The Shadowvin float-walk closer. “Will you give us the Codex Mechanica?” asks Slythe. “We know you found out about it at school. The name alone will be enough for you to find the device. Bring it to us.”
A memory appears, the words of the papyri I just translated.
* * *
After the First Wardens
There came us, the Luxalta.
We reassembled the sacred site on new land.
The fountain remains hidden
But never to the sacred device,
The Codex Mechanica.
* * *
“I know why you want the Codex Mechanica,” I say. “You can use it to find the fountain of magic. And based on the way you’ve been pulling in my powers, I don’t think you want the fountain because you plan to share its magic.”
“The fountain is ours,” says Tithe.
“We own its power as well,” adds Slythe. “We need the fountain’s magic to take a solid form. It’s only just.”
My thoughts spin through this news. “So, you don’t want to be Shadowvin any longer. That makes sense. I know some powerful warlocks and fae. They can help you change into whatever you want to be. You don’t need to go after the fountain of magic alone.”
The Void’s body flares more brightly with white light. “The fountain.” His voice is a deep rumble that reverberates through my chest. “Take me to the fountain of magic.”
“This is beyond you, little Trilorum,” says Slythe. “You’ve been chosen to find the Codex Mechanica. Get it and bring it to us. You’re only returning what was ours in the first place.”
“My answer hasn’t changed,” I say. “No.”
“Such a shame,” says Tithe. “Perhaps we’re being too kind.” She focuses on Slythe. “Let’s remind her what we do.” Her eyes flare more brightly. “And you will do what we say, whether you wish to or not. You only make things harder on yourself.”
“When you awaken,” says Slythe, “you’ll remember our visits, but no one else will. It’s called the curse of the Void. Few keep any memory of him. But you’ll recall everything now, especially the pain. Perhaps with time and thought, you’ll come to see reason.”
Both Shadowvin raise their arms. Instantly, tendrils of colored smoke wind up from my hands and pour into their bodies. As the magic is drained from me, every nerve ending in my body feels on fire.
Inside my soul, even my wolf writhes with pain. “It hurts,” she whimpers. “Make it stop.”
“I can’t,” I reply in my mind. “I’m so sorry.”
Before me, the two Shadowvin speak in unison. “We can do this to those you love as well,” they say. “And more.”
After that, the Shadowvin take the forms of Elle and Knox. Yes, they’re still semi-transparent, but the point is made.
My wolf’s whimpering turns desperate. “Our mate! Protect our mate!”
More colored lines of mist float off every exposed inch of my skin. Even my face seeps power. My eyes sting so hard, it’s as if I rubbed my face with Tabasco. I force myself to speak through my gritted teeth. “Leave them alone.”
Next, the False Knox turns to the False Elle and roars. His upper torso expands, turning wolf-like while his legs stay human. Knox’s face elongates into a muzzle as he leaps toward the False Elle. Both sets of his claws are pointed at her throat.
In my mind, I know the Shadowvin are pretending to possess my friends and force them to kill each other in front of me. It’s an illusion and a threat, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s terrible to see your mate try to murder your best friend. A mixture of white-hot rage and terror stream through me.
I scream, “Stop! Now!”
The pain intensifies as more wisps of colored light fly from my body. I collapse onto my side, my body twitching with pain. The False Knox and False Elle turn to me, speaking together in voices that sound so real, my heart cracks.
“Will you give the Shadowvin the Codex Mechanica and save us?” ask the illusions of my friends. “Vow it once; that’s all you have to do. Then, you’ll be under the compulsion to finish the deed, and we’ll be safe. You love us, don’t you?”
The pain turns so intense, all rational thought leaves my brain. All I know is that the agony is overwhelming, and saying something to these creatures will end it all. “I ... I …”
I close my eyes tightly against the pain. Under the roar of magical wind, a voice reverberates. The agony is too intense to open my eyes, but I lock on to that voice just the same.
“Bry!”
It’s Knox. The real one.
White light flashes past my closed eyes. Cold bites into me with more force than ever. My body feels like it’s being turned inside out. Agony bursts through every inch of me.
