Amos let out a snort of laughter.
‘I’m glad you find me so amusing,’ Colt remarked. ‘Now how’s this for a joke? Tell me how to reverse the poison or I will kill you. And it will be funny.’
‘Kill me and you’ll never get the antidote,’ Amos countered calmly.
‘Interesting.’ Colt rubbed his jaw. ‘What’s your price?’
A spark of interest crossed Amos’s round face. ‘Since it seems we’re speaking candidly,’ he began slowly, ‘you have something of mine, don’t you?’
‘Do I?’ Colt feigned ignorance.
‘The Tome of Black Magic. I want that book back. And I know you have it.’
‘Do I?’ Colt repeated.
Amos’s cheeks reddened. ‘Don’t waste my time, boy. I need that book, and I need it now.’
‘Forgive me if I’m wrong,’ Colt mused, ‘but you only want that book for one spell, correct? You want the spell to steal the Arx?’
‘And if I do?’ Amos asked smoothly. ‘Surely a Hunter as canny as you would be willing to strike up a bargain...’
Colt smirked. ‘No deal.’
‘Ah, too bad,’ Amos tutted. ‘Unfortunately, you can’t have it both ways. Who do you want to save more—your beloved mentor Wendolyn, or that frivolous Arcana child?’ There was a beat of silence before Amos began to fill the room with rumbles of laughter. ‘You know, Colt, the look on your face right now is priceless!’
‘Give me the antidote,’ Colt said through gritted teeth.
‘Give me the book first,’ Amos replied.
‘Do you take me for a fool?’ Colt snapped. ‘I’m not giving you the book without getting the antidote first.’
‘Then Wendolyn dies,’ Amos said simply. ‘And to think, you had the power to save her. What a shame.’ He shook his head in mock remorse. ‘But I understand that’s becoming quite the pattern with you lately, isn’t it? I’m sure Lotan and Roc could have used backup when they were being slaughtered. What a pity you weren’t around to help them, either.’
Colt flinched.
‘Oh, sorry,’ Amos faked concern. ‘Hit a nerve, did I?’
‘Just give me the antidote,’ Colt snarled.
‘How many other ways can I say this? When I get my book, you’ll get your antidote. Do you understand?’
Colt’s eyes narrowed. ‘I understand,’ he said at last.
‘And?’ Amos prompted.
‘And you can have the book.’
Amos broke into a wide smile. ‘Good. Now tell me where it is.’
Colt met his gaze. ‘I’ll take you to it. Alone.’
Amos let out a laugh. ‘You expect me to fall for that, Hunter? I won’t be going anywhere with you unless I bring Demetrius.’
‘Then I will request Siren.’
Amos guffawed. ‘Absolutely out of the question.’
Colt glowered at him. ‘As you wish. Then it will be you and me alone. A simple exchange between two honourable men.’
‘Honourable?’ Amos scoffed. ‘How can I trust you?’
‘How can I trust you?’
They stared steadily at one another.
Finally, Amos offered his hand. Colt took it, cementing an uneasy alliance.
‘Shall we?’ Amos asked, gesturing towards the door.
Colt gave a curt nod in response.
As they left Amos’s chamber together, Colt cast one last glance into the misted shadows of the room.
No turning back now, he thought.
Chapter Nineteen
Hush, Hush
Hidden in the foggy shadows of Amos’s chamber, Dino and Blue looked on as Colt and Amos stalked into the hallway. The heavy door slammed shut behind them.
‘Colt was right,’ Dino muttered in disbelief. ‘Amos bought it.’
‘I can’t believe Amos was the one behind this,’ Blue murmured. ‘I t-t-trusted him.’
‘Yeah, you and everyone else,’ Dino said bitterly. ‘Amos had us all fooled. Before today, I would have trusted him with my life.’ And with my sister’s life, too, he added silently.
Dino thought back to the conversation he’d had with Colt just an hour earlier. He’d been on his way to his bedchamber with Blue, Mia, and the other Arcana. On Cassandra’s instructions, they’d been convoying through the dense fog in a close group.
Suddenly, he’d heard a familiar voice in his ear. ‘Library.’
Colt.
