Avenge (Malice Book 2)

by Amity Hope

  She hesitated, thinking it over. “Can I trust them?” She didn’t sound so sure.

  “You can. I promise.”

  She gnawed on her lower lip as she thought it over. “If my parents ever found out I told you, they would kill me. Not really,” she quickly added. “I mean, just because they’re Striga doesn’t mean they’re crazy. And actually, only my mom is Striga, half Striga.

  “So that makes you a quarter,” I clarified.

  She nodded.

  “Wow, and you still have incredible power for a quarter-blood.” I was in awe.

  “The point is, my parents would not be happy. It’s bad enough I told you. If I tell the other three…”

  “Didn’t it feel good to tell me? When Tristan laid it all out there, he said he was relieved to not have to hide it anymore. I can’t imagine what it’s like, living like that. Hiding who you are. Worrying about who will find out, what they’ll think. But you don’t have to worry about us. You know us. We know you. We’re not going to judge you. We’ve already formed our opinion of you. That’s not going to change now.”

  “Sam…? Riley…?” Finola gently knocked on the door. “I don’t mean to interrupt but we need to get moving on this.”

  “We’ll be out in a minute!” I called.

  Riley sighed.

  “Are you going to tell them?” I asked.

  “Do you think I should?”

  I didn’t even have to think about it. “Yes.”

  She pulled in a deep breath. Without looking back she crossed the room and let herself out the door. Finola stepped back and Riley bypassed her to head back to the foyer. Finola gave me a questioning look. I simply motioned for her to follow Riley.

  “Is everything okay?” Alex asked when the three of us entered.

  Daphne glanced up from the grimoire she’d been perusing.

  “I think so,” Riley said. “But there’s something I need to tell you all.”

  “What is it?” Fin asked.

  Riley’s eyes scanned over our three friends. “It’s kind of a big deal,” she started. “And I need to know if I can trust the three of you. I want to be able to help Tristan and Jude, I really do. But I can’t do that unless I know I can trust all of you, completely.”

  Daphne’s curious gaze landed on me. I gave her a subtle nod.

  “You can trust us,” Daphne assured her.

  “Of course,” Finola agreed.

  “Absolutely,” Alex said. “We’re all friends here. We’re all working toward the same goal. I thought it was pretty clear that what happens between the five of us, stays between us.”

  Riley nodded. “Okay. Maybe it’s easier if I just show you.”

  “Show us…?” Daphne’s question was cut off by a sharp inhale, a gasp for air.

  Unlike the subtle flow of magic that Riley had used in Mom’s office, the crimson poured from her fingertips this time. It spread across the floor, pooling across the room like an ocean of blood. It seeped up the walls, across the ceiling. As it did, the parlor faded away. The room turned into a tropical forest. Grass sprouted beneath our feet. Trees twisted their way out of the floor. Vines hung from the ceiling. The scent of damp earth and clean air surrounded us.

  Alex let out an impressive, inventive, colorful string of curse words.

  The moment he did, the magic snapped back to Riley. The forest disappeared with it.

  “That was wicked!” Daphne cried.

  Riley frowned.

  “I mean, wicked as in…awesome. That was amazing!” Daphne twisted around on her feet, as if hoping for a last glimpse of greenery.

  “You conjured an entire forest.” Alex blinked at her, too stunned to say more.

  I could relate. It had taken all I had in me to conjure a pony for my sister. Riley had conjured an entire atmosphere. I shuddered as I remembered she was only quarter Striga. I wasn’t sure I could even comprehend what a pureblood could do.

  “You’re a Striga.” Finola said the words carefully. Her expression remained rather impassive.

  Riley bit her lip and nodded.

  “Okay then,” Finola said as she blew out a gush of air.

  No one else said a word.

  “I didn’t feel comfortable telling you sooner than this,” Riley said to the room.

  Alex spoke first. His tone was firm and reassuring. “We understand. You don’t owe us anything. We had to earn your trust. I hope we did.”