And then, it’s gone.
I open my eyes to find myself back in the rolling chair at school. I’m in the basement at my workstation, just as I’d been when I’d fallen asleep. Knox kneels before me, gripping my shoulders.
“Bry! Wake up, please!”
I launch forward and wrap my arms around his neck. “Knox, it was horrible.”
“Shh. It’s all right now.” Knox scoops me off the chair and onto his lap. The feeling of being encased in his body and arms is just what I need. “What happened?”
I shiver. “Nightmares.”
“Do you remember them this time?”
I close my eyes, and a tear rolls down my cheek. The visions were so powerful, I hadn’t even noticed I’d been crying while I was asleep. “It’s the Void. He’s evil and works against the fountain of magic. I translated some of the papyri today. It said something about needing this device, the Codex Mechanica, to find the fountain. The Void wants me to find the device and give it to him.”
Knox kisses my temple. “I’m going to kill this Void guy.”
“He’s got these transparent ghost minions called the Shadowvin.”
“So I’ll kill them, too.” The barest scent of burnt charcoal fills the air. Rage.
“We need to talk to Azizi. He tried to tell me about the Void last summer, but there’s this curse about the Void. You can’t remember anything about him after you hear it.” I take in a shaky breath. “And there’s more. If I don’t do what the Void wants, he’ll …” I force out the words. “He’ll hurt you, Elle, and Alec. I have to stop the Void and the Shadowvin before they get anywhere near you all.”
Knox hisses in a short breath. Another scent fills the air. Pain.
Leaning back, I scan the familiar lines of Knox’s face. His neck is twitching again. That’s not a good sign. When I speak, I take care to make my tone gentle. “It’s getting worse, isn’t it?”
I don’t need to say what I mean by “it.” We both know I’m talking about the pain Knox has been feeling lately. And it’s getting worse as the autumn equinox approaches.
Only four days to go until the equinox is here.
“We should go see Azizi right now,” I say. “Ask him what’s going on. I think he’ll know about the Void as well as what’s hurting you.”
“The Void …” Knox rubs his eyes for a long moment. “What were we talking about again?”
“The Void and the Shadowvin. I saw them in my dreams. They want the Codex Mechanica, or they’ll hurt you, Alec, and Elle.”
Knox rubs his forehead. “What?”
My shoulders slump with disappointment. “The Shadowvin told me there was a curse. For a long time, I couldn’t remember anything about the Void, even if it was said a minute ago. Now, the same thing is happening to you.”
Knox shakes his head. “I must be having a crazy day because I’m having brain drain. Can you go over that again?”
I debate explaining it once more, but that doesn’t seem to be a good use of time. This curse will just wipe everything away as soon as I say it. “Maybe we should go see Azizi now.” Now that I have my memories back, I recall Azizi saying something about the Void last summer.
Knox’s ice-blue eyes narrow. “Not sure that’s a g
ood idea anymore. Az is worrying too much.”
My mate is the king of understatement. If he thinks someone is worrying too much, then it’s probably a huge deal that needs more focus, not less. “What’s Az worried about?”
Knox sighs. “My pain is getting worse.”
“We knew that.”
“It’s worse-worse.”
I grip Knox’s hand. He’s trembling. “How bad is it?”
“Azizi called me.”
My eyes widen. Azizi never uses his phone. “What did he say?”
“Az said his glyphs are coming back, so I checked mine. They’re fading, Bry.”
All the oxygen seems to get sucked out of my lungs. As wardens, Azizi and Knox have glyphs from the Book of Isis on their backs. As Knox grew in power, his marks grew darker. Azizi’s grew lighter. We always knew that, when his marks disappeared entirely, Azizi would die.
Inside my soul, my wolf howls with fear. “We can’t lose our mate!”
“We aren’t losing anyone,” I reply.
I steel my shoulders. There’s no way I’ll be the weepy girlfriend when I ask this next question. “How long do you have?”
“I don’t know. They’re fading faster by the hour.”
