Realms of Spells and Vampires: Fae Witch Chronicles Book 5

by J. S. Malcom

  I can’t help it. I’m just curious. “Powder?”

  Autumn shrugs. “Yeah, a powder. It carried a spell of some sort, I guess. It must have.”

  “We need to learn how to do that.” I keep my eyes evenly on hers.

  Autumn catches my meaning. “Yeah, we do.”

  “And we will,” I say. “You can bank on it. It was Wellingsford. You know that, right?”

  Autumn hesitates. “Yeah, it was. I wasn’t sure if you knew.”

  So, she did know, but she was trying to protect me again. From what? Is she afraid I can’t handle that old bitch? Because I can totally handle her. I swear to God if she—

  Autumn’s eyes remain on mine. I sigh and say, “I’ll tread carefully. I promise.”

  “Good.”

  I almost can’t bring myself to say it, but I have to. “I heard there’s going to be trial.”

  Autumn nods. “In five days.”

  Oh, my God. Five days? I don’t know what I expected, but I figured there’d be more time. I try to keep my panic from showing. “So, we have a little time to figure this out.”

  “A little,” Autumn says, making me wish I’d phrased it differently.

  She turns as Louie jumps up onto the sofa, and then into her lap. He glares at me, but then closes his eye as Autumn starts to pet him.

  Autumn looks at me again. “You’d look after him, right?”

  The question takes me completely off guard. Tears suddenly prick at my eyes as I realize what she means. She’s managed to remain so calm, but I realize that’s been for my sake. As always, Autumn thinks of me first. And, yes, even her cat.

  “It won’t come to that.”

  “I know it won’t,” Autumn says. “I didn’t necessarily mean this time. Just, like, if something ever happened. I never thought to ask before.”

  I see what she’s doing, but it still works. Damn, she’s good. “Of course,” I say. “As long as you take care of my snorfler.”

  Autumn laughs. “You have one of your own now?”

  “Just a matter of time. And it’s seriously not going to come to that. I mean it.”

  “I know,” Autumn says. “Because you’re going to catch him, aren’t you?”

  She means the other veil witch, of course, and there’s no point in lying. “You bet your ass I am,” I say. “And then I’m going to figure out what Wellingsford’s game is. And then I’m going to take her down too.”

  “And it wouldn’t matter if I told you that you might be up against more than you can handle. It wouldn’t matter if it might be the very thing that kills you.”

  Finally, Autumn has started to lose control. When it was about her, she could handle it, but now her eyes glisten. I’d like to tell her that I’ve never needed her help before, that I’ll be just fine, but that’s not true. If it wasn’t for Autumn, I wouldn’t be here. She grew up trying to save me. It was all she thought about. And then she did it.

  I feel a tear run down my cheek. “You’re right,” I say. “It wouldn’t matter.”

  Autumn pets Louie for a few more moments before raising her eyes to mine again. “That’s what I figured. So, about that transparency thing…”

  Again, there’s no point in lying. Not anymore. “There’s this vampire,” I say. “Her name is Nora. I’m meeting her tonight.”

  “Oh, shit,” Autumn says.

  CHAPTER 3

  By the time I get home, I’m somewhere between steely resolve and blubbering breakdown. Autumn did her best at putting on a brave face. Way better than I’d be able to pull off under the same circumstances, which would probably involve a combination of screaming tantrum and ice cold terror. All the same, she knows what she’s up against. That knowledge showed in the dark circles beneath her eyes. I heard it in the almost defeated tone of her voice. She seemed almost resigned to her fate. Not like she’s given up, but more like she knows the fight is now out of her hands.

  Which is essentially true. She’s been cut off from her powers while this fight is all about magic, soon to take place on a magical battlefield. I can barely imagine what it would feel like to be violated that way. Magic just becomes so much a part of who you are. Even when you’re not using it, you know it’s there—that power source at your core, that force you know will be there when you find yourself in danger. To find it suddenly gone is nearly incomprehensible.

