by G. K. DeRosa
“Not if we have the heads of all the supernatural communities in attendance,” interjected Celeste. “They would realize we wouldn’t be able to pull off that sort of magic in front of other witches and sorcerers.”
“Celeste’s right,” said Roman. “It’s the perfect way.”
Stellan ran his hand through his gray hair and exhaled loudly. “A gathering of that scale has not been seen in decades. I don’t know that we could manage to get everyone together.”
Celeste stood up and took the floor. “I know I can get the Master of the Werewolf Alliance and the Council will definitely be there. Mrs. Constantin, do you think you could convince Marja to come and recruit the other three leaders of the local covens?”
“I will make sure they all attend.”
“And Stellan if you can represent the sorcerers, all we need is the Queen of the Fae,” finished Celeste. “Even she wouldn’t be able to back out of that.”
A smile began to form across Stellan’s weary face. “You’re right. I think we may be able to do this.”
Roman smiled proudly at Celeste as she received congratulatory pats on the back from Marco and Nico. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw a bright flash of red appear suddenly behind them. He spun toward it and saw Alek emerging from the crimson haze.
Chapter 21
“Hello, brother,” said Alek with a wicked grin as he materialized before them.
“I guess we never put up those wards, did we?” muttered Roman, staring pointedly at Stellan.
Lilliana stepped forward, standing between her two sons. “Of course we didn’t as it was completely unnecessary. Alek is always welcome wherever I am.”
Alek gave them a smug smile as he walked around the living room. “Nice place you have here Stellan, I didn’t really get a good look at it last time I was here.”
“Probably because you were with Fabian and the two of you were too busy trying to kill us and kidnap Celeste,” growled Nico.
“Ah yes, that’s right,” he murmured as he stared at the wooden rafters high up in the air.
Alek’s sudden appearance in Stellan’s home had everyone on edge. Even Lilliana seemed tense, although she was doing her best to hide it. She stood protectively in between Alek and her sons afraid of what might happen next.
“Enough of this trip down memory lane,” hissed Roman. “What are you doing here?”
Alek ran his finger across the ledge of the soot-covered fireplace and whirled back toward his brother. “Isn’t it obvious? I’ve come to collect on the favor you owe me.”
Lilliana stared at him as she raised a perplexed brow. “What favor?”
Alek sat down in Stellan’s favorite chair and crossed his legs, making himself much too comfortable for Roman’s liking. “Oh Mother, I had hoped to spare you from all of these boring details, but after you ran off it seems I have no other choice.”
Celeste didn’t like the tone of Alek’s voice. It was nothing like it had been the last few times she’d seen him in Rome. There was an evil twinkle back in his dark eyes that set off warning bells in the pit of her stomach.
Lilliana narrowed her eyes at her son as she stood over him. “Aleksander, I did not run off. I was never your prisoner. I simply came to visit my sons and since you were nowhere to be found, I had no choice but to leave written word of my departure.”
He waved his hand at her dismissively and turned his gaze back to his brothers and Stellan. “No matter, what’s done is done. These three owe me a favor and I am here to see that they make good on it now.”
“Don’t keep us in suspense, tell us what you want,” said Nico.
Alek grinned maliciously as he picked up a half-empty glass of scotch that sat on the side table. He twirled it around, watching the caramel colored liquid swirling inside and took a big gulp. “I want the three of you to stay away from my mother.”
Roman lunged at Alek as Lilliana’s eyes shot open in shock, but Nico and Stellan each grabbed him by an arm and held him back. “It’s not worth it,” whispered Nico, clutching his brother’s shoulder with all his strength.
“You’re out of your mind!” roared Roman. “She’s our mother and we will see her as we please.”
“Yes, Alek, this request is truly absurd,” said Lilliana, bending down to meet her son at eye-level. “I believe I have showed my devotion to you from the very day you brought me back. I owe you for that and appreciate it immensely, but you have no right to say who I can and cannot see.”
Alek put down the crystal tumbler after finishing off the last bit of scotch, then stood up. “You’re right Mother, I cannot tell you who to see, but I can certainly tell them. They promised a favor and this is what I want.”
“You cannot keep me from my sons and Stellan!” yelled Lilliana, her usual prim manners all but forgotten. “You have no right.”
“On the contrary, I have all the right in the world. I agreed to let you see your sons on my terms, but you reneged on your side of the bargain. You promised me you would never leave me and you did!” Alek spat out, the fury building in his charcoal eyes.
“I haven’t left you, I’ve only been gone for a few days!” cried Lilliana, throwing her hands up in frustration.
“And you’ve been quite busy in those few days, meeting with the Council and the Albsurori. I wonder what plans you have made with them? Perhaps you will be returning to join them and leaving me forever?” Alek’s voice had been rising steadily and was reaching a fevered pitch as hysteria took over.
Lilliana put a hand on his shoulder and tried to calm him. “My son, you are not thinking clearly.” She sighed and with a resigned expression said, “Let’s go home and we can discuss this further.”
“No!” shouted Roman and Nico in unison.
“You can’t go back to Rome with him. Who knows what he’s capable of?” snarled Roman.