My heart pounds so hard, I feel my pulse in my throat. “Give me a timeframe. Please.”
“Based on what I just saw? Days.”
I slide off Knox’s lap. “All the more reason for us to see Azizi together right away.”
Knox slowly rises. For the first time, I get a good look at him. His skin is turning gray. Some of his muscle tone has faded. This isn’t the same Knox I saw this morning.
“Good,” says Knox. “We’ll see Az together.” He looks so open and worried, I can’t stomach the idea of leaving him alone.
“Agreed.”
Hand in hand, Knox and I step up the winding staircase that leads to the main reception area. Somewhere in the back of my head, I realize this is my first day at West Lake Prep, and I’m already skipping school. But honestly? I can’t find it in me to care. All I can think about is seeing Azizi. That old were has been a warden for hundreds of years. He must know something that can help.
Because Knox’s glyphs are fading. He’s dying.
As bad as I thought things were, everything has just turned infinitely worse.
Chapter 12
It’s lunchtime by the time Knox and I pull into the parking garage near Lucky’s. This part of Brooklyn is still pretty deserted, even during the daytime. It’s all part of the wards that Alec cast over Lucky’s. This bar is a werewolf hangout, and humans are most definitely not allowed. Even so, the protective spells have been going haywire lately. When that happens, this empty residential street gets mobbed with humans and their cell phones, all of them dying to take a selfie with a real werewolf.
With magic disappearing from the world, shifters, witches, and fairies are more sought after than Hollywood stars. Shifters have it the worst. Our fans call themselves howlers, and once they find a were? They’re like blood-sucking ticks. Hard to get off. Plus, it’s even harder to magically wipe their memories and cell phones afterward.
That’s why wards are so important. Better to keep the howlers out in the first place.
Knox pauses along the sidewalk. “You should eat.”
“So should you.” The scent of copper and smoke has never been stronger. Knox’s pain is getting worse. “Maybe you should skip this meeting at Lucky’s. I can talk to Az myself.”
My wolf stirs inside my soul. “Our mate is in pain. This is a good idea. Let him rest while we talk to Azizi.”
Knox gives me the side-eye. “Your wolf talking to you again?”
Inside my head, my wolf yips for joy. “I am! I am! Our mate is so wonderful to have guessed!” Once again, my inner animal proves to be Knox’s biggest fan. “Tell him what I said.”
“Yes,” I reply to Knox. “She thinks you should rest.”
“She’s a protective animal, which is cool, but you know I’m not leaving you to chat with Az alone. Don’t get me wrong; I love the guy. But he’s, you know, Az.”
I know what Knox means. Az is like a werewolf version of Gandalf. Knox’s guardian is forever making cryptic and dire predictions. “Az doesn’t frighten me.”
“Even so, my wolf still won’t stand for you to be alone with him. My animal thinks the old were will upset you.” Knox gives my hand a squeeze. “It won’t take long, and we’ll get some grub afterwards, yeah?”
The mention of food perks up my inner wolf. “Tell him we want rabbit,” says my wolf. “Or some of those fae who look like sheep.”
“That’s not happening.” I reply in my mind. “We’re leaving the fae alone.”
In all honesty, the idea of food sounds unappealing. Sure, I haven’t eaten all day, but Knox’s glyphs are fading. There’s no way I can force anything down until I get some answers. Even so, I slap on a smile. “Sounds like a plan.”
We quickly reach Lucky’s. It’s one of those basement bars where you have to step down into the pavement to reach the door. In fact, if you looked at the place from the street, it wouldn’t look like a bar so much as a nondescript brick building. Weres like their privacy.
Knox and I step down the five short stairs to reach Lucky’s main door. Once inside, the place looks like it always does: dimly lit with a low ceiling, lots of small, round tables, and a back wall that’s lined with shelves of alcohol. About twenty shifters hang out at the tables, most of them guys. Girl weres are rare.
The moment Knox enters the room, all eyes lock onto him. Everyone’s irises glow with golden light, which means their wolves are near the surface.