  Ironically, my own magic simmers close to the surface, setting my skin to prickling. I want nothing more than to light up an orb, to let electricity crackle at my fingers, but Autumn’s right. I need to be patient and careful. I need to find out who’s behind what we’re facing and why they’re doing it. Then and only then will I be able to kick some serious ass.

  I climb the stairs to see Wendy and Alec standing just outside Wendy’s door. The same door which just last night I blew off its hinges. Speaking of magic, I can only assume some was involved in repairing the damage I did. Either that, or a crapload of wood glue.

  I’m almost at my own door when Wendy and Alec break off conversation. She makes eye contact. Well, maybe Alec tries too but I don’t look at him. Either way, it appears that this isn’t the time to try slinking into my apartment to either have a good cry or blow out the windows. Probably for the best, actually. Neither will do me any good.

  I go to them, keeping my focus on Wendy. “How are you feeling?”

  She offers her usual smile, as if she doesn’t have a care in the world. “Good,” she says. “I have my reiki class soon. Want to come check it out?”

  This isn’t the first time Wendy has invited me, so it won’t be the first time I pass. I figure I’ll leave energy healing to those with personalities more suited to the task. I’m afraid I might break someone.

  “Maybe not today,” I say. “Got a second to talk?”

  The smile almost leaves Wendy’s face. “Sure, what’s up?”

  What’s up? She nearly got devoured by the portal equivalent of the mouth of hell. “Well, I was wondering what you might remember about what happened.”

  Wendy shrugs. “Not much, really, but Shakeesha enhanced all of our wards this morning. I’m sure it won’t happen again.”

  Okay, so maybe our building manager, Shakeesha, fixed the door too. Although, I have serious doubts about any wards working against whoever created that trap for Wendy. All the same, right now I need to learn as much as possible.

  As much as Wendy hates focusing on the negative, I try again. “Do you mind telling me what you saw?”

  “Not at all. Mostly, just a butterfly garden.”

  “Butterfly garden,” I say. Why doesn’t this surprise me?

  “Like I told Alec, I went into my apartment but found myself in a butterfly garden. It was just like a place I went to with my parents when I was little. The thing is, it felt like I was seeing it then again too. I felt just like a little kid. I thought I’d somehow managed to manifest it from my memories.”

  Not exactly, but it sure looks like someone did. “And that’s it? You didn’t see anything else? Or maybe anyone else?”

  Wendy shakes her head. “Nothing like that.”

  “So, you never felt you were in danger?”

  “Not at all. At least, not until you grabbed me. Then it was like I woke up from a dream.”

  So, she does remember me being there. I wasn’t sure. Still, this is bad. Really bad. It means that if I hadn’t been there, Wendy wouldn’t have stood a chance. No wonder the others got taken. They probably never knew what hit them. Except for one thing. When I grabbed Wendy, she knew. So, that image of Bethany’s tortured expression must have been burned into her mirror after she realized where she’d been taken. The question being where?

  There’s something else that bothers me. Really bothers me. The other veil witch not only knows how to open that portal, he knows how to weave traps from his victims’ memories. I don’t know what that is, but it definitely isn’t veil witch magic.

  Wendy snaps me out of it. “Well, I should go,” she says. �
��Thank you for helping me last night. I hope all of this ends soon.”

  She says it like we’re talking about bad weather, but I guess that’s Wendy’s way of dealing. She’s a firm believer in the positive. She thinks that denying the negative her mental energy will deprive it of power. Maybe she’s right. After all, something did come along and save her. Okay, that something was me, but still. Wendy barely experienced what happened, and there’s no way I’d want that to change for her.

  So, all I can say is, “Yeah, me too. I have a feeling it will.”

  By which I mean that I very much plan to make it end, along with the person, or people, making it happen. But that’s my fate, to be a supernatural guard dog. Wendy drew a different card entirely. I wouldn’t change that for her either.

  Wendy walks off, throwing one last smile our way from over her shoulder. She disappears down the stairs and it’s just me and Alec now standing in the hall.

  “Well, I should probably get going too,” I say.

  Alec brushes his hair back, his blue eyes meeting mine. “Seriously?”