Lilliana turned toward her sons with a forlorn look on her face. “I must go.” She twisted her gaze to Stellan and whispered, “Take care of my boys as you always have.” He gave her an austere nod in return.
“You can’t be serious?” asked Nico.
She took a step toward him and offered a quick embrace, then did the same with Roman. “I’ll see you both soon, I promise.”
Roman looked to Stellan with desperate eyes, but he shook his head grimly. They had, after all, agreed to Alek’s terms.
“This isn’t over, Alek,” hissed Roman as Lilliana moved to his side.
“It is over,” he snarled. “If any of you comes near her and backs out of our agreement, I’ll see to it that every last one of the Black Devils becomes immortal. And this time there will be no way for any of you to stop them.”
“That’s enough,” said Lilliana. “Let’s go.”
Alek put his arm around her as he gave his brothers an arrogant smirk. A bright red cloud of smoke covered the two of them and in a second they vanished.
“No!” roared Roman, the second they were gone. He plucked one of the pillows off of the couch and threw it into the dusty fireplace. “How could we have been so stupid to agree to an open-ended favor to Alek?”
Celeste felt terrible. The only reason they had all conceded was because of her. “I’m so sorry you guys. This is all my fault.”
Nico put a hand on her shoulder as his dark eyes shot daggers at his brother. “It’s not your fault. Alek would have found a way to get our mother to go back with him regardless.”
Roman let out a frustrated sigh as he kicked the edge of the couch to release the last bit of fury. He turned to Celeste and immediately felt guilty for his rash words when he saw her guilt-ridden expression. “Nico’s right. Alek would have shown his true colors sooner or later. This has nothing to do with you.”
Roman’s words triggered a memory of her earlier discussion with Lilliana. “I think he’s just been hiding those true colors all along,” she said.
“What do you mean?” asked Stellan, who had been remarkably quiet.
“Just somethi
ng your mom said to me when we were in Astor the other day—about the Albsurori ring. She said that it was probably magnifying the evil inside of me.”
Stellan’s face paled as Celeste continued.
“Alek immediately picked up on the growing darkness when we went to Rome the first time. He must have known. And don’t you remember how odd we all thought it was that he simply let me walk out with the ring back in St. Petersburg when he resurrected your mom?”
“Yes,” said Stellan as his thoughts returned to that chaotic scene.
“So you think Alek let you keep the ring on purpose, knowing what it would do to you?” asked Marco.
“I think he had a pretty good idea of what it was capable of,” answered Celeste.
“That little bastard,” muttered Roman through clenched teeth.
“I should have realized,” said Stellan, more to himself than to the others. “I didn’t think it could have such a detrimental effect.” He slumped down on the couch and buried his face in his wrinkled hands.
Celeste plopped down beside him and put her hand on his back. “This isn’t your fault. You were just trying to protect me.”
He picked his head up and gave a rueful smile. “I seem to be failing in that respect a lot lately.” He turned to her and tenderly caressed her cheek. “I should have never let you use such a powerful charm without first finding out more about it. If anything had happened to you—”
Celeste cut him off before things got too depressing. “Nothing happened to me. Everything I’ve gone through has only made me stronger.” She looked down at the sparkling sapphire on her hand. A part of her wanted to rip it off her finger and throw it into the deepest black hole she could find, so that no one could ever locate it again. Another part of her longed for the powerful feeling it gave her. She was completely torn.
“Is it safe for her to keep wearing it?” asked Roman, practically reading Celeste’s thoughts.
“I’m afraid Lilliana is the only one who could help us answer that,” replied Stellan.
“And we’re banned from seeing her so that’s not an option,” said Nico with a sarcastic edge to his tone.
“This whole thing is just ridiculous,” said Marco. “I may not have been there when you guys made this deal, but he can’t really keep you from seeing your mom. Isn’t she like a super powerful witch anyway? Can’t she just get away from him?”
“It’s not that easy,” said Roman. “She feels responsible for him.”
“Especially after what she promised the Council,” interjected Celeste.
Roman and Nico’s eyes twisted toward Celeste. “What did she promise the Council?” Roman asked.
“That if she found out that Alek was up to anything, she would turn him in herself.”
“She did?” asked Stellan, raising a brow.
“She seemed to really want to make a good impression,” said Marco.
“Do you think she would really go through with it?” questioned Celeste.
“Probably not,” murmured Nico. “He’s got her wrapped around his little finger. Didn’t you see how she left with him?”
“I wouldn’t underestimate your mother, Nico,” reprimanded Stellan. She is a smart woman. Perhaps there is more to this than what we fully understand.”
Celeste hated to bring this up but they still needed to find Astrid and make her pay for what she did to her father all those years ago. And that wasn’t going to be possible without Lillana. “Sorry to go off topic, but how are we going to convene all the heads of the supernaturals without Lilliana? And how are we going to show them my vision without her powers?”
Stellan got to his feet, standing tall. He gave Celeste a determined look. “We will get Lilliana back, and we will make sure that Astrid is held responsible for all of her crimes.”
