I walked down a row of identical paint-chipped doors until I came to room number nine. With a deep breath, I knocked on the door and waited. Several moments passed before I heard shuffling on the other side.
“Zoe Bennett. State your business here.”
It was the Summoner’s gravelly voice, muted through the door. I couldn’t help but sigh in relief. Some of the council members truly had gotten away from the fight. No one had found them just yet, despite the fact that Vincent—and maybe Dorian as well—was working against them. It might have been several miles away from my home, but I’d managed to get here before it was too late.
“I have some information about one of your Enforcers that I believe you’d like to know. There’s a traitor in your ranks. I hate to say it, but your location has been compromised.”
No need to beat around the bush.
“A traitor?” The Magister’s smooth-as-silk voice replaced the Summoner’s. Clearly, I’d gotten his attention. “You can’t mean Dorian Kostas, can you? The man has been with us for years. Summoner Salvatore personally fought beside him in the war. He would never betray us.”
“I’m talking about someone else, but he might be working against you, too. Dorian is a vampire.” I glanced over my shoulder when I heard a bottle crash from somewhere nearby. Probably someone staying at the motel who’d had too much cheap liquor to drink, but I didn’t want to risk being out in the open like this for much longer. “Another one of your Enforcers is working against you. If you’ll let me inside, I’ll explain everything.”
Several moments passed before I received an answer. My skin crawled as I waited, the light breeze swooping across the back of my neck. Even though nothing was setting off my intuition here, I was still very much on edge. At the end of the row, two men were camped outside their room in plastic chairs, passing back and forth a bottle hidden inside a paper bag. They kept glancing my way, probably wondering if I was here to rent a room for an hour.
“Please, come inside,” the Magister finally answered. A second later, the door cracked open, signaling my entry into their safe house.
“Now, tell us about this Enforcer,” Summoner Salvatore said as he settled into a chair across from me. Even though it was metal and cracking in the middle, he still managed to come across stern and regal as he steepled his fingers underneath his chin. There was an ocean of knowledge and experience in his eyes that I hadn’t noticed the first time we’d met. I’d been too distracted by clearing my name to pay much attention to the men who led the coven.
He had a certain kind of presence that most warlocks only dreamed of. His entire body brimmed with power, though there was something restrained about it, too. Like every move he made actually meant something. I glanced at the Magister, who sat beside his second-in-command, his long yellow fingernails tapping out a beat on his knee. Even he didn’t hold that kind of power, which probably pissed him off. He was rumored to be the most powerful bone warlock alive, but I was starting to think that wasn’t the case.
“You mean Dorian?” I asked, glancing around at the motel room. Three single beds took up the dim space, sagging under thin blankets and lumpy pillows. Mildew permeated the air, and the scent of stale cigarette smoke drifted through the walls. Surely they couldn’t be living here. This place was a dump. “I hate to break it to you guys, but he’s a vampire. I don’t know exactly what his stake is in all of this, but he may have told the Daywalkers about your location.”
Summoner Salvatore shook his head, flickering his fingers in dismissal. “No, dear. We’ve known about Dorian’s past for years. He’s an Unbound and wants nothing more than to serve his coven. Tell us about the other Enforcer. The traitor you spoke of.”
Frowning, I stared at the Summoner. That certainly wasn’t what I’d been expecting. All this time, the council had known about Dorian’s true nature? My heart squeezed, half in guilt and half in hope. Summoner Salvatore had called him an Unbound, backing up Dorian’s story. Could he possibly be the man he said he was? Had I made a massive mistake?
Blinking my eyes, I shook myself out of those thoughts. I needed to focus on what was important right now, not wonder about the trustworthiness of an infuriating vampire warlock.
“Your Lead Enforcer. His name is Vincent, I think.” I shifted on the metal chair and pressed my lips together tight, remembering the way he’d thrown me into the trunk of his car. “The one who caught me at the morgue.”
The Magister frowned and glanced at the Summoner. “You’re right. He’s the leader of our Enforcers. I find it difficult to believe he would turn on us.”
“Well, I don’t know the guy, but I was shocked myself.”
“Hmm,” the Summoner said, dropping his voice into a whisper as he met the Magister’s troubled gaze. “It’s odd, don’t you think?”
“Oh, yes.” The Magister patted the Summoner’s hand, his face etched in lines that looked out of place on his smooth, unblemished skin. “It is most certainly odd.”
“What’s odd?” I asked, glancing from one to the other. It was as if they were speaking their own language, and I couldn’t translate their words for shit. Not to mention that I could barely hear them over the rhythmic thumping coming from the room next door. Someone in this motel was having fun. Just not me.
“You’re pointing a finger at the man who arrested you, my dear.” Leon Dupont raised his eyebrows and shot me a chilly smile. “One might wonder if there’s an ulterior motive for your accusations.”
My cheeks flamed, and I tightened my hands into fists. “You can’t be serious. I’ve come all this way in order to help you. Hell, I put my own fucking life at risk.”
The Magister flinched before dropping his voice to a whisper. “I told you she had temper issues.”
