Damned if it hasn’t gotten awfully complicated.
But it’s gone far enough.
Alec and Montague were busy arguing over whether there was any way for them to stop Piers without making things worse, while I was slouched against the wall. Part of the group, but not entirely. Not anymore. It wasn’t just about Charlotte. They didn’t know if they could trust me, and they weren’t wrong.
“I’m going to talk to Piers alone,” I said.
“What good will that do?” Montague asked. “He doesn’t seem to like you all that much either.”
“But blood is blood,” I said.
More importantly—Charlotte’s sinistral blood might be giving her power. I was going to appeal to Piers from the only angle that would be sure to work.
As I walked up the stairs to the dean’s office, I heard heated voices. His door was shut. I pressed my ear against it. Time for me to find out just how much of a dick my cousin really was.
“We’re carrying it out tomorrow morning,” Piers said. “Although I’m not sure it’ll have the result you want. She has already chosen Wyrd.”
“Sure, sound so cavalier about it,” a female voice responded. I think it might have been Charlotte’s great-aunt. “We can’t let her tap into the power of Wyrd.”
“The faeries will never let her have more than a taste. That’s what they do. They never let Samuel in.”
“They were considering it,” she said. He must have been talking to her via magical means because her voice sounded distant but clear as a bell.
“How do you know that? I was under the impression you had no contact with him anymore.”
“I hear everything.”
“I don’t think Charlotte is even worth worrying over,” Piers said. “She seems like kind of an airhead to me. Daisy has a brain under her act, but I don’t know about this one. I think she’s been corrupted by TV or rap or whatever corrupts kids these days.”
I bristled. Where did he get off? He barely even knew Charlotte.
“She’s your only real relative,” he said. “Maybe you should just…let her live her life. I’m afraid that all these measures are only driving her toward, if not Wyrd, then Sinistral.”
Hmm. It actually sounded like Piers didn’t think Charlotte was worth all he was putting her through. I’m not sure that was mercy so much as underestimating her, but if her great-aunt was the one nudging him to hurt her, then…
“And those two boys who follow her around everywhere will go with her. Same with my cousin, I’m afraid.”
“Harrison? Yes. I’ve heard,” she said knowingly.
“Here is what I propose,” Piers said. “The vampire and the incubus? They seem to be fond of her now, but it’s in their nature to pursue women. They could be distracted by other matches, if they don’t turn sinistral in the end. But my cousin struggles with betraying the family even as he keeps flirting with the darker side of magic. If we encourage a marriage between my cousin and your niece, it will be a marriage of two great families, and offer them both a distraction from a dark path.”
Marriage? Charlotte and me? My adrenaline spiked. My base instincts had wanted Charlotte from the day she arrived, and especially now that I knew she was with both of my best friends. But I had been trying so hard to resist a bad decision that would ruin both of our lives forever. Now, Piers was actually suggesting it was a good idea?
Charlotte…all mine…
It was something I had dreamed about so many times.
Hearing it now, it wasn’t as appealing as I thought. She was already with Alec and Montague. If they suffered for it, that wasn’t how I wanted it to go.
What would it be like to share her with them? Damn, I tried not to let my brain go there. Why should I share my wife?
My brain flashed over a tangle of limbs, Charlotte full of them, her eyes glazed with pleasure, kissing Alec and then Montague, and then…me.
Me.
I was welcome there. The vision was hot as hell, but it was also surprisingly…nice. It was a place I could trust. I saw her asleep between them now. Safe and loved, in a way I hadn’t felt since I was so very young that my sisters liked pretending I was their kid and putting me to bed. My parents certainly didn’t; they believed a parents duty was to instruct and mold, not coddle. But Alec, I knew, was a loyal friend and a gentle person, despite his raging libido. Montague had always seemed like he didn’t have a care in the world until the vampire thing happened; that unfortunate event had matured him without ruining him. He was the only person who could get me to laugh at something stupid, because he wouldn’t judge you for it.