  I gesture toward my door, pretending I don’t know what he means. In other words, that I've completely ignored him.

  “I have some stuff I need to take care of before—”

  “I heard about your sister,” he says. “I’m sorry.”

  I stare back at him. “We’ll take care of it.” I almost start walking, but then add, “What about the others? Do they know?”

  Alec shakes his head. “Not yet, but I guess it’s just a matter of time.”

  I feel that anger flare up inside me again, along with it the magic that wants so badly to get out and do damage. “So, what, it’s just a matter of your connections again?”

  Alec frowns. “Again?”

  Right, everyone knew about the coven meeting. I lashed out at him irrationally last night. “Whatever. Like I said, we’ll take care of it.”

  Alec nods, his unruly hair falling back down over his forehead. “Sure. I just thought I’d see if there was anything I could do. But you’ve got it covered, obviously.”

  I turn my back and start walking toward my apartment, not sure if I’m pissed off at him, the world in general, or myself. I’m about to unlock my door when Alec says, “Hey, Cassie? You’re right, in a sense. I did hear about it through my family.”

  I don’t look at him as I insert my key into the lock.

  “But that’s the only part you’re right about,” Alec says. “Just figured you should know.”

  I’m about to turn to him and try offering a response, but Alec walks past me without waiting. I watch when he reaches the stairs, but he doesn’t look back then either. He just keeps going.

  ~~~

  I enter my apartment and close the door behind me, suddenly not so glad to be alone. The fact is, Alec's words hit home. Maybe right now it's good that my mirrors remain covered, because I'm not sure if I'd like what I see. Why the hell do I keep doing that around him? Is it really just because he looks like Grayson?

  “I can’t be that shallow,” I say, muttering as I walk toward the kitchen. “I’m not, right?”

  Of course, no one is there to hear me. I’m talking to myself, and it's not the first time I thought about getting a cat of my own. Aren’t witches supposed to have cats anyway? Familiars, right? Another bit of witch lore I never really believed. Then again, I also thought witches couldn't fly.

  As for getting a cat, I'm not sure it would work out. I tend to overdo things, so I probably have latent potential for becoming a cat lady. I'm also not sure it would be fair. Sure, the company might be nice, but what about the next time I wander off world and get drunk? What if I end up married in some other realm and forget to come home?

  Whoa, where did that come from? Nice try, brain. You thought you could just sneak that one in there without me noticing, didn't you? Or maybe you wanted me to notice, because now my thoughts drift from my cat lady potential to both Phoenix and Esras. I try telling myself they have nothing to do with what's going on, but that’s hardly the case. After all, saving my sister is only part of it. I need to save Bethany too. So, one way or the other, Phoenix and I will be going through this together. As for Esras, he may not be tied up in this yet, but I have a feeling he will be soon. There’s just no way to ignore those demon incursions into Faerie. Also, that magic I faced last night felt way too familiar.

  Which brings me full circle to those magical strikes carried out through speculomancy. I can’t help thinking that particular magic was chosen because Maggie and I had recently been discussing it. So, like Maggie said at the coven meeting, it's being used to make a statement. Namely, that I've once again been secretly observed. Which also seems way too familiar, making me think that our mysterious veil witch must be receiving magical assistance. And clearly he's upping his game. He didn't slither out of a mirror to kill those vampires. That time, he came out of the veil. Which tells me he's getting stronger, bolder, and more determined. But last night showed that I can definitely fight back. If I can do that much knowing next to nothing, then I'm just getting started.

  CHAPTER 4

  There’s a reason why the street names Nora gave me didn’t seem familiar. First, because one isn’t a street name. Capital Trail is a paved path down by the river following the railroad tracks. Technically, Stancraft Way is a street, but just barely. It’s a lonely little stretch of forgotten nowhere, on one side overgrown with bushes and trees, and on the other occupied by just a few derelict buildings. I think. It’s kind of hard to be sure, given that there aren’t any streetlights. In other words, it’s just where I want to be right now, having gotten off the bus and walked at least a mile alone through the night.

