by Vivi Anna
“I don’t want to stop. The Davenports need to pay.”
“And pay they will.” She handed him a knife made of silver and inlaid with onyx. It glinted menacingly in the flickering candlelight.
Darin took it, gripping the hilt tight in his right hand. He looked into the cat’s eyes and did what he had to do, knowing he was beyond any type of forgiveness for the things he’d done.
Chapter Fourteen
She was there again in the market—the girl with the fiery cascade of curls and pretty green eyes. Drea Blairwood, he was told, was her name. It was difficult not to notice her. Like a magnet, his gaze automatically tracked from across the village square. Of course, he had to make sure she didn’t notice him noticing her. He was not a good man for her, but still the heart wanted what it couldn’t have.
He’d first seen her only days after arriving in the village to find work. She’d come out of one of the houses, her plaited hair swinging. A mangy dog ran up to her, barking, and she crouched to pet it, scratching it behind the ears and laughing. She’d only been seventeen then, but he couldn’t deny she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. She had a light inside her that he’d been drawn to. And ever since that day, he’d been watching her from afar. Always careful not to make himself known. It wouldn’t do for her to truly know him.
As he talked with Claude, Sebastian watched her out of the corner of his eye. She was milling about near the fruit stands, taking an interest in the melons. Then her gaze lifted to his and she dropped the melon she’d been holding. It bounced on the others and sent them all to the ground.
He smiled as she scrambled after them. One rolled right to him, as if he’d planned it all along. He hadn’t of course. He picked up the fruit and handed it to her.
She blushed a little and it made his heart skip a beat. She was so young and innocent but he sensed a strength inside her that resonated beyond her years. She could weather a storm to be sure.
“Do you like magic?” he asked, unsure why he did so. Magic, as he knew it, didn’t exist in this world.
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen any.”
He slowly reached for her. He wanted desperately to trace the freckles over her sharp cheekbones but instead he drew one of her stray curls behind her ear. As he did, he conjured his family’s silver medallion between his fingers. He wanted her to have it. It was a token passed from Davenport man to the woman he wanted to pursue. It had strong magic inside it, a way for the giver to always know where the receiver was. Like a beacon, it sent out a signal a sorcerer could track. As long as she carried it with her, Sebastian could always find her.
“Treasure can be found in the most interesting places,” he said as he handed it to her.
The second she touched it, she disappeared. Vanished into thin air. Sebastian whirled around and saw he was completely alone in the village square.
“Drea!” he shouted. “Where are you?”
There was no answer, not even a bird call or a dog bark. It was as if he was the only thing that existed.
“I’ll find you!”
Sebastian heard his voice screaming in his head. Images of Drea swirled around with it. Then a clear distant voice sounded in his head. A familiar one. One he hadn’t heard in years. There came a light tapping on his cheek.
He struggled out of the darkness. He wanted to come to the surface. He knew it was important that he do so as quickly as possible. But still the cobwebs of the pitch clung to him, holding him prisoner.
Then came the biting cold of something liquid. That jump-started his heart. It was just the jolt he needed to break free.
He opened his eyes, blinking against the glare of sunlight.
“Hello, brother.”
He blinked again, trying to gain his bearings. But it was the face staring down at him that gave him the clarity he needed. “Rhys?”
His brother smiled, tears forming in the gray depths of his eyes. “Yes.”
Sebastian looked around and spied more familiar faces looking down at him. “Jovan?”
His youngest brother grabbed his hand. “Hey, brother. It’s about time we found you.”
A woman with golden skin and white hair beamed at him. It was like looking into another sun.
“Skylar.”
The Druid stroked his face. “You had us worried when you wouldn’t wake up right away.”
Then his gaze settled on the other woman hovering near Rhys. He recognized her face but didn’t know quite from where.
She smiled at him. “It’s good to see you again, Mr. Davenport.”
“Miss Stratton?” When he first found out about portals, his journey had taken him to a psychic in a small village just outside of Stonehenge. Miss Stratton and her mother had helped him open the portal those five years ago. “But how? Is your mother here as well?” He glanced around, hoping to see the eccentric Mrs. Stratton.
She shook her head. “She’s passed on.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“Thank you, but Rhys tells me I will see her again soon.” She took Rhys’s hand in hers and he saw a light come on inside his usually dour brother.
“How did you find me?”
Rhys glanced at Jovan, who looked at Skylar. She smiled at Miss Stratton. “It’s a long story,” Rhys said.
Sebastian sat up and saw that he was outside the smithy in a wagon full of hay. Then he remembered the prior events.
“Drea? Did you find her?” He moved around in the hay, trying to get out of the wagon and on his feet. The pain in his head exploded and he nearly passed out.
Skylar pressed him back down. “Take it easy. You have a nasty cut on the back of your head. Looks like you were hit twice.”
“Who is Drea?” Rhys asked.
Everything was spinning. Bile rose in Sebastian’s throat. He lay back down and tried to breathe deeply. “She hit me over the head.”
