“I wanted to get Chase off the platform,” Ana says. “I mean, he was so close. Right there in the same room as us. But Gaius said we wouldn’t be able to get through the witches’ shield and that we had to stick to the plan. Get out and regroup before attempt number two.”
“Yes, and I still think that was the right thing to do,” Gaius says.
“We did search for you, Calla,” Lumethon adds, looking over at me. “We didn’t just abandon you. We called and called, we searched the crowd, we looked around the courtyard and the nearby rooms, but eventually we had to leave. We got one of the last carriages.”
“I understand,” I tell her. “That was the plan, so I’m glad you stuck to it. If not, you’d probably be trapped in the palace and we’d be out here waiting for you to come find us.”
“Fine, I guess the plan was sensible,” Ana admits. “Oh, and Gaius made us sleep in the carriage on the flight back. Can you imagine that? Trying to sleep after seeing the Queen beheaded and Chase looking like … well … you know.”
“Considering we planned to remove our costumes and gather our things immediately upon getting home and come straight back here to fight our new Queen,” Gaius says, “sleep seemed like a good idea.”
“So what’s our plan now?” Kobe asks, bringing the conversation back to the matter at hand. “How will we get through the dome of magic protecting the palace?”
“We don’t have to,” I say, since Chase’s mouth is still occupied with his dinner. “We can get back in through the royal family’s escape tunnel. Chase can open it for us since, you know, royal blood and all that.”
“Wicked,” Ana says with a grin.
“We’ll just have to draw the centaurs away from the tunnel trapdoor.”
“Easy enough,” Darius says with a shrug. “Cool, so shall we go now?”
“Well, Chase … hasn’t yet regained his full strength,” I say, trying to avoid offending him by using the word ‘weak.’ “We were planning to go back tomorrow. Early in the morning before it’s light.” And I’m trying to avoid using my Griffin Ability to conceal everyone.
Darius looks around the group with raised eyebrows. “Am I the only one feeling a sense of urgency here?”
“No, you are not,” Lumethon says with a sigh. “But taking Angelica down is likely to be a whole lot easier if Chase is as strong as possible.”
“Unless there’s a morioraith hanging around,” Chase says. “We’ll need to be prepared for that.”
“We are,” Gaius says. “We brought bells. Not ideal, but I’m afraid I don’t own any gongs, and attempting to create some would have taken time.”
“Bells?” Chase repeats. “That old set of handbells from the storage room?”
“Yes, the ones my father owned. If you enlarge them before ringing them, they produce quite a deep, full reverberation. Should be enough to get a morioraith to back off.”
I look at Gaius’s backpack, which isn’t all that big. “I assume you shrunk these bells before coming here?”
“Oh, yes, of course. They’re tiny. We can each take one in a pocket. Just be ready to use an enlarging spell.”
Chase nods. “Okay. Everything will be fine, then. Angelica can’t begin the spell until the moon is high tomorrow night. We’ll have stopped her by then.”
“Wait, hang on,” I say as my mind runs once again through the details I saw in the visions. “If Angelica doesn’t have you—” I look at Chase “—how will she produce the massive amount of energy required to tear through the veil? You know, that lightning bolt from the visions.”
“That energy doesn’t have to come from me,” Chase says. “In fact, in the original visions, I don’t think it was ever meant to come from me.”
“But … in the vision my mother had, there was a man—which would have been you if this had been carried out years ago—who climbed onto the monument. He held the trident and it started glowing as the witch began her spell. I assumed the glow and the bright flash at the end both resulted from your power.”
“That was my first thought, but then what about the third vision? Remember all those people in the tower? The dozens and dozens who were killed?” I nod as I reach forward for another few strawberries. “The amount of magical energy released from that many people would be far more powerful than any lightning bolt I could produce.”
I pause with a strawberry halfway toward my mouth. “You’re saying the energy could come from … people?”
Beside me, Ana nods. “Elizabeth was explaining this on the way here. You know what happens to magical energy when someone dies, right?”