I shut my eyes. I wanted it. I wanted all of it. I knew it would ruin what I thought my life was, but…
I don’t even know if they’ll have me. A witch with an incubus and a vampire is one thing, but I’m Harrison von Hapsburg Nicolescu. God, the world will laugh at me. Shun me. Ask why I can’t get a girl all to myself. Ask why I would ruin my reputation. And Charlotte, Alec and Montague all know that I care about that stuff, that I’m not like them.
I thought of her locked in that church, all alone. Maybe Firian was with her, at least, but it was so dark and somber inside, and the sky looked like rain.
“Have you seen any indication the girl is still keeping her familiar around?”
“No,” Piers said readily.
That was a lie. Charlotte could still be seen with Firian. Not as often as before, but not never either, which was a lot more time than any other student spent with their familiar.
My cousin wasn’t exactly what I would call a nice guy. He had set up this marriage with Daisy, after all. I knew all he wanted was power. If he was lying about Charlotte hanging out with Firian, I knew it was only to keep her in his clutches and not have her go to the witches. It seemed like everyone was out for blood.
“Piers, you can set her up with Harris if you think it’s best, but I still want the thing done. I want the blood of those wolves wiped from her and the Order’s methods will do it. I want all evidence of my sister’s crimes wiped from the record. My parents were lenient with my sister and she was lenient with her daughter in turn. I will not make the same mistake. Charlotte hasn’t had discipline, that’s the trouble. She’s just a girl, so this is our last chance. I don’t care if she fears you, or me either. I’d rather have her fear you than end up losing her magic, working for a demon, insane or dead.”
“That is a very good point,” Piers said. “Well, I have a ward on the church so she can’t leave and those boys can’t get in, and I will perform the ceremony tomorrow morning, as planned, but I think we need to consider how we can gently remove other bad influences from her life as well. I don’t want to offend the Xarras or the Lyrmans, but we both agree that they no longer belong here, yes?”
“Yes, although I do like the idea of the vampire clan actually taking out the Withered Lord for us, and Montague is a part of the deal, so…tread carefully.”
This was not good. She was the one who had cursed Firian. Charlotte was miserable without him. It sounded like nothing would convince Catherine to break that spell and let her be with him again.
Worse, their plans seemed to reach far. They wanted to remove Alec and Montague from school, keep Firian a fox forever, and…marry her to me?
No. I can’t be with her unless I deserve her.
I never fell in love with Daisy because I knew she would be miserable in the marriage, and she would change to fit in. She would understand that she had no other choice.
I couldn’t let Charlotte be like that.
I turned from the door in disgust. No use talking to Piers. I didn’t know what I could say to convince him not to ‘purify’ Charlotte.
I walked softly back down the stairs. The guard at the door nodded to me. “Stay dry,” he said, as the first drops of a rainstorm were starting to fall. I knew Piers would find out I had been there, but no help for that.
I ducked behind one of the buildings at the farthest corner of the gate and
cast a concealing spell on myself. I checked the gate for wards. Breaking wards was one of my best talents, especially since these weren’t meant to keep students in so much as to keep enemies out. I only had to weaken them a little. Then I climbed the gate, my muscles straining as I hauled myself over. It would be a huge help to have Alec or Monty with me, but I didn’t want to get them in trouble.
I ran into the darkness, pelted by rain, to the only experienced magic user we could trust. I didn’t have much time. Hopefully, Stuart would know how to stop purification spells.
The downpour hit when I was about a mile deep into the woods, with a long way to go. The trees helped shield me from the worst of it, but it turned the warm day to a clammy chill, and despite the light spell cast on my wand, I could only see a short way ahead, light shimmering on wet leaves while the din of rain pelting the forest roared in my ears.
“Pretty unpleasant place to take a walk.”
“Shit!” I whirled, ready with an attack spell, only to see Firian walking behind me. “What are you doing out here?”