Dino had jumped, startled in the opaque mist. He hadn’t heard anyone approach. And when Dino had spun around at the sound of the voice, he’d still seen nothing except mist and shadows in the cavernous corridors of the castle.
Colt’s request to meet him in the library had left Dino with a sinking feeling. He’d grabbed Blue’s elbow and steered his friend off course. After a few silent gestures, they’d fumbled their way through the corridor until Dino’s hands had brushed against the rough library door. He’d pushed it open and stepped into more mist.
‘Colt?’ he’d called in a hushed voice as Blue had cowered behind him.
‘I’m in front of you.’
The Hunter’s voice had been closer than expected. Dino had jumped again, while behind him Blue had let out a little yelp.
Dino had waved his hands through the fog, trying in vain to see through the silver veil surrounding him. ‘Can you help me out here?’
Colt’s hand had sliced through the mist and it had parted. Only then had Dino seen him clearly. Colt’s dark hair had been mussed, and his eyes were wild and unfocused.
‘You look like hell,’ Dino had noted.
‘I could say the same about you.’
‘I’m glad you’re here,’ Dino had said, shocking himself with the statement.
‘Yeah,’ Blue had added. ‘We’ve f-f-found out who’s t-t-trying to steal the Arx.’
‘It’s Demetrius!’ Dino had revealed.
‘It’s not Demetrius,’ Colt had replied coolly.
Dino had frowned. ‘It is Demetrius. Kizzy identified him. She had a vision, and—’
‘It’s Amos,’ Colt had cut him off.
‘No,’ Dino had insisted, confused all of a sudden. ‘It’s not. It’s—’
‘It is.’
‘It can’t be.’ Dino’s brow had furrowed. ‘Kizzy pointed to...’
His words had trailed off as the realisation sunk in. Wait a minute...Amos was in that photo too, wasn’t he? Suddenly, Dino had felt short of breath.
‘Kizzy didn’t actually point to Demetrius,’ Dino had murmured aloud for Blue’s benefit. ‘It was a picture of Amos and the Lighthouse Hunter coven, and we just assumed...’
‘Well, it’s Amos. And I have a plan,’ Colt had said, moving on. ‘Probably not a very good one, but it’s a plan all the same.’
Dino had winced. There was that sinking feeling again.
And now, an hour later, Dino and Blue were huddled in the corner of Amos’s bedchamber, watching Colt’s plan unfold. Thanks to the mist, their presence in Amos’s chamber had gone unnoticed, as did their absence in the bedchamber with the other Arcana—though for how long was anyone’s guess.
The boys ventured out from their hiding place.
‘Let’s do this, then,’ said Dino. ‘And let’s hope for all our sakes that we can pull it off.’
Together they crept out of Amos’s chamber and emerged into the foggy corridor. They felt their way along the passage until they were greeted by a burst of cold night air. They followed the draught and pushed through the heavy entrance door, emerging in the courtyard. Although the mist outside had diminished, dark clouds were hanging in front of the moon, making it difficult for them to navigate a path through the night.
‘Hold on,’ said Blue. ‘I have an idea.’ He withdrew his vial of conjuring dust from his jeans pocket and emptied some of the grains into the palm of his hand.
Dino looked on as Blue closed his fist and whispered under his breath. In the next moment, Blue opened his fingers to reveal a tiny button glowing brightly in his palm.
>
‘Now we have light,’ Blue declared with a smile.
Dino grinned and they set off towards the gardens.
Ahead of them, two dark silhouettes were nearing the embankment. They held an oil lamp in front of them, casting long shadows across the grass.
Amos and Colt, Dino realised.
Instead of shadowing them, Dino and Blue set off in the opposite direction, weaving through the hedgerows. They paced noiselessly across the lawn until they heard the wind chimes swaying tunefully overhead, signifying that they had reached the graveyard. In this part of the garden, moss spread across the ground and slunk over the tree roots like a soft emerald river. All around, tall stone slabs marked the resting places of witches past. Dino and Blue forged on through the plots, occasionally pulling aside long grass and debris to read the names etched onto the stones.
After a while, Blue dropped to the ground beside a shattered gravestone. He held his glowing button over the pieces, then beckoned silently to Dino, who jogged across the grass to join him.
