Three Rings of Chaos: An Abigail Everlaine Mystery

by Candra Kylar

  “Lysander is a very old vampire. He may look like he’s kissing 29 but his experience alone should steer him away from Cecilia. How did you find this out?”, I asked.

  Livia scuffed the end of one combat boot against the pavement, not looking up at me, “All they do is talk at the Court of Amethyst. No matter how big the party or what’s going on in the outside world. A human witch dressed in clothing not even she could afford, hanging on the arm of Lysander and spending the night? It gets attention. Vamps talk. They get to the bottom of things.”

  “Cecilia is Lysander’s lover?”

  Livia bit her bottom lip, “And she think she’s the Queen of every single party. Most of the vamps that have been around a while can’t stand her. Lysander loves her blatant use of magic and how easy she is. She always talks back. It amuses him.”

  “So she has a fanged up sugar daddy that lets her go wild”, I connect together, “and in turn, she can do his dirty work when the sun’s up. She can keep a lower profile when the sun’s down.”

  “And she can tip off Voldini in his office that you’re snooping around to free Dimples. Or did you think she missed that opportunity while doing you a favor?”, Livia challenged.

  I felt struck, “Invisible gods above, I hate her. Thanks for the tip. I’ll tie up that loose end and collaborate with Elizar on making sure she’s on the permanent ban list. Now I guess it’s my turn to pay up.”

  “It’s for a good cause. Amaris was happy to have company with her work and I don’t ask many questions. We both like the quiet and...I have a purpose as a necromancer’s assistant!”, Livia lined up her case.

  “Let’s go inside.”

  I had to agree with her on that final point. Amaris needed some kind of socialization that didn’t involve her poaching my spirit guardian. Livia had the same sarcastic tone, the same wholesome pessimism of the world. They both understood that life made less sense in other planes of existence. They also both knew what was right from wrong in the end. Livia had chosen to go against Valiant and it nearly cost her her life. Amaris had faked her death and hidden away in Azuris so our father could never find her. They took those difficult decisions in stride and I couldn’t judge them for it. I was terrible at wearing my heart on my sleeve for everyone to see. Amaris must hate that about me.

  The lair was well lit for the evening with tiny skull lightbulbs strong along the rafters. For such a morbid taste, she really knew how to flare it up. The shopfront desk featuring all of her little oddities for sales – potion bottles, ancestor scrolls to send messages to the spirit world, and an unsettlingly large jar of various teeth – was even illuminated. She was going for a softer and more approachable look. It was possible that Livia or even a highly critical Ian had pushed her to be more customer oriented. I noticed some of the potion bottles and considered picking up one myself that promised to make a liar tell the truth. I would need it if I cornered Cecilia.

  “That’s usually 50 gold but you can take it for the family discount”, Amaris said from a throne-like velvet chair in the corner.

  I nearly jumped, “I plan to force it down Cecilia’s throat and make her admit to arson. Does it take long to work?”

  “Seconds if you keep your hand over her mouth and force her to swallow it. You surprise me with such an underhanded tactic. The loss of your friend must have really struck a nerve”, she mused.

  “Like the way our father investing in my forced imprisonment struck a nerve with you? Maybe I was unreasonable in passing judgment about that. I may have done the same if I were in your shoes”, I admitted.

  “I saw him, you know. Grant Everlaine, all dressed up in suits that would fund a public school for a year, gaudy like he had always wished to be. Politics sadly suits him and I was fine with staying in the dark. But knowing he gave Voldini money for forcing you to perform and keeping you enslaved to the circus? There are some things that I refuse to let him get away with”, she said, crossing her legs and straightening up.

  “I owe you big time for that.”

  Amaris stiffened, “You owe me nothing. I’m your older sister and it’s my job to protect you.”

  “Amaris, I feel like I’ve -”

  She held up a hand, “Why did you bring that little immortal hoodlum back here? I scared her off of drugs and hopefully instilled a lesson on falling for worthier men. The compact mentorship program with a free tour of the spirit world is over. I work better alone.”

  “That’s not true”, Livia piped up, “I was able to get you an inside with some vampires that didn’t want to talk with you or Ian. I can keep accessing planes of knowledge that stay locked away to a witch.”

  “Necromancer”, Amaris corrected her.

  “Some say the Queen of the Necromancers”, I flattered, “and I’d think such a position would require a lady in waiting or handmaiden. A page of the court if you wished to be more gender neutral about it. Even Queens need help.”

  “And my food and clothing budget is on the cheap side. I just need a small room with no windows to sleep in during the day”, Livia said hopefully.

  “If you keep her away from problematic vampires with a pretty boy style, then she’ll be fine. Livia has been through a lot and could really grow here with you”, I advised.

  Amaris narrowed her eyes and stared distinctly at us both. If she wasn’t my sister who had fought for me at the circus, if she hadn’t admitted that she found it her sacred duty to protect me, then I would have been deeply disturbed. There was no kindness flashing in her orbs which had darkened significantly as her gaze saw all in the little office lair. I knew not to interrupt her silence or say something to set her off. Our familial affection was already on shaking ground. Livia, however, didn’t fall for the scare tactic. She pulled a small warped statue out of her messenger bag. It was a dark tree warping into a screaming human body. I could only guess that she had formerly kept such a treasure in her school locker.