“A woman did this to you?” Jovan asked.
Skylar smacked him in the arm. “Don’t sound so surprised, my darling. I could easily brain you with my parasol.”
“True.” He pecked her on the cheek.
“No,” Sebastian said, pushing at the hands trying to keep him on his back. “She hit me the first time. Elves did this. Elves killed poor Mr. Blairwood. Set his house on fire.”
“Elves?” Rhys’s eyes widened. “What in bloody hell are elves doing here?”
“Was it Councilman Amathon?” Skylar asked.
Sebastian frowned. “No, an elf named Acari. Why would you ask about Amathon?”
“He and his small army tried to stop us from using the portal in France,” Rhys said. “Elves and Darin Hawthorne.”
“Hawthorne?” Sebastian could barely remember what the sorcerer looked like, although he did remember his impetuousness and his cruel streak. “Why?”
“He wants the head seat on the League of Illusion, of course. Your seat,” Jovan said.
Sebastian rubbed at his temples, trying to dispel the constant throb. “You mean Father’s seat.”
Jovan glanced at Rhys. “No, brother, I meant yours.”
He looked at his brothers, saw the twin pain in their eyes. “Father’s dead?”
“Not yet,” Rhys said, “but the cancer is killing him and, as tradition states, you are his successor.”
“There’s only five more days until the solstice,” Jovan said. “We have to get you back before then, or the seat will go to Hawthorne. Then the world will be in some real trouble.”
Sebastian lay on his back, staring up at the gorgeous blue sky, and tried to digest everything he’d just heard. His father was dying. He shouldn’t have been too surprised. He’d been gone five years. That was a lot of time for things to happen and change. Obvious by the fact that both his young brothers were involve
d in relationships. Something he never thought he’d see. But the thought of the formidable Blake Davenport dying of anything shook him to his core.
And now he was meant to rule.
The seat at the head of the League of Illusion had been in the Davenport family for centuries. Sebastian had been taught at a young age about the league and how it protected those in the magical community and kept them secret from regular society, protecting society as it were. He’d always known the responsibility would lie with him one day. He’d just hoped that day would never come or at least not until he was a much older man with a wife and family of his own.
Being at the head of the league was something he’d never wanted. He’d even told his father that shortly before disappearing into a portal while trying to right his huge wrong. For the first time in five years, he wondered if he’d vanished on purpose. Maybe he’d known exactly what he was doing. He’d heard all the warnings, studied all the lore, knew all the risks, and had done it anyway, knowing he had an extremely small chance of succeeding and returning home.
Sebastian sat up slowly this time and shuffled to the end of the wagon. He slid off to his feet. He wobbled once, Skylar was there to hold him, and then stood steady. His head still throbbed but he gritted his teeth and tried to ignore it.
Rhys gripped his shoulders and pulled him into a hug, which he found surprising as his brother was not usually one for displays of affection.
“It’s good to see you again.”
Sebastian patted his back. “You too.” He pulled back, glanced at Miss Stratton then back to Rhys. “You look happy.”
Rhys just smiled, almost seeming embarrassed by his newfound happiness.
Now it was Jovan’s turn to embrace him. His youngest brother was not as gentle and crushed him in his arms. “I looked for you for over a year. We all thought you were dead.”
“Not so, obviously.” He smiled at Skylar. “Back with the Davenports, I see.”
She chuckled. “You’re a hard lot to get rid of.”
“It’s wonderful to see all of you. It truly is. But now we need to get in gear and go find Drea.”
“What we need to do is to find another portal and get home.” Rhys frowned. “Did you not hear us when we said we only have five days?”
“I heard you.” Sebastian looked around for horses they could take. “But I’m not going anywhere until I know she’s safe.”
“Who is this woman that you would risk the whole world for?” Rhys asked.
“You’ll find out when we find her. It’s my fault the elves have her. I won’t abandon her to her fate.”
The metalsmith ambled out of the smithy. “You’re awake.”
“Claude? What the hell happened here?”
He scratched at his haggard face. “I didn’t see it at first, but came after I heard Blairwood shouting. I ran out to see him arguing with the tall man with pointy ears. He tried to fight them, but was shot in the heart with an arrow. They pushed him back into the house and started the fire. They rode through town and started other fires.” He shook his head. “I didn’t know what to do.”
Sebastian put his hand on Claude’s shoulder. “There was nothing you could’ve done. They would have killed you too.”
“What did they want?” Claude asked.
“Drea. They need her to find the morrigan.” He slammed a fist against his leg. “Why did I let her get involved?”
“You didn’t let her do anything.”
Sebastian swung around to see Drea’s aunt riding in on her old horse. “She’s as bullheaded as they come.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss. Mr. Blairwood was a good man.”
She nodded. “He was. Although we never saw eye to eye, he was still a good father to that girl.”
“I’m going to find her and bring her home.”
She wiped at her eyes. “You better. She’s needed here. Especially now.”
“How can I help?” Claude asked.