Just as Dino arrived at the pile of rubble, the dark clouds in front of the moon parted and a silvery glow was cast upon the graveyard.
‘H-h-here it is,’ Blue told him.
Amongst the tiny segments of shattered stone, two larger pieces stood out. The bold writing on both was still intact and legible.
One said Lotan. The other said brother.
* * *
Perched on the window ledge with her legs drawn to her chest, Mia gazed out the window onto the dark night. Occasionally she listened to the hushed voices in the bedchamber, but for the most part she was only vaguely aware of the conversations around her.
Madeline had returned not long ago. She had muddled her way through the mist to check on Mia and Dino, and had subsequently stumbled upon the little group waiting in lockdown in the bedchamber.
Cassandra and Madeline were now murmuring between one another in clipped tones. They were still convinced that Colt was guilty—and the mist takeover hadn’t exactly helped his case. Evidently, Kizzy’s vision of Demetrius’s guilt didn’t hold much weight with Madeline, who fancied herself the more advanced Seer. And as a Reader, Cassandra hadn’t picked up on any dark intentions from Demetrius—which left Mia’s case pretty much sunk. Dino and Blue must have abandoned her cause, too, as they were remaining decidedly silent in light of Cassandra and Madeline’s pronouncements of Colt’s guilt.
On top of that, there was the small problem of Roland agreeing emphatically with everything Madeline said, and with Isaac’s general non-compliance added to the mix, Mia and Kizzy were left with zero backup.
Mia’s mind was awash with conflicting thoughts as she looked out into the night from her window vantage point.
Now what are we going to do? she wondered hopelessly.
All of a sudden, she sucked in her breath at the sight of Colt and Amos pacing across the courtyard, their faces illuminated by the oil lamp Amos was holding in front of him. As she watched, the two of them made their way towards the Glass Castle forest. A few minutes later, two other shadowy figures appeared in the courtyard. A small flicker of light soon came to life, revealing the faces of...
Dino and Blue?
Mia stared down at them, wide-eyed and silent, realising for the first time that her brother and Blue were not in the bedchamber with the rest of them.
Who else isn’t here? she thought, straining to place the voices around the room. And, more worryingly, who else is here?
She glanced out the window again. She had to find out what Dino and Blue were up to—and Colt and Amos, too. But how could she get outside? Even in the thick fog, she’d never make it to the door without her mother and aunt noticing. From the sound of their voices, they were parked right in front of the doorway. And there was no chance whatsoever that they’d let her leave if she asked them.
She assessed the window again. It was a long way down to the courtyard.
Although...
She’d seen Colt jump from great heights before, using his Tempestus power to manipulate the air to his advantage. Wasn’t she a Tempestus, too?
Again she looked down at the courtyard. Her stomach lurched.
I’m a Tempestus, she reminded herself. I can do this. She grimaced. Probably.
With extreme care, she unhooked the latch on the window and eased open the pane. A rush of cold night air spilled into the room and she shivered.
Without wasting a second, she crawled onto the outer ledge and pulled the window closed behind her. Rising to her feet, she focused on the motion of the air around her.
Then, she jumped.
It all happened so quickly that she scarcely had time to register what she had done. Before she knew it, she was sitting cross-legged in the courtyard with the castle looming behind her.
Startled, she wriggled her limbs. Nothing was broken. And she wasn’t dead.
Well, whadda ya know? she thought, beaming with pride. I really am a Tempestus!
She scrambled to her feet and ran for the forest.
Chapter Twenty
Breathless
‘You know, Colt,’ Amos began as they walked steadily beyond the castle’s boundaries, ‘a more suspicious man than I would speculate that you’re luring me into some sort of trap to ambush me.’
‘Well, they’d be wrong,’ Colt replied calmly. ‘I have nothing to gain from killing you, Amos. Besides, I’m alone.’ Though not for much longer, I hope, he added silently. He touched the lump beneath his T-shirt where Wendolyn’s amulet lay cold against his chest.
‘That may be,’ Amos accepted. ‘However, I still find it hard to believe that you’d give up so easily. Which begs another question, quite frankly. I can’t help but wonder why a seasoned Hunter like you would go to such lengths to protect the Arx. Anyone would think you’ve actually become fond of the Arcana girl!’