“What happened to her?” he asked. “She hasn’t called me, but I know she’s distressed. I appeared outside the gates just in case the council was watching for me. Then I saw you out here.”
It was deeply strange for a familiar to show up in the presence of another magic user and start talking, but I already knew Firian was strange. And the worry in his eyes? I knew what that was like.
“They locked her in the chapel overnight, with plans to purify her of her sinistral blood in the morning.”
“This school was a lot more fun before the dystopia kicked in,” Firian said.
“It’s the same old battle. Clearly they feel that Master Blair was too soft on everyone, and they’re probably not wrong. I wanted to learn how brutal the world can be.”
Firian glanced behind him, concern for Charlotte plain on his face. Foxes were very expressive. “So what are you out here for?”
“I’m going to talk to Stuart.”
“I see.”
I kept walking, and Firian followed me. I didn’t mention I was glad for the company, and he didn’t thank me for being out here in the miserable rain to help his witch.
But, we understood each other.
Chapter Thirteen
Charlotte
It’s probably not surprising information that a cold, dark, empty church is as creepy as a haunted house. Especially a church built in the 1880s, where everything was as ornate as a gilded theater, but more somber. The cavernous room was shadowed with a huge carved altarpiece with figures of the Virgin Mary and some saints looking down on me, and even the smell was eerie, this sweet wood-candle-incense aroma that seemed very ancient and reminded of funerals. There was a lamp post outside one of the stained glass windows, I guess, so that one window had a soft glow behind it and the rest were very dark.
I looked for the light-switches, but I couldn’t actually find any. Did the church even have electricity? Maybe it didn’t.
I climbed into a pew and huddled there so I didn’t have to look at any of it. “Thanks a lot, Harris…,” I muttered. “Woods might have been better.” I felt like calling Firian might be a bad idea, like I was being watched and judged.
But then, at some point, I heard the wind picking up outside, and then I heard thunder in the distance. So maybe not.
I tried to sleep, but it was impossible. Every sound had me shooting up off the bench to investigate, and this building seemed to rattle in the wind and creak randomly. I heard this weird movement behind the pulpit. It sounded like something slapping against the floor.
I started thinking about how sometimes people used to be buried under the floors of churches. Ohmigod, what if someone is buried in here and their corpse is scratching at the stones to be let out?
I had probably been there a couple of hours at this point.
I also needed to find a bathroom. But I was terrified to leave my pew in case the pulpit zombie got me.
I took a deep breath. “It’s probably a mouse,” I told myself. I felt a little ridiculous, but I had dealt with demon-wolf attacks, demon-bat attacks, and dabbled in the dark arts at that point, so nothing seemed off the table. But how could a mouse make that noise?
At some point, I was either going to pee on the church floor, or find the bathroom, so I got up and crept around in the shadows, looking for the door. I finally found a dimly lit toilet, groping around in the dark for toilet paper and soap. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and for the first time, I confronted what this was really about.
The council said they wanted to purge my sinistral blood. What did that mean? Did my blood make me who I was? Would it hurt? The little boggart certainly seemed upset about it.
“I’m scared,” I whispered. “I don’t know what’s happening. I don’t want to lose my grandfathers’ blood…” I swallowed. “Samuel? Samuel…can you help me?”
The flopping sound continued. I huddled in the bathroom, heart pounding so hard I felt a little dizzy, but I started to feel like this was something I needed to confront.
You’re going to take on a demon and you’re afraid of a dark church and a weird noise? Come on.
So I mustered my strength and walked up to the pulpit.
There was a large white fish flailing around on the floor. Oh shit. It had been there for a while, then.
“Um…”
I had questions.
But there was no time for questions and the one thing that crossed my mind was Firian telling me how the rules of Etherium and Sinistral were different than our world, and more like fairy tales.
Maybe this fish was a mermaid. A wish-granting mermaid.