“Do you have anything we can use against the morrigan?”
Claude nodded. “I might. I’ll take you to my special workshop.”
Rhys glanced at Sebastian. “Do you have any idea in what direction the elves would’ve taken her?”
“No, but help me build a fire and I’ll find out.”
Chapter Fifteen
After riding all day through the rain, they finally stopped by a stream to rest the horses. Drea climbed down a small hill and relieved herself. When she climbed back up, Acari had a small fire going and was cooking a small animal on a spit over the flames.
The elf she’d been riding with handed her a water skin. She drank greedily from it. Her skin was hot. She feared she might be getting a fever. What she wanted to do was spit the water back in his face, but she knew that would be a huge mistake. She had to play it cool, had to appear to want to cooperate.
“Where are we going?” she asked after handing the skin back.
“You will have to tell us,” Acari answered.
“But I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do. It’s buried in that pretty head of yours.” He picked up the spit and tore off pieces of the cooked meat. He handed a piece to her.
She took it gingerly. She was hungry and she needed to eat if she was going to keep her strength up. “I can’t tell you anything. I was so young. I don’t remember anything.”
“You will.” He handed her a wooden bowl. Inside was a thick dark liquid. “Drink this.”
She sniffed it. It had an earthy odor. There were definitely some herbs in there and ground-up mushrooms. “What is it?”
“It’ll help you remember.”
“What if I don’t want to remember? What if I don’t want to help you do whatever it is you’re going to do? What if I want to gut you like a pig for killing my father?”
“I don’t really care what you want.” Acari nodded to another of the elves, who grabbed her from behind. Acari took the bowl before she could toss it.
The elf grabbed her by the back of the head and yanked it back. Acari pinched her jaw between his fingers and squeezed. She had to open her mouth or his fingers would’ve pierced her flesh. He poured the contents into her mouth and then plugged her nose. She couldn’t spit it out but had to swallow if she wanted to take in any air.
He released her nose and pushed her away. The other elf let her go. She fell to her knees, shoved her fingers down her throat and tried to retch.
“That won’t help you,” Acari said as he loomed over her. “It will do much worse coming back up. Besides that, the Brahmi has already entered your system. You’ll be telling us everything we need to know in less than thirty minutes.”
Drea had never heard of Brahmi but she could definitely taste the mushrooms in the tincture. By the way she was already sweating she figured it was aminita muscaria now poisoning her system. It wouldn’t be long before the hallucinations started.
She sprang to her feet and ran into the trees. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that the elves weren’t giving chase. They didn’t have to. She’d turn into a paranoid blubbering mess soon enough and they could just pick up the pieces. But she still ran. She didn’t want to make it any easier for them. And any delay in their travel meant more time for Sebastian to find her.
As she ran, her limbs started to feel like noodles. All flimsy and wobbly. It felt as if there were no bones in her arms or legs. She stumbled forward and tripped over a rotting log. She tried to stand but found her legs ineffectual, so she crawled forward, dragging her right leg. There had to be something she could do to inhibit the drugs coursing through her. A plant she could eat to counteract the effects.
She scrambled ahead, searching the plants and bushes for something she recognized. Names of her herbs that grew wild raced through her mind, searching for one that coul
d be beneficial. Yarrow. She spotted it to her right. It was an all-purpose herb that helped maladies of the head, heart and stomach, and even had a calming affect. Maybe it could help stagnate the increasing effects of the mushrooms and Brahmi. It was at least worth a try.
She dragged herself toward the plant, her arms barely able to support her weight. She reached for the white flowers, tore them off their stems and shoved them in her mouth. But she didn’t get a chance to chew before she fell onto her stomach on the hard ground. The flowers fell out of her mouth.
It made her belly hurt but that made her laugh for some reason. She rolled onto her back and looked up at the trees gazing down at her. One tree was reaching for her with its bony stick fingers.
“Don’t touch me, stupid tree.”
There were footfalls next to her and she looked over to her left to see a man gazing down at her. He had short dark hair and was dressed quite gentlemanlike. Maybe he was going to a wedding. She liked weddings. Maybe he’d take her with him.
She smiled at him and lifted one noodle arm toward him. “Are you here to help me?”
He smiled and it made her stomach hurt even more.
“Oh my dear, of course not.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Are you going to scry in the flames?” Skylar asked Sebastian as he touched the pile of wood and it burst into flames.
“Yes, that’s the idea.”
“Do you have something of hers to use as a focus?”
“No, but she has something of mine.” He sat cross-legged in front of the fire.
His brothers stood behind him. Miss Stratton as well. Claude stood off to the side, obviously uncomfortable with what was about to take place. Skylar had settled in beside him, apparently fascinated with what he was about to do. She was the only other person here, as far as he knew, who could scry. It was not a normal ability that sorcerers possessed. He imagined Skylar had learned it during her many years in Druid tracker school.
“Skylar, my love,” Jovan said, “maybe you should leave him to it. You don’t want to be in the way.”