  Riley turned to Daphne. “This is why I couldn’t help you with your spell casting. I was afraid I’d slip up.” She explained to Daphne how difficult it was to repress her Strigan side. She explained to everyone how hard it was to suppress it when she was working on a huge spell. Such as a portal.

  “Well, you’ve done a fantastic job of suppressing it,” Daphne said. “I am completely blown away.”

  “Sorry,” Riley murmured.

  “Don’t be sorry,” Daphne said. “I’m just happy you’re on our side. You are on our side, right?”

  Riley gave her a look that told her she shouldn’t even have to question it.

  “So you can do the spell? You can create a portal?” Finola pressed.

  “I can. I just don’t think I can do it alone,” Riley admitted.

  “That’s fine. We’ll help,” I said.

  She looked at me and grimaced. “No offense, but even combined, I’m not sure your magic is strong enough.”

  Finola frowned. “What then? If you need help, and you can’t get it from us, what are you going to do?”

  Riley drummed her fingers on the arm of the chair. She shrugged and smiled but she looked nervous. “I trusted you. All of you. Now I need to ask for the same. I need you to trust me.”

  “Trust you with what?” Alex hesitantly asked.

  “I’m going to go beg a friend for help. I need to know that you trust me enough to decide who it is safe to share our plan with.”

  “You want to tell someone what’s going on?” Finola sounded skeptical.

  “I trusted you…,” Riley said, her tone pleading. “Now I really need to know that you trust me.”

  “Okay,” I said with a small nod. “Do what you need to do. Tristan might be running out of time.”

  “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Riley grabbed her purse and keys before racing out the door.

  ~*~*~

  Nearly an hour passed before my doorbell rang. I pulled it open, not surprised to see Riley, but completely floored to see Caleb.

  “Uh, hi?” I said as I moved to the side to let them in.

  “Hey,” Caleb said quietly. His eyes darted about the foyer. He didn’t look too happy to be here. Riley grabbed his hand and tugged him along.

  “Oh, hey. Caleb?” Daphne said his name is if it were a question. She was sitting on the couch next to Finola. The two of them were going over a page of notes.

  “Remember when I said that I needed help to do the spell? The help of a friend?” Riley prodded.

  We all nodded.

  She held a hand out toward Caleb, as if she were a game show hostess showing off a prize. “Well, here he is.” She smiled at us all nervously.

  “Wait,” Daphne said. “Why can he help when we can’t?” Her eyes widened in question. She stared at Caleb.

  He stared back.

  “You’re Striga,” Daphne said.

  “Bingo,” Caleb deadpanned.

  “Just how many of you are there?” Daphne demanded. It was a rhetorical question since we’d already inadvertently gotten the number from The Council.

  “More than you think,” Caleb said without emotion.

  “You told him what’s going on?” Finola asked.

  Riley shook her head. “Not really. I just said we all needed his help. I wanted you all to make the final decision.” She turned to me. “Sam, if you want me to help, I can’t do it without Caleb. I had to go to him. You need to let him know what’s going on. He’ll keep it between us. I promise.”

  She looked at Caleb. For the first time,
the cocky smirk he’d been wearing since walking in the door faded away. Probably because of the concerned look on Riley’s face.

  He glanced around the room at all of us. “Well, I guess my secret is out. You all want to fill me in on yours?”

  Half an hour later we had him caught up on everything. He knew about Levi stripping spirits out of bodies to use them as vessels. He knew that elderly Striga paid exorbitant amounts to have their spirits placed in these vessels. Worst of all, he was now aware that Bree, Jude and Tristan had all been part of Levi’s plan.

  “Bree’s okay, though?” Caleb finally asked.

  “More or less,” Alex said. “Her parents have noticed a change in her personality. It’s hard to say if it’s from damage to her spirit while it was outside of her body, or if it’s just due to the ordeal she went through.”

  “Regardless, her parents are elated to have her back,” Finola said.

  “And now you need help with Jude and Tristan,” Caleb clarified.