“Yes. It’s released into nature. It can’t be captured. Although,” I add as my mind spins back through everything I’ve heard, “Tharros somehow did it, didn’t he? He stored magic in those griffin discs.”
“Possibly,” Chase says, leaning back on his hands now that he’s finished eating. “I’ve done a lot of reading on the subject, and the stories have become mixed up over time. Some say Tharros had those six discs long before he was killed and that he used witch magic to transfer his—and possibly other fae—magic into the discs. Others say the discs were created after his death in order to lock the chest, and during the magical locking process, some of his power was transferred into those discs. Others say that both stories are true: The discs were already in existence, and the reason they were used to lock the chest was because Tharros’s magic was so powerful it could only be contained by equally powerful magic. In other words, his own.”
“I think the Guild’s official explanation is the second one,” Gaius says. “They obviously don’t like to make reference to any story that could include the capturing of a person’s energy.”
“So … is it possible then?” I ask.
“Yes.” Elizabeth leans forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “The witches have rituals for capturing energy from other beings. Other fae have learned these rituals over time.”
“So that’s why Angelica and Amon are working with witches,” I say. “Well, just Angelica now, since she’s clearly going ahead without Amon.” Now the words I overheard yesterday make sense. We prepared for this before leaving Creepy Hollow. Together, we have the magical energy of at least fifty men. I shudder at the thought. Did all those men come from Creepy Hollow?
“So that’s why I think the power to rip through the veil was never meant to be my power,” Chase says, “I assume that in the vision, I was the one who absorbed all the released energy from those people and channeled it into the trident. But I think anyone could do that part. Anyone who knows the witch rituals, at least.”
“What do you think the Guild’s doing about this?” Ana asks. “I bet they’re feeling like total idiots for letting Angelica go free.”
“Well, if the Queen—the previous Queen—told them to free Angelica,” Gaius says, “they probably couldn’t say no. And the Guild didn’t know about the visions at that point, did they?” Gaius looks at me.
“No, my mother’s interrogations began the day after that.”
“The Guild is probably planning an attack as we speak,” Chase says. “Who knows, we may even end up fighting beside them tomorrow morning.”
“Ugh, what a nightmare,” Ana says. “Let’s make sure to stay out of their way.”
“Perhaps we should rest,” Kobe says, “seeing as we’re not doing anything until dawn.”
“Yes, good idea,” Gaius says. “Chase and Calla can sleep, and the rest of us can take turns to keep watch.”
“Oh, I’m fine,” I say, not wanting any special treatment. “I can also keep watch.”
Elizabeth stares me down. “You were fighting while we were resting. You need to sleep.” I can hear the threat behind her words. The threat to tell everyone about the curse if I don’t make sure I’m properly rested. I want to remind her that sleep doesn’t do nearly as much for me as her tonic does, but that would require explaining myself to everyone. I almost decide to do it, to blurt everything out instead of kee
ping the curse a secret from Chase and the rest of the team, but I remind myself that we may very well need my Griffin Ability to help defeat Angelica tomorrow. I can’t have everyone babying me and telling me not to use it.
So I keep silent as everyone shifts around, removing jackets to use as pillows and trying to make their tiny space as comfortable as possible. We’re all squished against each other, except for Lumethon and Gaius who agree to stay awake for the first part of the night. My exhausted body thanks me as I lower my head onto my rolled-up jacket. Chase, lying right beside me, reaches for my hand. My lips curl into a smile as my eyes slide shut, and I fall asleep with his hand wrapped around mine.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
An hour before dawn the following morning, we’re all ready to bring the threat of this veil-tearing vision to an end. Well, almost all of us. I had hoped to be more rested, but I’m nearly as tired as I was last night. Instead of dwelling on what this means about the curse and how far it’s progressed, I focus on our plan: find Angelica and stun her. Find the witches and stun them. Immobilize all three women and wait until the Guild arrives before disappearing back through the tunnels.
