want."
Andrei doesn't reply, holding on to me as if someone might yank him away from all that's good in his life again. Am I enough to drag him back onto the path and away from the past that's calling him again?
Chapter Forty-Five
ASH
Tobias tried to pry into my mind, but we both ended the session frustrated when he saw nothing. Neither of us suffered any bad physical effects, because he barely managed to touch my mind. Does the possibility Maeve's powers are more potent than his upset him?
I can't get the thought of what the scales might mean out of my mind. I half-expected to wake up shifted the day after Maeve saw them. The scales are still there, the soft patch on my skin heralding a future I might meet too soon. Deep down, I understand what will trigger the next step for me.
Anger.
The best way to channel my anger with Vince right now is to continue with my party plans. I might get another beating for organising this, but I'm not bothered if this moves me closer to discovering what Vincent's plans are—and helps reveal what he left in my head.
A few bruises are nothing compared to what Maeve suffered trying to help Andrei. I'm the one close enough to Vince to catch a slip up—and he knows this.
I invite the Walcott girls who were close to Lorna, plus the guys from the rugby team and their girls. The invites happen quietly, in class and outside; the traditional Ash weekend party held again.
Andrei refuses to come to the party; he barely leaves Petrescu anyway. A good decision, since Lorna's friends are here, and Yvette won't let go of her opinion he's guilty and there's been a cover up.
I set up the common room the way I always do—beers, rum, vodka, and the usual mixers. Pizzas are ordered from the place in town where the poor delivery guy is glamoured, in case he sees something odd inside the academy gates when guards collect from him.
Everything's the same as any party, from the drinks and food, to the music filling the common room. But nothing is the same as the last time that Ash, the most popular guy in school, organised one.
I don't hold that position anymore, and I'm relieved I'm no longer as popular. The pressure is off and I'm free to be myself with no pretence. The problem is, those taking over will cause trouble.
I sense Vince before he speaks, as I tip corn chips into big plastic bowls. Once, I loved these evenings. Now, I'm dreading what the night holds. This attempt to reunite Walcott and Gilgamesh could end in disaster.
And the man standing b
ehind me might ensure that's the outcome.
Vince reaches over my shoulder to grab a slice of pizza. "Quite the party host, aren't you?"
I turn to face him, bowl in hand. "Legendary."
He snorts at me and I study the guy close up, confused how he looks exactly like my brother with his green eyes and cropped hair; the guy I resemble but only physically. Even the clothes he wears are similar to mine—tonight he's in the same Gilgamesh rugby shirt and jeans.
"I heard a rumour the party isn't only for Gilgamesh. Is that right?" he asks and takes a bite of pizza.
"Correct. Excuse me." I make to walk past him and he curls a hand around my bicep. "Get your hands off me," I say in warning. "Any more bruises, and I'm headed straight to Theodora. I'm not putting up with your shit anymore."
The surprise on Vince's face is worth whatever happens to me later. "You won't have any choice once I take over from Professor O'Reilly."
"Like that's gonna happen. You've no qualifications." This time I push past without an ‘excuse me'.
"Is your witch girl coming here tonight?" he asks coldly.
"Maeve? Yeah. And Jamie."
"And the Petrescu kid?"
I turn. "You know their names; use them. No, Andrei isn't coming. The poor guy barely leaves the house building."
"At least you have some loyalty." Vince looks at me as if each word I say insults the family name.
"Yeah, I do. To my friends and not the guy who smacks me around."
His eyes narrow. "You have to learn how to respect your elders and stop trying to push me. This is how shifters deal with kids who walk the wrong side of the line."
I stare. Vince's words and attitude become worse every day, and each day I need to bite my tongue and try to pick up clues.
The sole clue I have is that he's a bully with too much influence over weak-minded kids looking for a strong leader. What else would I expect from a bunch of shifters?
"Keep her away from me." Vince grabs a beer and shoves the rest of the pizza in his mouth.
"I intend to. Don't feel obliged to come to the party if witches offend you."
Vince swigs from the bottle. "It's not me you need to worry about," he says as he wanders away.