It wasn’t thought out, it had just happened.
Could he commit premeditated murder?
Even if it was the woman responsible for so many evil things, only one of which was doing this terrible thing to him?
In his next breath, he was asking himself just who he was kidding. The monster inside was built to kill. To cause fear. To cause pain. To kill without mercy or care about the consequences. His heart stuttered, missing a few beats. Just talking about killing stirred the monster from its slumber. And that scared the crap out of him.
“Are you sure about this?” Ivan asked his mother. “There is no other way?”
“I wish there were, truly. But no. It is the only way to break magic as dark as what Juliska Blackwell has created. This curse is bonded to her. By blood. In order to break it, she must die. In order to be freed from it, Jae must be the one to break it. Unless you can talk her into releasing Jae from the bond and killing herself.” She added that point to prove just how unfortunate and desperate a situation it was.
“But why Jae? Why not someone else?”
“It’s the magic,” explained Isabella. “The one to take the life, ends the magic and breaks the bond.”
“So the other Scratchers?” asked Meghan.
“They’d be killable, and no longer tied to Juliska, but still Scratchers. Only the one who takes the life can free themselves from both the bond, and the magic. In this case, remove the beast inside. That’s the only way to undo what was done.”
Ivan twisted his head so he could catch Jae out of the corner of his eye. “I’ll help you do this. I won’t let you go through this alone.”
Jae wasn’t ready to face it yet, but he nodded just the same.
Ivan turned around and addressed the rest of the group.
“I think it’s time we move on. I’m actually thinking we should return to the banished camp and see if any progress has been made there. I know they’ll be making battle plans to steal back the Immortality Stone from Fazendiin.”
Isabella was worriedly pleased. “My son. Such a smart young man you are.”
Ivan’s attempts to hide his blushing face, failed. He didn’t feel smart and his motives were not entirely aimed at the battle to come. He felt a strange thing inside himself. Something he could not quite understand or describe. Something he didn’t want to understand. He needed to keep moving and keep busy so this thing stayed buried.
“Ivan’s probably right,” agreed Sebastien. “They won’t be able to sit back and let Fazendiin keep control of the Stone.”
Jae rejoined them, although not nearly as eager to move on.
“They could opt to challenge Juliska first,” added Ivan. “Instinct tells me their top concern will be the Stone, first, Juliska second. Mainly because we are not prepared to battle her yet; we don’t know what’s happening on the island right now. We’ll need time to prepare for that battle. The Stone however, cannot stay in the hands of the Grosvenor. So, back to the banished camp, everyone?” he asked, seeming to be in a hurry.
“I think this is a wise choice,” said Isabella.
Meghan, Sebastien, and Jae agreed as well.
Nona purred her agreement in Meghan’s mind.
“My parents will be furious that I disappeared without telling them again,” said Sebastien.
“I go where you guys go,” said Jae, with a complete lack of enthusiasm. Each step they took brought him a step closer to Juliska Blackwell, a woman he never wanted to see again. And now someone he’d have to kill if he ever wanted to be free of her.
“Nona, would you mind taking us all to the banished camp?” asked Meghan.
“Of course not,” purred the Catawitch in response.
“Not all of us,” said Isabella with slight trepidation.
“What do you mean?” asked Ivan and Meghan at once.
“I know neither of you want to hear this, but I cannot go with you. Not yet.”
“Why?” asked Meghan.
“What will you do? Stay here?” asked Ivan.
“Yes, I will stay here. My cave is my home, for now. It will not be forever,” she insisted. “As to the why, it isn’t time for me to go public yet. No, you don’t have to keep me a secret,” she added. “The timing just isn’t right for me to leave here yet. I’m afraid I cannot explain more.”
Meghan sighed. Still with all the cryptic. Was there ever going to be a day when it wasn’t like this? And the thought of leaving her so soon didn’t feel right. She glanced at Ivan and though he did not voice it, she sensed he felt the same. About the cryptic and the staying behind.