Yeah. I’m almost certain it isn’t going to be that easy.
Getting back into the tunnel goes smoothly enough, though. Darius and Kobe draw the centaurs away from the trapdoor, then circle back to join us in the tunnel. At the other end, we place the communication spell on ourselves before Chase carefully opens the trapdoor into the greenhouse. We thought guards might be stationed here, or even the witches. We considered magical beasts, or weapons rigged to fly through the air as soon as we climb out of the tunnel. But nothing moves to attack us as Chase pushes the trapdoor back. He stays on the stairs and throws a stone up through the opening. An alarm that sounds like voices screaming blares through the silence.
“Well, there goes the element of surprise,” Ana says.
“Yeah, but we didn’t think we’d have that for long.” Gaius replies.
Elizabeth peers up the stairs. “So that’s it? Just an alarm?”
Chase throws another stone, but nothing else happens. We ascend the stairs and push bushes aside as we step into the greenhouse—and that’s when the real obstacle becomes apparent: A translucent layer of silver—a miniature version of the dome-like shield protecting the palace—covers the whole of the greenhouse.
“So she plans to trap us here,” Chase says above the screeching alarm. “That’s probably why it was so easy to draw the centaurs away from the tunnel. They wanted us to get inside. No doubt they’ve returned and will do everything in their power to keep that trapdoor from opening.”
“Horrible woman,” Ana says. “She’s probably on her way here right now.”
“Let’s not waste any time then.” Chase pushes his way through the bushes to the path running along the center of the greenhouse. “Now would probably be a good time for everyone to block their ears. And perhaps cover your eyes. Actually, use a bit of magic and cover yourself with a shield. I think I’m about to bring the greenhouse down.”
I do as he says, pressing my fingers into my ears and covering myself with magic. Seconds later, bright light illuminates the world beyond my eyelids and a crack of thunder rips through the air. Glass shatters around me, glancing off the layer of magic that envelops my body. Silence reigns as the pattering of glass comes to an end. I guess Chase’s magic shattered through the screaming alarm as well as through the glass. I peek through one half-open eyelid. “Did it work?”
“Not yet,” Chase says. “I thought that would be strong enough, but … I’ll try again.”
“Are you strong enough?” Darius asks.
“Yes. I just wasn’t expecting this much power from the witches.”
The second flash of light is almost bright enough to burn through my eyelids. The crackle and crash, the shudder of earth, the shockwave rushing through the air—it’s enough to leave me breathless. I open my eyes and slowly remove my fingers from my ears, which are ringing despite the fact that I blocked them. “I’m guessing that worked?”
“Yes. Come on, let’s get moving. Spread out and begin searching,” Chase instructs. “Gather stunner magic as you go. Don’t hesitate if you see a witch or Angelica. If you can get them into the dungeon while they’re stunned, even better. And keep verbal communication to a minimum; it can be distracting.”
We step out of the greenhouse into the quiet, still gardens. Stars still sprinkle the sky above us, but along the horizon, a patch of purple-gray indicates the coming dawn. “Hang on.” I point to an empty patch of the garden. “Isn’t that where we saw the monument?”
“Damn, that thing must be easier to move than the merpeople let on,” Darius says. “Was there anything in one of the visions that might indicate where the monument needs to be for the spell to happen?”
“There was a tower,” I say, “although the actual spell didn’t happen there, and I don’t remember the tower in the vision looking like the towers here. So perhaps the spell can happen anywhere as long as Angelica has the mer statue and a full moon.”
“Well, keep an eye out for the statue while you’re searching,” Chase tells everyone. “Let’s go.”
We separate into our smaller prearranged groups. Darius and Kobe remain outside to begin their search of the grounds. Ana, Lumethon and Gaius aim for the thick, twisting vines covering part of the walls on the left side of the palace. Vines they climb easily before hoisting themselves onto a balcony and slipping through an open door. Chase, Elizabeth and I hurry toward the right side of the palace, where we duck into the courtyard that leads to the elevator.