  “We know where they are. Or at least we have a general idea. We need to get to Crescent City. I need you to help me with a portal,” Riley quietly requested. “I know I can’t do it alone. But you’re a whole lot stronger than I am.”

  “I can’t believe you’re Striga, too,” Daphne muttered as she dazedly stared at Caleb.

  I wasn’t sure her words were meant for us to hear, but we did.

  Caleb snorted out a laugh. “No offense, but Tristan’s not that unique. There are mixed bloods everywhere. They’re far more common than The Council wants you to believe.”

  I glanced at Riley.

  She nodded. “It’s true.”

  “I’m a pureblood,” Caleb admitted. “The Council knows all about us. They spread rumors that the Striga are dying out. But we’re not. Our bloodline is becoming diluted, we’re blending in. And those of us with undiluted bloodlines,” he shrugged, “some of us aren’t so bad. But that doesn’t matter to The Council. We all have to register with them. If we ever want to move, we need to petition for permission. They track our every move. Like we’re a herd of cattle that’s been branded.”

  “Why would they do that?”

  “They say it’s for our protection,” Caleb said. “They think that if people knew they were living next door to perceived evil, that the entire world would tumble into chaos.”

  “Are there any more of you, at our school?” To her credit, Daphne sounded curious rather than appalled, or afraid. “I mean, I know Riley has two little sisters. But aside from them?”

  Caleb eyed her up. “Yeah. There are a few of us. Does that bother you?”

  She blinked at him before shaking her head.

  I leaned back in my seat as I tried to absorb what he’d just said. My world, as The Council had painted it, had just been smeared into lines of blurry gray.

  “I wish Tristan had known that,” I said. “If he had, he wouldn’t have felt so alone.”

  “Right. At least Caleb and I have each other,” Riley said. “I mean, it still sucks that we have to lie to everyone else. But at least we can complain about it to each other so it’s not so bad. Otherwise, yeah, I think it would get terribly lonely.”

  Caleb made a face, as if Riley talking about her feelings was the last thing he wanted to delve into.

  “What’s the plan?” he asked.

  “We need to find Tristan. Before The Council does,” I clarified.

  “Why the rush?” Caleb wondered.

  Alex caught my eye. I silently asked him how much I should share. He must’ve read my thoughts just fine—or he was already thinking the same thing.

  “We’re just worried that Tristan is going to be in trouble for not registering with them,” Alex explained.

  I was relieved that he’d come up with an excuse so quickly.

  “Yeah,” Caleb scoffed. “They’d be pissed about that. Tell ya what. Count me in. Anything that pisses The Council off is just fine by me. They’ve been repressing us for years. They act like they own us, like they control us. I’d be more than happy to help with anything that might put Lebeau’s granny panties in a twist. That woman has jerked my family around for too damn long.”

  Riley caught my eye and winked at me.

  I realized then that she’d had this planned. Caleb’s desire to help had little to do with Tristan, and almost everything to do with defying The Council. His tone implied he wanted revenge and he was willing to take it in any form. Whatever his reasons, he was on our side.

  And I, for one, was relieved.

  Chapter 10

  “I’ll get it!” I called up the staircase.

  I pulled the heavy front door open and was met with an unfamiliar face. She was tall and thin with graying hair. It was tucked into a tight bun. In fact, the bun appeared to be so tight it pulled at the skin at the corners of her eyes, giving the appearance of a makeshift facelift. She wore a navy blue pantsuit with white piping along the edges. Her face was devoid of make-up but her features were so sharp they were attention grabbing regardless.

  I hoped she wasn’t a prospective guest. I hated turning people away. This lady didn’t look like she was used to taking no for an answer.

  “Hi, can I help you with something?” I asked.

  She pushed her way past me. “You must be Samara.”

  “I am,” I said as I closed the door and turned to face her. “And you are?”

  “Eleanor Lebeau.” She gave me a perfunctory head nod. Apparently shaking hands with us commoners was too déclassé.