  “I stole this from Lysander for you”, she put it on the small table next to Amaris, “the statue he took from the spirit world. The one that the Heldanse vampire spirit wanted retrieved. I know he’s looking for eight more of them but...this is a start. A way to get you on his spirit court’s good side.”

  Amaris held up the statue, “You recognized this from that dusty old book I made you read?”

  Livia shoved her hands in the pockets of her baggy black jeans, “Yup. Uglier than the drawing inside but with the same features. Had that icy feeling at the opening of the mouth like you said. It would do more good here than gathering dust in Lysander’s library.”

  Amaris set it down, “You make a good student. I don’t make enough to pay you and I’m not trying to be anyone’s mother. You’ll have whatever blood supply you require me to get for you. I have my sources as long as you don’t ask. I can also give you a safe roof over your head. I’ll give you a split of the jobs we do as well as make sure you’re following the proper channels of necromancy. Do I make myself clear?”

  Livia smiled warmly, “As clear as a spirit mirror we use to interrogate the dead!”

  Amaris waved her off, “Then crush down a few of the herbs I have drying in the back. You’ll recognize them. Keep them in their labeled jars. I’ll set up a good room for you tonight.”

  Livia looked at me quickly with a nod before running off with a skip. In jeans that were too large in the legs and thick combat boots, she nearly skipped. I could tell that her actions had truly touched Amaris’ heart. I knew all too well once I came back to life that being alone wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. My life was filled with friends and, for Amaris, this was a small start. I put the phial of truth serum in my purse and readied myself to leave. The familiar cold breeze wafting through the office made me reconsider. Ian had been eavesdropping and it was time to tie off another loose end.

  “Ian, show yourself so we can get this over with”, I called out to him.

  He popped into existence, “I can never help listening in on Everlaine drama. Your fox
is licking himself in your passenger’s seat, by the way.”

  “He wouldn’t come inside because Amaris scares him”, I explained.

  Amaris seemed proud, “He’s one smart familiar.”

  “I want to know why you left me to become Amaris’ spirit guardian. I can’t figure it out and you never give me a straight answer! She can just pull a new one of you from a portal! Why did you suddenly give up on me?”, I vented.

  Ian settled in a misty heap on the back counter, “There are things you are better off not knowing, Red. Things that will make your beautiful hair frizz and make you less desirable to whatever man you’re dating this week.”

  Amaris rubbed the bridge of her nose, “Enough of this! I feel like I’m in a televised soap opera from the eighties! Let’s just lay it out for her because she’s a grown woman and should know about it.”

  “Would it help if I told you that I’m coming back as we tied everything up here?”, Ian asked, fingers curling together.

  “You were a walking target, Abigail.”

  A seismic shock ran over me at my sister’s declaration. Was she working with Ian to somehow protect me? Was my father involved in something worse than just paying a circus owner to keep me as a performer? She said it aloofly as if it were some small manner taken care of with no repercussions. I wasn’t buying it. Ian never had trouble with an outburst of his feelings and I knew that I could ring it out of him. After how long he had ignored me and kept things in the dark, it was about time that I knew the truth. I shot him a look that meant trouble. He knew when he went too far and hiding this secret from me qualified as that.

  “I commend your fashion choices in my absence. Your skirt actually goes to your knees this time and it looks like you’ve gone easy on the lipstick. You practically sparkled”, he attempted in a flattering tone.

  I wasn’t having it, “What does she mean that I was a walking target. From who? My father? An enemy that’s dead and wants to come back?”

  Ian twirled around in agitation, “Bigger than that, actually. It’s complicated.”

  “Try me!”, I snapped.

  “The spirit world doesn’t take too kindly to being cheated out of the soul of a prominent caster that was promised to them”, Amaris said to spare Ian, “and your resurrection into the werewolf life wasn’t met with applause. It was drowned out by angry cries to retrieve you. The voices started as a whisper, a dissent, until one of the spirits in the Higher Order decided to make it official.”

  “How can they lay claim to me if I didn’t stay dead? That’s why Ian stuck around”, I barely got the words out, the truth haunting me.

  “The Higher Order is made up of dead casters, Red! They decide if a soul approaching death is worthy of being in their circle. As an Everlaine, your power earned you deep respect and a place was made for you in the spirit world. I wasn’t supposed to help you. I was supposed to intervene so you met some kind of tragic end”, Ian wailed out.

  “I don’t understand”, I exhaled, tension being the only thing keeping me upright.

  Amaris pushed me down into the seat she had once occupied, “Ian betrayed the Higher Order because he saw you in action and knew you weren’t like the other Everlaines of the past. He knew you deserved to be alive so steered clear of the Higher Order. His dalliances into the spirit world didn’t go unnoticed as he decided to help you with your cases. The Higher Order caught wind and ordered other spirits to track you down. To force you back.”

  “That has to go against some kind of law!”, I said angrily from my seat.

