by Amber Flora
“Ashtyn, wake up.” I opened my eyes, seeing Cody standing over me.
“Where were you? I tried to dreamwalk but I couldn’t find you.” I looked over at Herrick and Cody nodded his understanding.
“Brian needs to talk to you, are you up for it?”
“Yeah, I’m good. Where is Mac?” Cody made brief eye contact with Brian, who was standing in the corner.
“The boy is having a hard time facing you at the moment, lass.” Brian said, looking slightly embarrassed.
I jumped up from the couch, looking around the apartment. “Where is he?”
Cody pointed at the door and I took off in a huff toward the Irish boar.
I found him pacing the hallway. When he spotted me he stopped in his track and lowered his head.
“I’m beyond pissed at you right now!” I shouted down the corridor.
“I know,” he said in barely a whisper.
“No, you don’t know! You clearly have no clue. You assume that I am so heartless that I would turn my back on someone I hold so close to my heart in the blink of an eye. Is that what you think of me?”
Mac’s head shot up as his eyes met mine.
“It’s my fault, all of it. I hurt him, which in turn hurt you. I couldn’t save us all. I chose myself over him. I could have let him stab me, I could have taken the beating, but I didn’t. I allowed him to sacrifice himself. Because I’m a selfish ass, because for a brief moment part of me thought if he were out of the picture that you could be mine.”
“You think I’m pissed at you because you chose yourself? Herrick knew what he was getting into, he was prepared for the consequences. Do you honestly believe this would have been any easier on me if it were you lying in there instead of him? I know you better than you think. Maybe you did have a moment of selfishness, who the hell wouldn’t? But I know with every fiber of my being that you would sacrifice yourself a million times over before you would let an innocent person die. You were worried about me and you made a difficult choice.”
“Jaysus Christ, lass, would you stop being so damn noble all the time? Scream at me, hit me! Tell me what a piece of shite I am.”
I walked up to Mac, placing my hands on his face and forcing him to look at me.
“I would not trade his life for yours. You are both important to me. I can’t forgive you because there is nothing to forgive. You have saved me more times than I can I count. You deserved to save yourself. I want you to live a long and happy life, Mac.”
“I know you love him. If keeping him alive means you get the happiness you deserve then that should be my priority.”
“Mac, you have and will always hold my heart. I wish I wasn’t so selfish. If I could act as though I didn’t care, treat you like you meant nothing to me maybe it would change your opinion of me. If I could just find the will to push you away but I can’t. We may never be together the way we once thought possible but I will never stop caring for you or wanting to protect you.”
I kissed the top of his head as I wrapped my arms around him.
“I’m a patient man, Macree. I will wait.”
“What?” I asked confused by his statement.
“The vibrant isn’t immortal, even if he lives a long and healthy life it isn’t longer than ours. Your grandmother got to spend her life with two men she loved, who’s to say you can’t do the same.”
I smiled against his chest.
“I never pegged you for an optimist.”
“A man’s gotta have a dream.”
I kissed his cheek and turned to head back inside.
“It’s a nice dream.”
Brian and Cody were sitting at the makeshift dining-room table whispering to one another. I couldn’t tell if it was because they were trying to not disturb Herrick or they didn’t want us to hear them.
“You said you needed to talk to me?”
Brian looked at his son as if he didn’t want to tell me in front of him, which concerned me. What could be so bad that he didn’t want Mac to hear?
“I had a talk with one of Ruby’s people. She wanted me to give you a message.
She said the sky fell in magic realm.”
Mac rubbed the top of his head in confusion. “What the feck is that supposed to mean? Is she off her nut trying to communicate with us after what she’s done?”
I repeated Ruby’s words in my head over and over, trying to make sense of them.
“The sky … Skyler, she is saying Skyler wants to meet me in Cardician.”
“That’s a bit of a stretch,” Cody said, looking around the room.
“Skyler doesn’t want anyone to know who or where he really is. Ruby couldn’t just come out and say it, she had to use code.” I wasn’t even certain that was the truth but it sounded plausible.
“Or it’s a trap. She is a lying, lass.”
I shook my head no at Mac.
“What would be the point? We’re on her territory, if she wanted us she would come for us. We played her games, she’s done with us for now.”
“Let me guess, there is nothing we can say that would stop you from chasing after this ghost?” Cody asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t need to deny it, they knew.
“So we’re supposed to scour magic realm searching for this guy?”
I closed my eyes to think and one place came into my mind.
“I have a pretty good idea where he might be.”
Chapter 12
It was the dead of night when we flashed into magic realm. The oversize Cardician moon lit up the deserted streets. Cody and Mac walked on either side of me as we made our way down the cobbled path to Victoria’s shop. Brian had agreed to stay behind with Herrick and watch over him in our absence. I thought about inviting my father to tag along but it would have taken too long to get word to him through his rebel contacts, not to mention I wasn’t quite ready to explain all the secrets my mother had kept from him. Something told me he wouldn’t take it too well. I was excited and terrified at the prospect of meeting Skyler. I had no idea what kind of man he really was. I guessed by Anastasia’s actions that he wasn’t a man to be trusted. How cruel could he have been to make his own wife shut off her emotions and flee while carrying his child? I wondered if he even knew she was pregnant. Did he try to stop her or was he glad to see her go? We stopped just outside Mimi’s shop and I sucked in a deep breath to calm my nerves.