“Temper issues?” I threw up my hands and stood from the rattling chair. “You know what? Nevermind. I’ve said what I came here to say, and if you don’t want to believe me, that’s on you.”
I turned to go, but the Summoner cleared his throat. “I find it odd, but I don’t share the same concerns as my Magister, Miss Bennett. Sit back down.”
I wanted nothing more than to storm out of this run-down, reeking place, but his voice compelled me to stay. Quietly, I eased back into the chair and met his gaze, unblinking.
“Good.” He leaned forward. “Now, tell me what brought you to this conclusion about Vincent. Do you have some proof to back up your claims?”
“No proof. I’ve come only with a testimony of what I saw, but I will swear on the goddess if you’d like.”
“Just tell me what it is you saw, dear.”
With a nod, I explained to the council why I’d followed the man into the alley and what I’d seen. The Magister’s face darkened with every passing beat until his entire expression hardened into steel. Clearly, he’d had no idea Vincent had been working with the vampires or trying to find a book to enhance his powers.
The Summoner stood, lacing his hands behind his back as he began to pace around the room. The other council members stepped aside to let him pass, exchanging looks of shock. “Thank you, Zoe, for bringing this information to us. It’s quite illuminating and explains why the vampires descended upon us the way they did after all this time of peace.”
“Don’t be an idiot. You can’t possibly believe her.” The Magister moved in front of the Summoner to stop his pacing on the threadbare carpet. They stared into each other’s eyes, their hard expressions highlighted by the flickering bulb overhead. Tension thickened the air like the humid feeling just before a storm. Another checkmark in the unexpected column. There were unresolved issues between these two men, and this situation was only making matters worse.
“Oh, come on, Leon,” the Summoner finally said. “It’s like you have some kind of prejudice against the girl. Get your head out of your ass and take a look at what’s happening to your coven.”
The Magister pulled his spine up straight, and electricity sparked in the air. “I pray to the goddess that you are n
ot questioning my authority. Address me in the proper way. Don’t forget that you can be dismissed from my side just as easily as my previous Summoner.”
I sucked in a sharp breath as I watched the exchange. While there were very few laws governing our coven, there were rules—both spoken and unspoken ones—that we followed all the same. The leader must always be addressed by his title, just like any queen or king. And he must be shown utmost respect at all times.
The Summoner gave the Magister a long and silent stare before descending into a half-bow, his face devoid of all emotion. “Of course, Magister. A mere slip. I won’t let it happen again.”
Our leader’s body relaxed, and the electricity vanished just as quickly as it had come. “An easy mistake. Now, I’m going to have to insist my views are heard.” The Magister pointed a fingernail my way. “She is adept in deceit. I would warn against taking any story of hers at face value.”
I opened my mouth to argue but let it fall shut when I caught a sharp glint in the corner of Leon Dupont’s eye. If it was out of line for the Summoner to show disrespect to the Magister, it sure as hell was out of line for me to do so toward either of them. I was just an untrained witch, after all. I meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.
But I still couldn’t let this continue on. “Listen. I know you don’t trust me, and frankly, I wouldn’t either if I were you. Use the information however you see fit. I just wouldn’t stick around here for long. The Enforcer knows where this safe house is, and he seems hellbent on the vampires taking you all out. Surely you have somewhere else you could go. A safer safe house? One that no one at all knows about. And maybe one that doesn’t stink of wet dog.”
The Summoner frowned, locking eyes with the Magister. “There is that other location, Magister. But if something were to happen and we were needed by our coven, the Enforcers wouldn’t know how to get in touch with us.”
“True, but the leaders need to be protected.” The Magister gave the other man a nod. “Make the arrangements. Rally the men who are staying in the other rooms. We’ll leave immediately.”
The Summoner half-bowed and disappeared from the room. For the first time in awhile, I tasted the sweet tang of relief. A lot of things had gone wrong in the past few days, but at least I’d managed to convince the council to go somewhere safe. With a deep breath, I stood and moved toward the window. I peered through the threadbare curtain, watching the Summoner go door to door and gather his men. It looked as if there were only about eight in total, but eight lives saved was better than zero.
“My Summoner doesn’t agree with me sometimes, as you’ve seen,” Leon Dupont said from behind me. “He believes we should stay and fight rather than run. At headquarters, I could have sworn you felt the same. Why is your tune different now?”
“These are two very different situations.” I turned and met his gaze. He looked different here in the tattered surroundings of the motel room. Less commanding, less polished, less powerful. He looked like a man in way over his head, and the only way out was through a grimy bathroom window that reeked of grout.
“How so?” he asked. “They both involve vampire attacks.”
“At the headquarters,” I said, “the entire council was together, and there were Enforcers in the building. Combined, you probably would have won.”
“Perhaps.” He moved to the thin table by the door and lifted one of the daggers left there by his men. He held it up, letting the light glint off the blade. “Or perhaps every last one of us would have fallen, and the coven would be left without their leaders.”
Leaders who did nothing.
“Oh, I know what you’re thinking. You don’t believe we do enough for our coven members.” The Magister tapped his forehead with the dagger’s end. “Your thoughts and emotions are reflected across your face. You may be good at trickery in some regards, but you aren’t very good at hiding how you feel.”