  “It does and Amaris helped me stir that pot. Oh we made dirty deals, we met with unsavory characters, we got half of the Higher Order demoted for such vicious soul piracy!”, Ian puffed up in a vision of white mist.

  “We essentially removed the target on your back and stopped any spirits looking to fulfill the bounty the Higher Order had on your soul. You’re now free from it and weren’t any the wiser while you went about trying to save your friend. Ian kept his distance to protect you and work closer with me. His shame for his previous employment is evident in the way his mustache is so badly mangled”, Amaris said as she looked over Ian’s countenance.

  “So the Higher Order is no longer claiming my soul? Even if Voldini or someone else kills me?”, I shuddered at the thought.

  “You’re a free soul now. Ian gave up his position and can now stay in the living world to be your guardian by choice. No ulterior motives, no hidden shame gnawing away at his flashy tweed ensemble”, Amaris replied.

  Ian tried to maneuver his mustache back into its proper form, “I didn’t know how to tell you. I only knew that Amaris could help and she would because she loves you so much and feels so guilty leaving you to fend with the family.”

  Amaris hurled a purple ball of power his way, “Forget the details and get back to her apartment! Our work is done, she’s no longer a target, and our arrangement is over. You’re too annoying to stick around.”

  Ian stuck out his tongue, “You look like you’re dead in all of your monochrome clothing and bizarre aversion to socializing in the outside world. I won’t miss you.”

  There wasn’t malice in his words but I didn’t miss what he said. It was all a cover up to the kernel of truth that revealed itself: Amaris truly did love me. The thought of a spirit world creeping up from beyond to drag my soul back should have been jarring beyond belief. It should have made me sick with worry. Instead, my heart was full of this feeling that I had never fully tied to my family. It was love. My mother and I still had a lot to work out but, when it came to Amaris, she had no fault in her fate. My father was ruthless and compassionless. Amaris only played the role like a talented actress to protect herself. No one would mess with a brooding necromancer. This was the connection, the bridge, to two different witches raised by the same awful man. This was our common ground.

  Ian dispersed, probably into the backseat of my car or even into my apartment, land that left me alone with my sister. I looked her over in a new light now. The way she held herself so perfectly with posture that would gleam admiration from old fashioned finishing schools, how her makeup made a statement but wasn’t overdone, how her actions were methodical and not frivolous. She had started life as a gender she knew that she wasn’t with powers that were looked down upon in fear. There was no way my father would have let her live a free life. He’d find a way to punish her, to force her into a gender that she wasn’t, to bury her powers so his reputation would be intact. Leaving us behind, leaving me alone with our parents, was her only option.

  “When I was dying that night on my twenty-third birthday, I had this small moment where I felt relief. Strange, isn’t it? I was scared and in pain but I knew that I wouldn’t live long enough to incur the wrath of our father. I had already become an enchantress and affiliated with casters he thought beneath the family status”, I said aloud as I pushed myself up from the chair, “but he found ways to control me. He still did until he got on the Council.”

  Amaris clenched a fist over her mouth, “I hate him with my entirety. I hate that he went into your mind and stole memories away of who I used to be, the times we would spend together. I hate that you can never get those back and that it left you resenting me when our mother told you what happened to me. How I faked it all to run away.”

  “We can make new memories. We can still be a family”, I moved her fist away from her mouth, “I still want to be your sister. Even more so now that you’re the avenging Queen of the Necromancers.”

  “What Ian said was true. All of it”, she confessed.

  I patted her shoulder, “And I love you, too. Don’t hide yourself away here. Crestwood may be quaint but I have a lot of friends who want to get to know you. I want Elizar to get to know you.”

  “The good looking warlock with a tarnished reputation of fickle love? I’ll be cordial so long as he doesn’t betray you”, she let out a long breath, “and I can help you deal with our mother in her midlife crisis. I’m glad that our fat
her cut her off. She needs some independence and distance from him.”

  “I’ll never let him know that you’re alive and thriving as who you were meant to be”, I vowed with everything that I had.

  “I already told him. He knows that the biggest shame of his family, formerly his junior that defected from the family legacy of wicked ways, is living in the same city. He couldn’t even look me in the eyes. I was an inconvenience that no longer mattered. He even had me escorted out of his office”, Amaris said as she flicked one of the skull lights overhead.

  “Why would you go to see him at Council headquarters? Didn’t you want to be free of him?”

  Her eyes went back to darkness, “He paid Voldini for your enslavement! Even let Voldini know about Dimples and where he could find her traipsing along in Crestwood. He did it to lure you to the circus and set a trap! I felt like he needed a new target to focus all of his fury on. I advised that he would be better suited to thwarting me and, unless he wanted more scandals in the future, to avoid any dealings with you.”

  “You traded in your anonymity to force his hand to leave me alone”, I felt the words come out and fought the ache in my chest from it.

  “An easy trade. I’m your older sister and I have a lot of time to make up for leaving you behind. If this is the only way I can give you a better life, then it’s how I’m going to do it”, she said placidly.

  “He has some connection to Elder Fae magic. He blackmailed a journal out of me with all sorts of spells. He somehow had the power to help Cecilia purge the Fae possessor from her body. He’s more dangerous than you think.”