“I have something for you both,” Isabella told her children. “This way, we can stay in contact with each other as often as you need, or would like to.” She reached inside a pocket and took out a candle, made in her own image and handed it to Meghan.
“As a Firemancer, you know how this works, so I’ll give this to you. You can both feel free to contact me as often as you wish. I am here for you. At any time. Day or night. Whatever you need. You can even feel free to pop in and visit if the need or desire arises.”
“How about tomorrow?” said Meghan, half-joking, half-serious.
Ivan didn’t agree or disagree. He looked like he was just trying to keep it together. The overwhelm of it all was trying to bust out of him and he was pushing hard to keep it in.
Meghan took hold of the candle and secured it in her hand. She would treat this candle as if it were her most prized possession.
She hugged Isabella, saying goodbye. Isabella kissed Meghan on the forehead.
Ivan’s embrace was stiff, but she pretended not to notice and cupped her son’s chin in her hands, lovingly. Hopefully, in time, he would come to forgive her. She knew, deep down inside, he might not act like, or admit, that he was angry with her, but he was. How could he not be?
They exchanged no words. It was too hard to speak.
Jae and Sebastien called out goodbyes, readying themselves next to Nona.
Meghan took a brave step away from her mother, coaxing Ivan along with her. Both carried distress in their eyes as they backed away.
“Remember,” said Isabella, upon seeing their faces, “I have a link to Colby, so I’m safe. At least until he turns eighteen.” She tried to say it lightheartedly.
A thought struck Meghan. She understood the spell Isabella had cast on Colby, linking their lives together so that if she died of anything but natural causes before he turned eighteen, Colby would die as well.
So what did immortal really mean? Colby had killed Meghan. When he had taken her and they had traveled through their memories, he had killed her. At least she thought he did. She supposed it could have been a knocked out situation, or something. But if he did kill her, how did he do it? Could immortals kill each other?
If her mother died before Colby’s eighteenth birthday, Colby would die too. Would it be a real death? Could he come back to life after the spell wore off? Was there any true immortality? Maybe it was more like really, super hard to kill.
Meghan felt something rub against her leg. It was Nona. Meghan heard Nona’s thoughts clearly in her mind as if they were her own.
“Keep these things to yourself for now. We will talk about them later. It brings up many questions.”
“What doesn’t?” Meghan drilled back into her Catawitch’s mind.
Meghan snapped her fingers and a fire flashed into existence. Nona jumped into the flames with everyone grasping her. In a blink, they were standing just outside of the banished camp.
A guard threw his palm forward, prepared to strike after seeing them burst out of the flames of his fire. It was a bitterly cold day. He recognized Sebastien and stood down.
“Sorry, Mr. Jendaya,” he replied. “We are a little on edge right now.”
“No apology needed,” insisted Sebastien.
“Mr. Jendaya,” repeated Meghan, her eyebrows raised in amusement.
Sebastien shrugged it off, unable to hold back a grin. For a second,
it felt like the old days, when he and Meghan would talk and laugh for hours. He wanted that back. Badly. If nothing more, just that. He let the moment go, deciding it was best not to push it further.
The guard opened the gate and they stepped inside, the gate closing with a weighty thud behind them.
“Wow, they’ve really cleaned it up,” noted Meghan.
“Magic does have its benefits,” said Sebastien.
Meghan saw Uncle Arnon and Kanda Macawi, and waved.
“I’m going to go find my parents,” said Sebastien. “I’ll catch up with you guys later.”
“Later then,” Meghan replied.
Sebastien waved at everyone, his eyes glued on Meghan.
Ivan stepped up alongside her. “You’re letting him off the hook a little too easily, don’t you think?”
Her smile dropped and she gave him a deadly glare. “Are you pulling big brother rank on me? Already?”
“It’s my job now isn’t it?” he said, as if ready to repay some favor she didn’t want repaid. Her only response was a disgruntled groan.
Regardless of Ivan’s unasked for input, she wasn’t ready to completely forgive Sebastien just yet, although she would never admit that to Ivan.
