“Keir?”
“I’m following the attacker,” he said, his voice slightly breathless. “Get back to your friends.”
I checked out of the spirit realm, to find myself face to face with Lloyd. “Did you catch him?” he asked.
“No. Keir is chasing him, but we’re four floors up.” I moved towards Isabel, who’d opened the hotel room door. A commotion came from the corridor, where it sounded like everyone had come out of their rooms to see what was going on.
“The hotel’s shields blocked the attack before it did any damage,” she said, letting the door close behind her. “It was a spell, but definitely not one of mine. Is Keir chasing the attacker in the real world?”
“He said he is. Unless we climb out the window, we won’t catch up in time.”
“The windows are warded,” said Isabel. “And the shields short-circuited the elevators.”
I swore. “I’ll watch him through Death, then.” I was used to tracking dead people in the spirit realm, not the living, but vampires had enough of a strong presence to make it easy to spot them, when you knew what you were looking for.
Closing my eyes, I tapped into the spirit realm again. “Keir?”
“I lost him.” It never ceased to be weird hearing his voice coming from a human-shaped shadow. “I can guess which road he went down, but I think he’s using one of our tricks to hide himself.”
“Damn. Keep me updated.” I blinked back into the waking world.
“Any luck?” asked Isabel.
“Keir lost the guy,” I said to the others. “Tracking through the spirit realm is hard even for us.” There were a handful of people I knew of in the guild—Morgan and Ilsa Lynn, for a start—who could find anyone in the city just through the spirit realm, but it was easier to find people whose spirit sight was stronger, giving them a more permanent presence in Death. That ought to include vampires, but if they had tricks to hide themselves, I’d likely only been able to find Keir because he wanted to be found.
Maybe that explained why I’d been easy to track, once the enemy knew who they were looking for. The hotel might be well-protected, but it didn’t have iron and hundreds of necromancers defending the place. I had no intention of anyone innocent getting injured or killed on my watch. No way in hell.
“I need to leave,” I said. “If I’m the target—”
“Help me with this,” said Isabel, scattering herbs into a hastily drawn chalk circle. “You used the witch’s magic, right? Can you use it to help me redo the defences on the room?”
“The wards? I can try.” Wariness rose within me. I’d managed to use Evelyn’s magic independently against the vampires, but I’d only used it to kill, not protect. Given the nature of the spells on the forest, though, I knew my coven was capable of powerful defensive spells.
“Thanks,” she said. “I should probably mention that Lady Harper didn’t actually tell me you were possessed by a living person when she asked me to do this. She just said your magic was dormant. When I confronted her over that, she didn’t take it well.”
“Seriously?” I stared at her. “She’s such a snake. She played both of us.”
Isabel started sorting ingredients into piles. “On the coven’s orders. She knows what’s in that forest. She and the other Hemlocks are on the same page, and they’re willing to do anything to make sure they don’t die out without an heir.”
“That is some next level creepy shit,” Lloyd commented. “What was this witch like when you spoke to her?”
“Not very talkative, but we were kind of occupied. She gave me permission to use her magic to fight.”
“But is she evil, though?” asked Lloyd. “That’s the key question.”
“I don’t know about ‘evil’. But there’s something off about her.”
“She’s been living in your head for twenty-something years. She’s probably dying to get away from you. I mean, if she wasn’t already dead.”
I gave him the finger. “Behave. Are you sure about this, Isabel? I don’t want to knock the building down.”
“That won’t happen,” she said. “Let’s see what you can do.”
14
Isabel cleared the floor around a fresh chalk circle. “Try the basic warding spell again first. If that works, go for something stronger.”
“Got it.” I took the ingredients and placed them in the circle in front of me. My hands tingled with power, though that might have been a reaction to the wards shimmering at the room’s edges.