But for now, it was a fish. If it was a talking fish, it wasn’t volunteering anything. It was just suffering on a marble floor. So it was up to me. I sprang into action. I picked up the fish. This was not something I particularly relished doing, but I felt so bad for it. I didn’t want to just let it die. I rushed the fish into the bathroom and threw on the faucet. I had to grip the slippery, gross, wriggling fish under my arm while I shut the drain. Maybe this wasn’t good fish water, I don’t know. It was the best I could do.
When the fish got in the water, it seemed a bit listless.
“Oh—am I supposed to put you in the holy water?” This seemed like a moment in Fortune’s Favor. You’re stuck in a room with a puzzle to solve. Dying fish? Basin of mystical water? Duh. Once again, classic RPG.
So I ran the fish back out and put it in the stone basin near the entrance.
At this point, the fish seemed very sick, so I frantically cast a healing spell for good measure, although I wasn’t very good at those.
The fish vanished, leaving the water sparkling for a second.
My eyes darted around. I didn’t hear anything now.
“Did that have anything to do with anything?” I called. “Samuel…can you hear me?”
I told you not to rely on me. Use the resources around you, and the magic you have been taught.
Right. Classic RPG shit part two: if a wise elder teaches you a special new spell, then you should use that spell. Stuart told me I needed to practice my necromancy and keep from making emotional attachments to the dead.
I was pretty disappointed there was no mermaid though.
I crouched in front of the basin and lifted my wand, slowing my breath and focusing my concentration until I felt the shift, that subtle sense that the magical world was opening up to me. I was getting better at feeling it.
“O spirits, please guide me in your humble wisdom and tell me what the heck this fish is about. Thank you for your help.”
The faint, ghostly form of an old man appeared in front of me. He was dressed like a priest, and he had an old timey beard, so either he was a hipster priest who died a few years ago when his home-brew exploded, or he was a priest from back in the 1800s.
“Why are you in here, child?” he asked. “And why did you place a faery inside of the holy water?”
/> “It was dying on the floor. Did I mess it up? I’m really sorry. I’m not Catholic, although it’s very beautiful in here.” Best to compliment the ghost. “They locked me in here so they could purify my werewolf blood tomorrow, and then a dying faery fish appeared out of nowhere… I don’t know if you can help me. Maybe you don’t want to help me. Purifying people of werewolf blood might be something you’re into.”
“Do you wish to be purified of this blood of your kin?”
“Well, no.”
“Then, I would not recommend it. It seems this faery tested you, and because you did not hesitate to save her life, she offers you her protection.” He dipped his fingers in the holy water and brushed it on my brow. “The faeries had blessed water before us. Some day they might be gone, and humans will remain, but the rituals of this earth will bridge us. All things are connected, but it is usually only in death that we see it. Be well, Charlotte.”
He faded away.
I smiled. I hadn’t felt anything when he touched me, but when I brushed my brow, it was wet.
“He was cool,” I said. “But what about you, faery fish? Will I find out who you are?”
There was no answer. I guess I had to puzzle it out on my own for now. But at least, when I curled up on the pew again to sleep, all my fears seemed to have left me, and I dreamed until morning.
Chapter Fourteen
Harris
“It seems as if Charlotte has guarded herself against the purification spell,” Stuart said, after talking to his raven. “The faeries intervened and she passed their test. She is protected, this time.”
Firian’s ears lifted with subtle relief.
“The raven told you that?” I asked.
“That is what they do,” he said. “If you take the time to learn their language.”
“So I hurried all the way here in the rain…and she’s fine. I don’t need to do anything.”
“Are you angry that she fixed her own problem?”
“Of course not.” I fidgeted, as Stuart fed his raven some raven treats. “You seem very calm about everything I just told you. They were going to hurt her, and I just…I had to do something. Even if she can protect herself, they’ll just find another way. Don’t you want to put her somewhere safe?”
A Witch Among Warlocks: The Complete Series Box Set Page 58