“You two wait here.”
I looked between Cody and Mac.
“The hell we will. Are ya off your rocker, lass?”
“I don’t want to scare him off. If he sees the two of you he might flash and I may never get this chance again.”
Cody grabbed my shoulders, looking at me as if trying to gauge my emotions. I was glad he didn’t have Herrick’s abilities; otherwise, he would know I was scared shitless.
“Ashtyn, Skyler is the world's first vampire and a very dangerous man. We can’t in good conscience leave you unprotected.”
I knew where they were coming from. If the roles were reversed there was no way in hell I would let one of them go in alone.
“Just give me five minutes, please. I don’t want all this to be for nothing. I need you to trust that I can handle myself.”
Cody looked to Mac and I knew what he was doing. He wasn’t willing to make that choice; he would let Mac decide.
“Five minutes, Macree. If anything happens to you I will never forgive myself.”
“Thank you.” I wrapped him in a hug before turning to Cody.
“Don’t let him pace like a lunatic for the next five minutes.”
“I make no promises,” he smirked.
I opened the shop door and stepped into the darkness.
Cautiously I walked through the front of the shop toward the back room where Mimi gave private readings and kept most of her potions and personal belongings. The only light was the glow of the moon through the windows. When I entered the back room I saw a shadow of a man sitting in the reading booth. I
couldn’t see his face but fear struck me at the resemblance of his features cast by the dim light. I clutched my throat as bile began to rise.
“Damon,” my raspy voice spat in disgust.
The figure stood and I drew my energy to the surface, bringing the flames forward.
“That’s a neat trick.”
As the man spoke the fire radiating in my palm slightly diminished. That voice was not Damon’s. I knew Damon’s voice over any other; it haunted me in my dreams. The shadowed man stepped forward and became more clear. This man was not Damon, although he bore a striking resemblance to my enemy. He had the same broad shoulders and taupe eyes, and his demeanor was eerily similar. The man looked as though he were twenty years older than Damon but in the shadows they could have easily been mistaken for brothers. A memory from months ago flooded back to me, one of my mother standing in this very room with a man whose appearance matched Damon’s. This man, Deandra was with this man.
“I don’t understand.” I was unable control my shaky voice. I couldn’t wrap my mind around what I was seeing. What I did see in my mother’s memories.
“You look so much like your mother, although the eyes are new. I heard how they had transformed but this is ... well, surprising.”
“I saw you, in one of her memories. You were here with her. Why?”
“How fitting that she would leave you that memory. It seems we have come full circle, my dear granddaughter.”
“Granddaughter? You’re Skyler?”
He bowed as if I were royalty.
“Well, great, great, great … you get the idea. But yes, you are my granddaughter. I am Skyler De’monte.”
I grabbed one of the nearby counters to balance myself. I felt as though my feet would give out at any moment.
“This can’t be ... you look like Damon. How is that possible?”
Skyler grinned wickedly, which reminded me even more of the demon that terrorized me.
“You are such a smart girl. I would have thought you would have figured it out by now. All of your similarities. It never crossed your mind how he could be so powerful? Think, Ashtyn.”
“No! It isn’t possible. You’re saying we're related?”
“Cousins to be exact. Good and evil will always balance out. You and Damon are one and the same. The yin and yang of the immortal world.”
Hundreds of moments flashed through my mind. Damon’s ability to wield the elements without casting a single spell. His undeniable power without ever being taught how to possess it. His notion that combining our bloodline would create the ultimate child. The room spun and I lost focus. The last thing I remembered was seeing Skyler's face curled into a grin right before I hit the floor.
My eyes blinked open to see Cody standing over me with a look of concern on his face.
“She’s coming to,” he said over his shoulder.
I rose slowly as not to anger the pounding in my head that was forming. I looked around the room and noticed I had been moved to the couch. Mac and Skyler, who I was surprised was still there, were sitting at the booth. Mac held a bloody rag on his lip and a scowl on his face.
“What happened to you?” I asked, while trying to stand.
“You, grandpappy,” he nodded at Skyler.
“I apologized, but you did attack me first. I just needed time to explain myself.”
I sighed and slid into the booth beside Mac.
“Let me guess. You blazed in ready to rip someone’s head off, found me lying on the floor and went all Chuck Norris on the man.”
Cody laughed at my interpretation of events.
“I don’t know who this Norris fella is but that’s pretty much the gist.”
Mac grunted.
“So, are we good now?” I raised a brow in Skyler’s direction. I definitely didn’t trust the guy and I wouldn’t forget that he had caused Mac to bleed, provoked or not.
“For now, but this entire thing is … disturbing,” Cody said, looking at Skyler. I knew he was seeing the same similarities I saw between him and Damon. With Damon currently holding Katrina hostage I’m sure it wasn’t easy to be in Skyler’s presence.