I hang with Knox all the time, so I’m immune to this effect, but other weres feel his presence like a lightning bolt. It’s Knox’s natural alpha power, which is the energy that drives him to lead a pack. Or in Knox’s case, since he’s warden of all shifter magic, he’s built to be the alpha of alphas.
My inner wolf just loves this kind of thing. “Our mate is supreme. All other wolves want him to lead them.”
The room falls quiet as Knox and I cross the floor. Usually, Knox asks the bartender if Az is asleep. That’s not what happens this time. Instead, the moment we’re within a yard of the long wooden bar, the bartender—a freckled guy about our age named Thad—nods toward the back door. “He’s waiting for you.”
Knox gives Thad one of his chin nods. Together, we open the back door and make what feels like an incredibly long trek down the hallway to Az’s room. As we get closer, I recognize the deep rumble of Az’s voice and the softer tones of other female voices. My brows lift. Az has visitors. That’s new.
I knock on the wooden door. “Hello, Azizi? It’s Knox and Bry.”
His reply echoes through the wood. “Come in.”
My mind takes a snapshot of this moment. There are a number of ways my life could go, depending on what Azizi has to say next.
Please, let the old were know some way to save Knox.
My hand trembles as I twist the handle and push the door open. Inside, I find a scene I’d never have expected. Az is in human form, which is shocking in itself. Normally, Az stays in his wolf state, lying on the floor.
Knox told me he was always worried about Azizi not lasting much longer. Plus, Knox is constantly concerned about Az refusing to change into human form. It’s not healthy for shifters to stay stuck in their mortal or animal states. But now? Azizi is out of his wolf state and walking about as a man—something I’ve never seen before. Az also looks fit, with copper skin, a shaved head, and thick gray eyebrows. He has a round face and a lean body. Today, he’s wearing a traditional white linen kilt, the kind they wore in Ancient Egypt.
And he’s got visitors.
In fact, the people with Azizi are none other than Scarlett and Avianna, two girls from my old Magicorum Teen Therapy Group. I scan Scarlett first. She looks just like she did in group, with her ebony-dark skin, light amber eyes, and long braids. Today, she’s leaning ag
ainst the wall and wearing red leathers. So badass.
Scarlett tilts her head. “I saw you at school this morning.”
“And I saw you,” I say.
“Crap deal about the doors,” adds Scar.
For Scarlett, that’s a lot of sharing. She’s a werewolf who has a Red Riding Hood life template. Since her name was Scarlett, I assumed she put the red in Red Riding Hood. Although looking at her now? She could possibly be the wolf in that tale as well. My were senses detect something shifter about her.
Avianna steps forward. She’s wearing a long black dress, with a crow perched on her shoulder. Combined with her pale skin, black hair, and pronounced eyebrows, she’s working the full evil queen look. Poor girl. Avianna’s life template is to be the evil queen from Snow White, which is a bummer. She seems like a nice girl. No one wants to end up dead in a ditch while being uglied up by their own potions.
Az focuses on me. “You’ve returned.” Even as a human, he still has a deep voice with the staccato of an Arabic accent. “And now, you remember, don’t you?”
The words are out there, but unspoken: you remember the Void.
“I do.”
Sure, I could say more, but I’m not quite ready. After all, Avianna and Scar are here. Anxiety bunches up my spine. Not sure how much I want to share with those two around. Don’t get me wrong—they’re nice girls.
But this is life, death, and magic here.
Az rounds on Knox. “And you.” He eyes my mate from head to toe. “You look like camel dung I scraped off my sandal.”
Knox gives him the side-eye. “Thanks.”
Az gestures across the room. “I see that you already know my friends. Scarlett, I’ve known for years. Avianna is her friend.”
I give them a half-wave. “Hey. Nice to see you again.”
“I saw what happened with the doors at West Lake.” Avianna’s voice comes out as a peep. “That was rough.” Her crow lets out a small caw that sounds like it sympathizes, too. “Shh, Bernard.”
A crow named Bernard? Somehow, with Avianna, it works.
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