  Then something occurs to me. Am I alone? I look around and say, “Nora?”

  “How’s it going?”

  I almost jump out of my skin. She’s like ten feet away and I didn’t know until she spoke. Now I can just barely make out the pale blue glow of her eyes. Presumably, she’s been watching me since I got here. It takes everything I have not to power up my magic. Instead, I power up my flashlight app and shine the thing her way.

  She spreads a hand to cover her eyes. “Do you mind?”

  “Are you for real?” I say, but I kill the flashlight app.

  “Sorry, I forget sometimes.”

  Now it’s just her voice again as I wait to regain my washed out sight. If there was ever a moment for a vampire to jump me, this is it. Then again, she could have done that already. “Forget what?”

  “How blind you guys are. Then again, I can’t see shit during the day. But that’s due to allergies.”

  Actually, that’s pretty funny. Good to know the vampire has a sense of humor. In that same moment, a cloud blocking the full moon drifts away. Thank you, cloud. Yes, I see her now, realizing why I couldn’t before. She’s wearing jeans and a dark hoodie, the hood still lowered to shadow her face.

  “I see you found it okay,” she says. “Sorry, it’s kind of secluded.”

  “You might have mentioned that.”

  She shrugs. “You’re right. I should have. I wasn’t really myself at the time.”

  Fair enough, all things considered. “You sound better,” I say. It’s not like I know her, but she just does.

  A beat and then she says, “I’m okay.”

  Two words that somehow carry so much weight. I’m okay, meaning I’ve been around a long time. I’ve seen some serious shit. I was once alive and now I’m not, but then again I am. And what can you do with that? I feel all of it in just her weary tone.

  I don’t comment on anything that just passed through my mind. Instead, I get to the point. “Why are we here?”

  Nora walks closer, mostly a shadow with just those two eyes growing larger. “How do I know I can trust you?”

  Damn, speaking of getting to the point. It’s also a very good question, especially since I was just thinking the same thing. I decide to go with honest. “Because I need you. How’s that?”

&
nbsp; That’s not enough, apparently. “And what about when you no longer do?”

  I’m not sure what she’s getting at, but there must be a reason she’s asking. My guess is that she wants to share something, but isn’t sure she should.

  “How about my word?”

  “To be sure, I’d have to take a look. Can I trust you not to kill me, veil witch?”

  It takes a moment, but I get it. Vampires can control human minds, which must mean they can also get inside them. At least to a degree. It’s one hell of a risk, but I’m not sure I have a choice. The stakes are just too high right now.

  So, I take my life in my hands. “Sure,” I say. “Have a look.”

  Her eyes grow closer, and larger, to the point where the glow of them is nearly all I can see. She steps closer yet again and then I feel it, a humming sensation settling over my brain, along with the flickering of lights at the back of my skull. Then she pulls back again. That soon and it’s over, but I just learned something. The vampires came from the Vamanec P’yrin. They may have lost some of that pureness of magical strength over time, but not all of it. I think I could have pulled away on my own, but I’m not entirely sure.

  “I believe you,” Nora says. “Let’s go.”

  She starts moving fast, walking down the street at a ridiculous pace. I hoof it to catch up, but it’s still not enough. Nora looks back over her shoulder, then slows to a pace I can manage. “Sorry,” she says. “Force of habit.”

  I nod, trying not to let on that I’m winded. Then again, I’m not really sure how acute her senses might be. Can she hear the accelerated beating of my heart? Smell the sweat that just broke on my forehead? My guess is yes, in both cases.

  We walk for maybe half a mile, then leave the street to take an old road that’s been closed to cars. These days, it’s more just another path than anything. It’s cracked and full of potholes, overgrown where mud has sat long enough to produce crops. At the end there’s a chain-link fence topped with razor wire, behind which hulks a series of dilapidated brick buildings. There’s a gate in the fence that’s bound closed with chain. There’s also a no trespassing sign. We go around to the back, where Nora leads me through a hole that looks to have been torn through the chain-link, reminding me of how strong vampires can be. Another reason why I usually keep my distance.