“Skyler, can you explain how any of this is possible? If Damon and I are related wouldn’t that mean that my mother and Ser’ie were as well?”
“Of course, those two were constantly battling it out. Deandra learned the truth about the Zeotecs long ago and sought me out. She wanted to learn everything she could, said she needed to stop fate. She was such a good student. I liked her immediately. It wasn’t long after Deandra discovered her family history that Ser’ie also learned of his heritage; he did not have the same reaction as your mother. He was jealous of what she was given and he was not.”
I looked at Mac, who just shrugged. Was I missing something?
“What she was given? You mean that she was the high priestess?”
Skyler sighed and rubbed his temples.
“Honestly, have you learned nothing on your own, child? Deandra was like you and Damon, she was half-dreamwalker and half-wizard, a very powerful wizard, I might add. She hid it for fear of what others might do to her. Deandra told me once about your father, how she was afraid of his pursuit for her, not because she didn’t love him but because she feared if they conceived a child it would be like her. She didn’t want this for you, my dear Ashtyn. Deandra wanted you to live a normal existence.”
I felt my eyes begin to water and I pushed back the tears.
“And Ser’ie wasn’t? He was all dreamwalker, which angered him?” Cody asked to Skyler.
“Correct, he saw the power she possessed and he wanted it. When he realized he would never obtain that kind of magic he created the Credo. Ser’ie decided if he couldn’t have it then no one could. He would wipe all impures from the earth.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It was all making sense. The events of the past were finally coming together.
“So it had nothing to do with Ser’ie thinking half-bloods were impure? It was out of jealousy for the abilities he would never have?”
“I’m afraid so. Jealously is a powerful thing. If Anastasia hadn’t been jealous of my rule over shadow realm she would have never cursed me to this life.”
“I thought Anastasia was plagued by a broken heart. That your cruelty toward her caused her to lash out.”
I saw the disappointed look on his face when I spoke of his wife.
“Anastasia was plagued by many things but I was never cruel to her. She hated how the people looked to me and not herself. Anastasia saw herself as the ultimate being. She wanted to be worshiped by all. I tried to fulfill her needs and desires but it was never enough. Her actions were out of spite, she cursed me and my child to hurt me. Eternal life is a burden I would wish on no one; to see all those you hold dear perish would harden even the gentlest of souls.”
He looked as though he was lost in thought and I wondered if he was thinking of his child. Did he come to know his offspring? Did they have a relationship?
“I’m confused, if Damon knows all of this why did he want Ashtyn in the first place? He doesn’t need her to have a powerful child.”
Skyler tilted his head at Cody. “Who said Damon knew? Damon knows nothing of Zeotecs or myself. He’s a lot like his uncle: a self-absorbed little shit who thinks the world owes him.”
I replayed my mother’s memory in my head once more. Something wasn’t making sense.
“Skyler, my mother’s memory of you. She was in this very room with you. She had an old book in her hands and she was crying. Do you remember that? What happened that night?”
His face hardened and he look between Cody and Mac.
“Might we have this conversation in private? I feel as though this is a matter best left between family.”
“Anything you have to say you can say in front of them, they are family,” I said. Skyler reluctantly nodded his acceptance.
“Your mother knew her end was near. I’m not sure how but she was preparing for it. S
he left Victoria and Algon a goodbye letter days before she gave birth to you and died. She asked me to bring her here. She was afraid of being caught and needed protection.”
“That’s not so bad. Why would you not want to share this?”
“Your mother had another motive for coming here, one she didn’t think I knew. Everyone always assumed that your mother trapped Ser’ie in a dream and she knew they would, which is why she hid him somewhere else, somewhere no one would expect.”
I gasped as it hit me, the answer to the question so many seeked.
“The book, she stashed Ser’ie in a book?”
“I told you that your mother was a powerful wizard. No one could have guessed she had that kind of ability.”
I looked back to the bookshelf behind us.
“But it isn’t there. In her memory she hid the book in that bookshelf.”
Skyler stood and distanced himself from the rest of us. A clear indication that he was about say something that could start a fight.
“After your grandmother’s death I thought it best to retrieve the book. I was unsure of whose hands it could end up in.”
“You have the book that holds Ser’ie? That’s wonderful,” I squealed.
“Not really, lass.” Mac said, boring accusing eyes into Skyler.
“Why?”
“Because he has no intention of letting it go,” Cody added.
“Is this true? Are you thinking of releasing Ser’ie?”
“I’m not sure what I plan to do with my family but it is my choice to make no one else's. Ser’ie has his faults but he is still blood. I’m not set on the idea of having his soul trapped inside of a book for eternity. I promise you I will not make this decision lightly.”
I jumped from the booth and Cody and Mac followed suit.
“You can’t make this decision at all! You think he was ruthless before? Imagine how he will be after being trapped in a book for decades, and if what you said is true then he is my family too and I refuse to let that menace back into our lives.”
“Try to remember who you’re speaking to. I am not the man Anastasia made me out to be but I am not a man to be pushed either. I told you that I will not act hastily. I just want my family with me, surely you can understand that. I have watched over all of my kin over the centuries, living in the shadows, wishing I could change their fates.”