The edges of the chalk circle lit up white-green. I held my hands steady, energy continuing to rush into the circle. Its glow expanded. “Whoa. That’s not supposed to—”
Tremors ran through the room, and through me. Light spun from my fingertips, a weave of magic that lit up the whole room, and kept spreading, through the walls, as though they weren’t there. I heard exclamations from the other rooms as though their inhabitants were right next to me—as though I was in the spirit realm and the waking world at the same time.
My hands dropped, the light dimming. “Holy shit. What was that?”
“That was not a basic ward,” said Isabel. “I think you just tapped into the Hemlocks’ power. Those symbols look just like the ones in their forest.”
I jumped away from the circle, which did indeed look like a webbed replica of the spell keeping the beast caged. When I squinted, an overlay of the same glyphs covered the whole room.
“Is that a good thing?” I asked uncertainly.
“It would be if we weren’t in a hotel full of witches who all just felt the forces of the universe rearrange themselves,” said Isabel.
“So did I,” said Lloyd, hanging onto the back of the chair as though afraid he’d be blown away. “Don’t do it at the guild.”
“I think the guild can take it.” I pushed to my feet. “The good news is that someone could drop a nuclear bomb on this building and it’d probably do no damage.”
“That’s not just good news, that’s fucking amazing,” said Lloyd. “I want to hire you as my bodyguard.”
“Are you forgetting I have the power on loan?” I turned to Isabel. “I don’t know if you want to come to the guild with us, but I don’t want people coming after you asking who put up that ward.”
“They won’t know it came from this room,” she said. “But you should probably leave before someone comes knocking. It’s a good job most of the witches in here are hedge witch level and have no idea just how powerful that spell was.”
“Jesus.” I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. “Note to self: work on toning it down.”
“You’re telling me,” said Isabel. “Is it safe for you to go to the guild, or would you rather stay here tonight?”
“The guild is made out of iron.” I nodded to Lloyd. “About as safe as you can get. Lloyd and I need to tell them about the vampires, and while I’m at it, I’ll give Lady Harper a call. I’d like to know her reasoning for not telling any of us a damn thing before throwing me to the wolves.”
Lady Harper picked up after the first ring. I’d opted to make the call while walking back, so I could interrogate her without anyone except Lloyd hearing.
“Hello, Lady Harper,” I said.
“So nice to hear you from you, Jas.”
Her sarcasm practically seared me through the phone. “Isn’t it just?” I said. “Thanks for duping me. Oh, and thanks for tricking Isabel into helping me without telling any of us there was a massively overpowered spirit possessing me.”
My hands still trembled with the aftermath of handling all that power. Not least because Evelyn’s magic was the same as Cordelia and the others’. If they expected me to take their place, to give up my life… I had no argument to prove my magic wasn’t strong enough to do it.
I’d never wished so badly that I’d been born a dud, with no magic at all.
Lady Harper gave a laugh that sounded way too evil-witchy for someone who was more of a mage than a witch. “I take it there have been some new devel
opments. Care to discuss them in person?”
I’d rather eat dirt. “I have an apprenticeship and a job, so no. None of us are getting paid for this crap, you know.”
“Actually, I offered Isabel’s coven a substantial bonus,” said Lady Harper. “And I will do the same for the guild if you decide to embrace your rightful position and leave to help your birth coven. You’ll have free accommodation, everything you could ever want…”
“That, Lady Harper, is known as blackmail.” She’d been spending way too much time in that forest. “And having zero morals. What did they promise you, then? You have everything you can ever want.”
“The continued safety and security of our magical community.”
“And the entire planet.” I rolled my eyes. “Would be a great deal, if not for the fact that I don’t know if the person living in my head actually wants to work for the common good.”
As lucid as she’d seemed when I’d looked into her eyes, witches with the interests of humanity at heart didn’t snap a man’s ribs with a single blow or lash out and nearly hit my allies. And as much as it might be a necessity for us to work together, I couldn’t forget that Evelyn didn’t always ask my permission before taking the wheel. She could take over whenever she wanted to, and people would think she was me.
“What would give you that idea?” she enquired. “Evelyn was devoted to her cause.”