***
Lilliana stormed up the stairs to her bedroom the moment they appeared back in the sunny Italian villa. Alek raced after her, imploring her to understand as he went. She whirled toward him as she reached her door, fuming mad. “Just remember that I brought you into this world, and though you did not get the benefits of my upbringing I am still your mother. You will treat me with respect.”
“Don’t you see that is exactly why I had to do what I did? With Roman, Nico, and Stellan in the way, I could never truly get to know you and become the son you deserve.” Alek looked up at her with pleading eyes, an expression that was completely new for him.
“Banning my sons and one of my oldest friends from seeing me is certainly not the way to achieve that,” she hissed as she spun around and slammed the door in his face.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered through the closed door. “I only hope that soon you will understand.” The abrupt ringing of his cell phone tore him away from his groveling. Glancing down at the caller ID, he grimaced. Before picking up the phone, he hurried through the corridor and down the stairs. Once he deemed he was far enough from Lilliana’s range of hearing, he answered.
Back upstairs, Lilliana had overheard the ring of Alek’s cell phone and heard his quick footsteps taking off down the corridor. His strange reaction had piqued her interest enough for her to follow stealthily behind him. With a snap of her fingers and a quick incantation, she wrapped herself in an invisible cloak and tiptoed down the stairs behind him.
She found him in his study whispering. She stood at the doorway, peering around the wall to listen in on the soft conversation.
“Everything is going according to plan,” he hissed at the person on the other side of the line. “Getting her away from them was essential as I don’t want any harm to come to her.”
Then silence as the other person spoke. Lilliana wished she could hear what was being said on the other side and to whom Alek was speaking. She couldn’t risk using more magic for fear that Alek might pick up on it.
“Yes, I’m nearly ready,” he continued. “I have been working with the witch for a few weeks now and she was finally successful in unlocking the dormant Negrusurori power in my blood. It is true what they say—the feeling is unimaginable.”
Though Lilliana could only hear half of the conversation, she had heard more than enough to worry her. It was clear that Alek was planning something bad and it involved her sons and the power held within his blood. Besides that, he had a strong witch on his side along with whomever he was speaking to on the phone. The moment that Lilliana had been dreading was finally here. Would she be able to betray her own son and turn him in to the Council?
“Fine, I will get back to you soon. I want this finished as soon as possible—a week at the latest,” said Alek as he hung up the phone.
Lilliana rushed up the stairs as soon as his voice went silent. She was short on time and a very difficult decision now rest on her shoulders. As soon as she reached her room, she locked the door behind her and slumped down on the bed. She was exhausted after that simple use of magic. Her breath was coming hard and her body was trembling. She was deathly afraid that neither she nor her sons had much time remaining.
***
First thing in the morning, Celeste, Roman, Nico and Marco were all back at Stellan’s house. The plan was to split up and rally the support of the heads of the supernatural community. They needed confirmation that all would attend the assembly that could serve to expose Astrid as the guardian killer she truly was. Celeste paced nervously as the others sat around the kitchen table plotting.
“None of this will even be possible if we can’t get Lilliana back,” she said, releasing the breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding for the past five minutes.
“We’ll take care of that,” said Roman with a nod to his brother.
Stellan turned to Celeste with a reassuring glance. “I am the eldest sorcerer in the area and as such I hold the authority to speak for our kind. There are not many of us here and we maintain a very loose power structure. I’ve arranged for a meeting with a few of the elders today and I’m not concerned about any resistance.”
“And I�
��ve got Brennan and the Werewolf Alliance,” said Marco.
“Right, so that just leaves the Council to me,” said Celeste.
“Remember to tread lightly when you speak to Dante,” interjected Stellan. “He will likely be hesitant after the recent issue with the Queen of the Fae.”
“Got it.”
Just as the circle was about to disband, a bright flash of light came from the living room. “You really need to put up some wards in this place,” muttered Nico as they all rushed out to see who had arrived unannounced.
“Lilliana!” cried Stellan when her figure materialized before them. She gave them a weak smile just before collapsing to the floor.
Nico was first to reach her, scooping her up into his arms and placing her down gently on the couch. “What’s wrong with her?” he asked Stellan.
Stellan’s worried gray eyes confirmed what Celeste had already suspected. There had to be something wrong with Lilliana, but no one was admitting it. She certainly wasn’t going to be the one to suggest it.
Stellan hurried over to the couch and kneeled down in front of her prone figure. Lilliana’s breathing was shallow and her forehead was warm to the touch, her skin pale and clammy. “Perhaps it’s all this magic she’s been using after so much time without practicing,” he said to the watchful eyes circled around him. But even to his own ears his answer sounded hollow.
Roman and Nico hovered over her as they searched Stellan’s gaze for an answer. Suddenly, Lilliana’s eyes began to flutter and her bright blue irises peeked out through her heavy eyelids. She tried to sit up, but Stellan gently laid his hand down on her arm. “You must rest.”
“No,” she said, her eyes widening. “It’s Alek. I’m afraid he’s up to something and I don’t know what. I came back as soon as I could to warn you.”
“We’ll take care of everything,” said Stellan. He snapped his fingers and a cold cloth appeared on her forehead. “Get some sleep. We will wake you when we need you.”