“Gee, thanks.” I frowned. “And no, I don’t think everyone would have fallen. I think we would have won. Unfortunately, now there’s only a few of you here in this safe house. And there’s a shit ton of them. In order to survive this fight, you’ve got to run.”
“And what are you going to do?” He chose another dagger from the table and leaned against the wall, rubbing the two weapons together as if he were sharpening the blades. The sharp sound sent a sliver of unease down my spine. Why was the Summoner taking so long? “You’re on their radar now, whether you’d like to admit it or not.”
“I…” My eyes drifted toward the curtain. Through the thin material, shadows shifted just outside the door. Was it the council members or was it someone—or something—else?
The door cracked open, and the Summoner returned from outside. His face was grim and serious, but the council members were all by his side. I blew out a hot breath, glad to end this strange and tense moment with the Magister. He might be my leader, but he seriously creeped me out.
“Ah, Summoner Salvatore.” The Magister’s voice held an edge to it as he placed the daggers back onto the table. “Are we all ready to go?”
“Yes, Magister.” The Summoner’s eyes caught on the dagger before he shot a sharp glance at me, cocking his head as if he wanted to ask me a question. “Be sure to stick by my side as we leave, Miss Bennett. Just in case.”
“Alright, men,” the Magister said with a clap. “Unfortunately, our time here has come to an end. Our lives are in danger once again, and we need to move to a more secure safe house, one no vampire could ever find. Let’s go.”
“Magister,” one of the council members said, stepping forward with a bow. “Do you not think it’s time for us to face our enemies and fight? Hiding seems, forgive me for saying, cowardly. How can we truly protect our coven if we run every time we come up against a threat?”
The Magister frowned, his body rippling with tension. “How can we protect our coven if we’re dead?”
The council member shot a quick glance at the Summoner, who gave him a grave nod. Interesting. They’d clearly been comparing notes, and they were very much of the same mind. And, I had to admit, they did have a point. Running away didn’t seem like the right answer, but there weren’t any other options. They were outnumbered. They were on the run. There wasn’t much else they could do.
“There must be another solution.” Another council member stepped forward. “We could call all of our Enforcers to join in the fight.”
“And there are many warlocks in our coven who would be more than happy to step forward for battle,” the Summoner added. “Men who lead regular lives. They would happily pick up their daggers and come.”
The Magister’s face darkened, long lines stretching across his skin. “You would have me create an army.”
“We need one if the vampires are so hellbent on war,” the Summoner said. “You know how they operate. If they truly want to destroy our coven, they will track us down, one by one, until there are no more bone mages left in this town. We are stronger together rather than apart.”
The Magister’s frown deepened. “Maybe so, but there’s no time to gather forces right now. We will go to the safe house and then develop a plan going forward. Grab your weapons now, and go.” He watched as the council members exchanged glances, and his voice hardened. “That’s an order.”
The men shifted uneasily. A few murmurs went up between them, but ultimately they bowed to the Magister’s commands. In a single file, they exited the motel room and edged into the parking lot. The two men in plastic chairs at the end of the row paused and twisted toward us, frowning at the strange sight.
“Let’s go, men.” The Summoner stepped through the cluster of council members to lead the way, but the direction of his footsteps made me pause. Where the hell was he going? Instead of hopping into their cars and getting the hell out of here, the council was heading straight toward the underpass about two hundred feet from the motel.
“Where are your cars?” I asked as I fell into step beside one of the council members. He lo
oked younger than the others. More like an Enforcer with a full head of light blond hair and a strong jaw that rivaled his build. I didn’t know his name. Hell, I didn’t know any of their names. He’d sat quietly in the meeting when I’d tried to convince the council of my innocence, and I could remember him giving me an encouraging nod at some point.
“The Summoner didn’t want to park them here in case the Dogaru clan knows the license plates.” The man gave me a tight smile. “So, we parked them on the other side of the underpass in an abandoned factory’s lot.”
“Great,” I said with a shiver. “That doesn’t sound foreboding at all.”
“My name is Ben,” the man said as we turned our feet onto the hard concrete road. “I just want to say thanks for doing this. After the way you’ve been treated, I wouldn’t have blamed you for keeping your head down. You’ve got a lot of guts.”
“Thanks.” I shrugged my hands into my jacket pockets and smiled. “I won’t lie. This whole thing has been kind of a nightmare, but…”
“But you’re doing what needs to be done.” He nodded. “You’d make a good Enforcer, once your spells are up to scraps. Easy enough to train you in that though.”
“Me?” I shook my head with a laugh as we began to cross into the concrete tunnel underneath the highway. My voice echoed off the thick walls. “Yeah, I don’t think so, Ben.”
For a moment, the world seemed to stutter into slow-motion. The back of my neck prickled in alarm, and I paused my steps. Wind whistled through the underpass, and leaves scuttled across the ground. At the end of the tunnel, a dim circular light flickered like a lighthouse beam, signaling the exit up ahead. But the shadows were thick between our group and the end. Anyone could be hiding and waiting for us to pass through.
Witch's Curse (The Bone Coven Chronicles Book 1) Page 14