“You knew her.” I’d forgotten, ridiculously, that Lady Harper was eighty-something years old and had known every member of the coven in the last three generations. Alive or otherwise. “What was she like as a person?”
“Devoted. Skilled. Understanding of our cause.”
“A willing lapdog, then. Isabel and I just tried to access her help to make a basic ward, and she unleashed so much magic she put every witch within a mile on high alert.”
“So you’ve managed to harness her magic. Excellent.”
“Nothing is excellent about bringing more enemies on our tail,” I said, through gritted teeth. “Someone tried to attack me at Isabel’s hotel. We all have targets on our backs, and if anyone gets hurt, so help me—”
“Isabel knew what she was getting into, and she has the resources and defences to protect herself. As for you, you’ve seen what her magic can do. Nothing will happen to you, provided you don’t do anything foolish.”
Lloyd elbowed me, alerting me that the guild was just ahead. “Yeah, that’s a load of bullshit. Over half a dozen people have tried to kill me this week and it’s only Tuesday.”
I hung up. So much for getting answers. If anything, I had a shit-ton more questions, not least about who in hell Evelyn Hemlock actually was.
“Evil old hag,” I muttered, walking after Lloyd into the lobby.
“I hope you don’t mean the boss,” said a passing novice. “She’s in a top-secret meeting, by the way, but she told you to add yourself to the rota tomorrow.”
“Great.” I pocketed my phone. “Guess I’ll have to tell her in the morning.”
And then? Most necromancers probably couldn’t track the vampires down—not the ones who’d tried to kill me, anyway, assuming any had survived. And then there was the person who’d tried to attack the hotel. I hoped Keir was having better luck.
“Tracking,” I said to Lloyd, as we reached the stairs. “Who here can track people over a distance and isn’t likely to report us to the boss?”
“Ilsa Lynn,” he said immediately. “Pretty sure even the boss doesn’t know how often she does it, but she gets an exception, being Gatekeeper.”
“She won’t be here now. She lives over the other side of the bridge.” Which meant we had until morning to form a plan.
“Oh, yeah,” said Lloyd. “Are vampires typically something the Gatekeeper deals with?”
“Precisely what I wanted to find out.’
Ilsa Lynn’s title of Gatekeeper referred to the gates between the spirit realm and the true afterlife. I wasn’t sure if she’d ever met a vampire before, but her spirit sight went a mile further than mine. It was worth asking her for help finding the rogues, so I could hunt them down before they hurt anyone else.
No ghostly appearances disturbed me in the night, and I woke surprisingly well-rested. I texted Isabel and found that nobody else had tried to attack the hotel—probably because I’d inadvertently warded it against almost anything. The witches hadn’t yet guessed who was responsible, but if the Mage Lords found out, I could say goodbye to any semblance of stealth. I also hadn’t thought to get Keir’s number so I could check whether he’d had any luck tracking the person who’d attacked the hotel, and though he was just a trip into the spirit realm away, I hadn’t seen him when I’d checked in there. Maybe he was hiding himself, too.
Lady Montgomery was nowhere to be seen and didn’t answer when I’d knocked on her office door, so I was left with the next best option: ask the Gatekeeper’s advice. It didn’t hurt that Ilsa Lynn happened to be dating the boss’s son, River. Not to mention her family was sworn into a secret vow to the faerie courts, so she’d know all about family secrets and obligations.
“Hey, Jas,” asked Ilsa, who I found checking the rota pinned to the noticeboard in the lobby. “Did you make some embellishments here, by any chance? You and Lloyd are always on the same patrols.”
“Guilty.” I’d put both of us on the same patrol as her, in the hope of having a legitimate excuse to talk to the Gatekeeper without ending up in even more trouble than I already was. “I actually need to talk to you, away from the guild.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be laying low?” she asked.
“What would give you that idea?” Maybe her brother had told her I’d run off with the book of advanced magic. Or perhaps she’d talked to the boss.