Jae tagged along behind her and Ivan.
When Arnon was close enough, he tossed Meghan a disapproving look.
“I know. Sorry, Uncle Arnon. I said I wouldn’t go, but I had to. I’ll tell you all about it later though.”
Kanda greeted Meghan’s return to the camp with a long hug, giving her a good looking over, as if searching for a girl long lost.
“The camp is nearly back in order,” she explained. “And my brother, Nashua, is in talks with the temporary leader of the banished encampment as we speak. Someone named Curtis Bevins.”
“Curtis. Really?” spoke up Jae. “From Amelia’s prisoner, to the new leader. Impressive.”
Curtis had been Jae’s prison mate, when Amelia had first captured him, after he’d attempted to take his own life. Curtis was the one who had told him to keep searching for a way to break the curse Juliska had put on him.
“Yes. Quite the change of pace, I’m sure,” said Kanda. “He seems to be a fair man. Best part I think, was reuniting with his poor frightened wife. But I think he’ll do right by these people.”
“Has anything been decided?” asked Ivan.
“Only that we need to be in agreement, and work together in whatever move we make next,” answered Arnon.
Kanda added, “The debate stands currently on whether it is more important to get the Immortality Stone back in our possession, versus confronting Juliska Blackwell. Getting the Stone out of the hands of the Grosvenor may prove the immediate concern; however, it might also take weeks, if not months, to track down where it is. If I had my bet, though, and I’ve already weighed in, the Stone will hold precedence. The Svoda under Juliska’s control are obviously in danger and in need of our help, but if she is working with Jurekai Fazendiin, and he has the Stone, well, it’s kind of a chicken and the egg situation.”
Ivan had a smug look on his face, fishing for a, Was I right or was I right?
Meghan, still irritated, ignored him, deciding not to give him the pleasure of remembering that he’d pretty much said this same thing not too long ago.
Unfortunately, Jae was not so keen on her feelings in the matter. “Ivan, you should have bet money, you were right on.”
Ivan shrugged it off as if it was no big thing.
Meghan just shook her head in annoyance. Maybe having Ivan for a big brother wasn’t such a good thing after all.
“Needless to say,” Kanda continued, “we will be staying on for a while. The people here have been gracious enough to open up their homes to us. We have more than enough room for anyone who would care to join us. I realize it’s late, but you all look like you could use a nice hot meal followed by a good night’s sleep.”
“Yes,” agreed Arnon eagerly, excited by the thought of having Meghan under his roof once again. “All of you are very welcome to stay with us.”
“Much appreciated,” said Ivan. “Rest would be good.” He looked down at Meghan as if to say, I mean you.
“Oh brother,” she whined. “So you’re going to start ordering me around now, too? I am sixteen tomorrow, you know! Not a child. I know when I’m tired, Ivan.”
“Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do?” he asked her.
Arnon and Kanda tossed inquisitive looks back and forth.
“Part of what I need to fill you in on,” advised Meghan. “You know how it turns out Colin is not my brother?”
They replied yes.
“Well, it turns out that Ivan actually is my brother. Older brother. Half-brother. We share the same mother.”
The look of awe said it all.
“Isabella Crane,” remembered Arnon. “Her death was…”
“Fake,” Meghan finished.
“I was going to say, tragic… how did she?” he clipped his words, tongue and brain befuddled.
Meghan stepped in between Arnon and Kanda, putting her arms around their shoulders, saying, “Let me tell you a little story.”
She spent the entire walk across the encampment, getting inside the house, Kanda making tea and heating up a large pot of stew, to tell her story. The only interruptions were when Meghan explained her real birthday was actually the next day (at this point, it was already nearly midnight), and when Kanda noted they needed wood for the fire; Ivan jumped up and offered to grab a handful. Jae followed.
They stepped onto the front porch; it had a roof and a brick floor.
“Hey look,” said Jae.
It was trying to snow. Little bits of white came down here and there, in no great numbers. It turned an already somber day downright moody. No one wanted the snow to come yet.