  “It’s nice to meet you.” I already had a feeling that my statement wasn’t true. But my mother had ingrained decent manners into me at an early age. Again I asked, “Can I help you with something?”

  “As a matter of fact, yes. I need something. As your superior, I expect you to give it to me. It would be in your best interest not to fight me on the matter.”

  “Eleanor,” Cecily said from the top of the staircase.

  Councilwoman Lebeau turned to face her. The smile she wore looked as insincere as Cecily’s.

  “Cecily,” Eleanor said in return. “I didn’t realize you were here.”

  Her words hung in the air, an unasked question hovering over us. It was clear that she wanted to know why Cecily was at The Bella Luna. She simply didn’t want to lower herself to the level of asking for any information.

  Cecily had no interest in satisfying The Councilwoman’s curiosity.

  “To what do we owe the pleasure?” Cecily reached the bottom step. Her expression remained impassive. If she was surprised to see The Councilwoman, she did not show it. She stood in front of the staircase, as if blocking it. It took me a moment to realize that’s precisely what she was doing. I sidestepped The Councilwoman and took my place next to Cecily.

  “I’m here on official business,” she informed us. “I was made aware that Alex Grayson was able to contain Tristan’s spirit.”

  “He was.” Cecily appeared nonplussed.

  “I’m afraid I need to take it with me,” Eleanor said. Her tone was firm and gentle.

  “You will do no such thing,” Cecily countered.

  “This decision is really not up to you.”

  Cecily took a step toward Eleanor. The Councilwoman towered over Tristan’s grandmother. Cecily didn’t seem to care. “If you think you are going to remove my grandson from this house, you had better have a court order with you.”

  “Oh, Cecily,” Eleanor said consolingly. “We both know that child is not really your grandson.”

  Cecily poked The Councilwoman in the chest. “He is my grandson, my family, in every way that matters. Now unless you have a court order, I must insist you leave the premises at once.”

  “I was hoping that you would be more reasonable than this,” Eleanor chastised.

  “And I had hoped that you would be better at your job,” Cecily glibly replied. “This case should be closed by now. And yet, I have a feeling that you’re intentionally stalling.”

  “What do you wan
t with him, anyway?” I asked. “He’s fine right where he is.”

  “I don’t believe that The Council’s business is of any consequence to you,” Eleanor responded.

  “It is my business when my best friend is involved.”

  “If I were you, I’d be a little more careful in choosing the company that you keep.” Her gaze bore into me. I knew, I just knew, she was referring to Riley and now Caleb.

  “I like the company that I keep just fine, thank you.”

  She ignored me. She probably decided she had more important things to do than verbally spar with a cranky teenager.

  She spun on her heel. “I’ll be back. With a court order.”

  She let herself out.

  I blew out my breath in an angry blast.

  Turning to Cecily I said, “What does she want with him?!”

  Cecily patted my shoulder, trying to allay my rising panic. “Nothing good, I’m sure. But that’s of no matter.”

  “It’s not?”

  She shook her head. “No. It’s not. I know that you were planning to sneak off to Crescent City tomorrow. I think if you can, you should round up your friends. You should go tonight. We don’t know how long we have until that lady returns. I’d rather you, along with Tristan, are gone by then.”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Okay. Yeah. I’m willing to go. I don’t know about my friends. I’m not sure if they can get away.”

  “I’d go myself,” Cecily said. “But I don’t know if this old body of mine can withstand the stress of traveling by portal.”

  I nodded. “I’ll go make some phone calls.”

  ~*~*~

  I hugged my arms around myself, fighting off the chill and the fear that enveloped me. I stood next to the stream where Tristan and I used to play when we were kids. It gurgled and bubbled along. Despite the gentle noise it made, I could make out the sound of footsteps and whispered voices pushing their way down the path.

  Daphne’s face was the first to appear. She pushed a scraggly pine bough out of the way as she emerged from the path. Caleb was right behind her.

  “We’re here!” Riley unnecessarily announced as she rounded off the trio.