“There are stories spreading about you, Jas,” Ilsa said, giving me a serious look.
“Probably,” I said. “I might need your help with something a little off-book.”
Ilsa stepped away from the rota. “Does it have to do with vampires, by any chance?” she asked. “Morgan decided to enlighten me on that one.”
“And you asked Lady Montgomery?” I guessed. “Good, because I don’t have a lot of time. Long story short, there are rogue vampires out there in the spirit realm who tried to kill me, and I have no clue where they went. I know your spirit sight goes further than anyone else’s, so I wondered if you could help.”
“Normally, I could,” Ilsa said. “But since I’ve never seen the vampires in person, I wouldn’t know where to start. They might be miles away, as far as the spirit realm goes.”
Damn. I’d suspected, but it would be nice to have some direction. “You know, I’m pretty sure my own spirit sight goes pretty far. I’ve just never tested it.” But I’d detached from my body and survived, thanks to the spirit. Maybe having two souls made me less likely to fall victim to the downsides of going too deep into the spirit realm. On the other hand, giving Evelyn the ability to possess my body at will came with its own set of downsides.
“If it goes wrong, you might get dragged through the gates of death,” said Lloyd. “Can’t our not-so-fanged friend do it instead?”
“I don’t think he can tell people’s locations from within the spirit realm,” I said. “Otherwise he’d have found me sooner.”
“Most people can’t,” said Ilsa. “But Morgan and I can.”
“Someone say my name?” Her brother walked up behind us. “I’m not on duty.”
“We are,” I said. Damn. I didn’t want to bring half the guild into it. “Ilsa—it’s up to you if you want to help out. I’m on thin ice with the boss already. Morgan, feel free to tag along.” Maybe having a psychic on board would be useful, and I’d learned through experience that forbidding one of the Lynn siblings to do something was a great way to ensure they came along whether you liked it or not. At least neither of them was likely to tell on us to the boss.
“Looking for vampires? I’m in.” Morgan dug his hands into the pockets of his slightly oversized nec
romancer coat. He and his sister shared the same dark brown hair and eyes, but Ilsa was tall and curvy, while Morgan was as pale as a weeks-old corpse and almost as skinny. I hadn’t wanted to drag too many people into my shit show of a life, but I could do worse than ask for the help of two of the guild’s most powerful necromancers.
“So how did you wind up being attacked by a vampire?” Ilsa asked, as we walked out of the guild’s headquarters onto the cobbled street.
“An accident,” I said. “Most of them abide by the rules, but there are a few rogues who’ve set their sights on me. I’m sure at least one of them escaped.”
“Why would they target you to begin with?” she asked. “I read their entry in Morgan’s book, but it didn’t say why they might fixate on one individual.” Knowing Ilsa, she’d probably taken out every book on vampires the guild had out of academic interest. Her curiosity knew no bounds, and I’d hoped her endless thirst for knowledge would be enough to encourage her to help us.
“I’m kind of sworn not to tell anyone,” I said, glancing sideways to gauge her reaction. Ilsa had been carrying secrets of her own ever since she’d first entered the guild, after all.
“Sounds familiar,” she said. I knew I picked the right person to ask. “I might be able to help you learn to extend your spirit sight, but can vampires really suck out your soul through the spirit realm?”
“Only if they get hold of you, spiritually speaking,” I said. “They aren’t working alone, though. There are witches involved, too. I don’t suppose anyone’s found anything… odd, when patrolling? You went out yesterday, right?”
She nodded. “No. Zombies, ghosts, pretty standard. What do you mean by ‘odd’?”
I debated, then said, “Rituals.”
Her body stiffened. “No. Why?”
“Lloyd and I found something weird on our last mission,” I said. “We’re pretty sure there’s someone in the city messing with dark magic, and it might be linked to the vampires.”
“Dark as in blood magic?” asked Morgan, and Ilsa shot him a warning look.
Witch's Shadow (The Hemlock Chronicles Book 1) Page 14