‘I don’t care about the Arx,’ Colt answered coolly. ‘I obey Wendolyn, and she cares about the Arx. Therefore, it becomes my personal business to guard the spell.’
Amos seemed satisfied with the response. ‘Yes, well, I’ll give you that. You’ve certainly hidden the Tome of Black Magic infuriatingly well,’ he noted, looking towards the looming trees on the far side of the glade.
‘Maybe I was planning to hold onto it,’ Colt explained. ‘Maybe there are some things in it that interest me. You know, things of a darker nature,’ he added pointedly.
Amos studied him closely.
‘Just out of interest,’ Colt went on, trying his best to maintain a neutral tone, ‘why did you decide to poison Wendolyn? Surely you could have stolen the Arx without going to such drastic measures.’
Amos sighed. ‘Oh, Colt, my boy, it couldn’t be helped. You know as well as I do that the Glass Castle is rightfully mine.’
The declaration took Colt by surprise. ‘How so?’ he stammered. ‘The castle has been Wendolyn’s home for the better part of a century—’
‘It is not Wendolyn’s home,’ Amos snapped. ‘It was my father’s home until the day he died. Alright, William may have inherited it. But after William died, it really should have gone to me.’
‘So you’re just taking back what’s rightfully yours,’ Colt guessed.
‘Precisely.’
‘And stealing the Arx...’
‘Completes a perfect storm,’ Amos finished. ‘There comes a time when power, stature, and ownership simply must exchange hands.’ He looked at Colt in earnest. ‘When Jonathan had the vision of Mia and the Arx force-field, I took it to be a sign. It was my time. I could regain my place in the castle while ensuring that no one would ever be able to take it from me again.’
‘Two birds with one stone,’ said Colt with forced indifference. ‘But now you’re going to trade me the book for the antidote. Is the Arx really worth forgoing your inheritance over?’ Colt asked, playing dumb while knowing full well that Amos was probably planning on pushing Wendolyn out of the picture and taking over the castle one way or another.
; Amos smiled at Colt’s apparent naiveté. ‘The Arx is worth any price,’ he breathed solemnly. ‘It is the greatest power conceivable. Oh, if you only knew what I went through to keep up this façade! I had Jonathan so hypnotised he couldn’t sleep a single night after his first vision,’ Amos went on, apparently glad to have a confidante who could recognise his efforts. ‘Lucky for me, that boy’s visions only appeared in dreams. I couldn’t risk him exposing me. It was unfortunate when he did manage to elude my Enchantment, though. After he somehow fell asleep, he had a vision—and then he confronted me about it!’ Amos gasped at the insult. ‘I had to kill the poor boy there and then before he ran his mouth,’ Amos confided with a frown. ‘But what a shame. He was such a promising young mind. Almost as talented as William.’
Colt sensed a shift in Amos’s tone. Suddenly, the air around them felt heavy.
‘Oh, how I envied William,’ Amos reminisced in a dreamy voice. ‘Do you know what it’s like to grow up with a brother protected by the Arx?’
‘No.’
‘But you are amongst one at this castle who carries the Arx. Surely you must have coveted it at some point?’
‘No,’ Colt answered truthfully. ‘I need no more than what I have.’
Amos chuckled. ‘Ah, to be young again,’ he patronised, patting Colt on the back. The gesture sent a new wave of fury over Colt—as though the darkness in Amos’s hand was prickling his very bones. ‘In another life, Colt,’ Amos carried on, ‘I would have quite liked to have you work for me. Alas, I fear you’re Wendolyn’s lapdog and always will be.’
Colt’s hand inadvertently moved to his chest. ‘Isn’t it ironic that your brother William was killed by someone stealing the Arx, and now you’ll be doing that very same deed?’ he asked casually. ‘It’s quite poetic, really.’
‘Yes, yes, poetic,’ agreed Amos with disinterest. ‘But there’s always justice in poetry.’
They reached the forest where Colt’s misted maze had become nearly impenetrable.
Amos gave Colt a knowing smile. ‘I don’t think so, my boy. I can sense a charmed mist when I see one, thank you very much!’ he said, letting out a good-natured chortle.
The Witches of Glass Castle: Uprising (The Witches of the Glass Castle Series Book 2) Page 20