They each grabbed an armful of wood and carried it back inside the cozy home. This home was set between two large tree trunks, which had nearly grown together, making it larger than some of the others. And unlike some of the others in the encampment, magic had been used to make it larger on the inside than the outside.
Kanda and Arnon set bowls down on a small round table, insisting they eat. Meghan enjoyed every bite. She had missed Kanda’s food. Oddly enough, she could have even happily listened to one of her stories. Something she would never have admitted when they camped back in Cobbscott. If Colin were here he’d never let me forget it. “Good thing Ivan doesn’t know,” she muttered under her breath.
“Huh?” he said, thinking he heard his name.
“Nothing,” she replied hastily, clearing away her empty dish.
Jae yawned. “Excuse me,” he said.
“You need a good sleep, young man,” said Kanda.
Meghan looked at Kanda suspiciously. She felt a yawn coming on herself. Was this a special sort of tea she had been drinking? Or was there an extra ingredient in the stew? Kanda was well skilled at brewing concoctions that fixed all sorts of ailments.
Kanda laughed when Meghan eyed her suspiciously. “You’re all simply very tired,” she said innocently.
“I could use a few hours of shut eye,” said Jae. Kanda showed him to a room where he proceeded to slump onto the bed and fall asleep almost instantly.
When Kanda exited, she looked guilty.
“Okay, I lied. But only for that boy in there. He looks so troubled.”
“He does have a lot on his mind,” said Ivan. He hadn’t meant to say it out loud, unsure whether they should explain Jae’s predicament or not. Meghan shrugged, her body language saying, might as well.
Ivan took this one, which Meghan was grateful for, seeing as she had just spent an hour straight, talking. Arnon and Kanda didn’t interrupt as Ivan spoke, other than exclamations of horror, shock, and dismay.
“How terrible,” whispered Kanda, after he had finished. “Truly despicable. How old is Jae?”
“My age,” said Meghan. “Few months older.”
“I don’t know what our worl
d has come to,” Arnon said. “I was once proud to be who I was, but these days...”
He and Kanda shared a sympathetic smile.
“To use one so young and vulnerable for such a brutal thing,” Kanda said. “Juliska Blackwell is truly a monster. I had no idea she was recruiting ones so young.” Tears stained her eyes. “Arnon, we need to explain this in tomorrow’s meeting. People need to know she has done this. It might change how people feel in regards to our next move. It might well have just changed my own mind.”
“I agree. Still, with the Stone out there and unaccounted for,” he let the subject go.
An uncomfortable silence fell over them.
Meghan sipped her tea, trying to ignore the sudden loud beating of her heart. She checked in with Nona, who had not joined them and was out scrounging up her favorite late night snack... mice.
Nona was mid-hunt.
Meghan did not care to listen in as her Catawitch went in for the kill.
She glanced at Ivan. He seemed far away.
Arnon pounded his fist onto the table.
“Sorry,” he said. “It’s just, you young people... too much is expected of you all. Too much.” His voice grew strained as he spoke.
Without warning, Ivan excused himself.
Meghan assumed Jae’s predicament was taking a toll on him. That and she was sure he didn’t want to lose it in front of anyone. Ivan preferred to suffer alone.
“Where you heading?” she asked him.
“Out,” he replied curtly.
“At least take a coat,” insisted Kanda. “It’s freezing out there.”
There were a few hanging near the door. Without looking them over, he grabbed hold of the first coat he could reach and sprinted out of the house.
Meghan let him leave without attempting to follow. She felt certain that now was not the time to play the tagging along nosy sister.
“Ivan doesn’t do well with sitting still for very long,” she told her uncle and Kanda, as an attempt at an excuse for his sudden departure.
“Yes, I can see that,” said Kanda. “Another troubled soul. He seems like a nice young man, though. A good addition to your family.”
Control (The Blood Vision, The Immortality Stone, and The Woman in Glass) (A Fated Fantasy Quest Adventure Book 7) Page 3