We choose a symbol at random on the dial—a tiny picture of a book—and the elevator carries us up, sideways, and up again before opening into a library far grander than any I’ve stepped foot in before. Endless shelves of gold-embossed spines rise from floor to ceiling. Does anyone ever read these books? Are they real, or simply empty pages displayed for show?
“I doubt Angelica’s in here,” Chase whispers, “but let’s take a quick look anyway.”
I remove my two knives from my boots and grip them tightly as we peer down rows of books and into the recesses each tall window is set into. Cushioned seats form comfortable reading nooks beneath each window, but each is as empty as the last. We tread silently on the carpet, and the only thing I hear are the occasional words whispered directly into my ear via the communication spell. As long as I don’t hear urgency in anyone’s voice, I ignore the murmurs from my teammates who are searching elsewhere in the palace.
As we reach the other end of the library, Chase stops and raises a finger to his lips. Listen, he mouths. I stand still, barely breathing as I listen intently. Seconds of silence pass before a faint echo reaches us. The echo of footsteps.
“How can there be footsteps,” Elizabeth whispers, “if the library is carpeted?”
I look up to the second level of the library, a mezzanine filled with more towering shelves of books and ringed by an ornamental railing. “Perhaps there’s no carpet up there.” We head upstairs and find the same carpet covering the floor, but the footsteps are still audible, closer now than before. We follow the sound, but every time I dart around a shelf, convinced I’m about to see something, I find the space empty.
“Split up,” Chase whispers. “Look out for doors along the edge of the room. There may be passages running through the library walls.”
We move off in different directions. My solo search turns up no doors or hidden passages. At one point, I hear the footsteps above me, but then they sound to my left. I’m almost certain now that this is a spell of some sort, not genuine footsteps, but I continue left anyway. I peek around another shelf and narrow my eyes at the empty space on the other side, wondering if something invisible is waiting there, watching me. As I continue staring, I feel a presence behind me, a tingle of magic in the air. With my heart thumping in my chest, I whip around, slashing an X through the air with both knives—but there’
s nothing there.
“They’re playing with us,” I whisper, slowly turning on the spot and looking all around me.
“I know,” Chase replies from wherever he is. “Taunting us. I’m getting tired of it. If they won’t come out and face us, then let’s—”
At that moment, the reverberating clang of a bell breaks through the silence. Over and over it rings, the sound bouncing across the library. “I’m by the stairs!” Elizabeth shouts into our ears.
I spin around and run as the clanging of the bell comes to a sudden stop. I’m out from between the shelves and racing alongside the balcony when I see her at the top of the stairs, her arms raised and magic flashing in the air above her. The bell lies discarded on the floor. Chase reaches her side before I do, but she’s already got things under control. Within a spherical shield of magic, a black form rebounds in every direction off the inner surface of the shield, rapidly stretching apart and pulling together, and occasionally shifting into black smoke. A morioraith. “I got it,” Elizabeth says breathlessly as I stop beside her.
Gaius’s voice sounds in my ear: “Everyone okay?”
“Yes. I saw it coming. Got the bell out just in time.” Her arms move in response to the twisting, reforming sphere. “Can you get rid of this thing?” she asks Chase. “I’m kinda struggling to keep it contained.”
He lifts his hands and adds his own magic to the sphere. “I’ve got it. You can let go.” He moves toward the nearest window, so I run ahead of him and push it open. Outside, the edge of the sun has just broken across the horizon. I step aside. Chase stands at the window with the sphere floating just ahead of him and throws his arm forward. The trapped morioraith soars through the air. A second later, lightning zigzags down and strikes it. In the thundering boom that follows, I search the air and the garden, looking for black smoke or a dripping black creature. “I don’t know if that worked,” Chase says, “but I don’t see it anywhere.”
We head downstairs and out a different door. We’ve barely looked both ways down the corridor before laughter echoes toward us from the left. “More games?” I murmur.
A Faerie's Curse (Creepy Hollow #6) Page 21