by Leigh Kelsey
Hey, Prince Charming? Dolly asked, concern tightening her voice. You in there?
No reply.
Kati pressed her hand to her mouth as her bottom lip wobbled. Thaddeus had told her Iain was being compelled by his aunt, but seeing him … hopelessness and grief made her shoulders slump, her wand lowered to point its violet beam at the floor. She wanted to slide down the nearest wall, curl into a ball, and cry. But that wouldn’t bring Iain back. And even if his expression was vacant, he was still in there, he had to be. Kati wouldn’t let him fight his aunt alone.
She shoved the tears off her cheeks and raced after him, Dolly and Freddie at her heels. “Iain, you can fight this,” she said fiercely, catching up to him. She wrapped her hand around his forearm, but it didn’t stop his steady progress up the tight staircase. And for the first time, Kati realised he was holding something: a small black book with DARKE SPELLES written on it in silver embossing. That spelling … fear curdled in Kati’s stomach and she inhaled sharply. It was from the same era as the prophecy that said Kati would find the Stolen tower, uncover the Black Brooms, and free SBA from evil.
The prophecy that had so far been spot on, and scared Kati shitless.
“Iain,” Kati pleaded, her breath tight and clouding in front of her. “You have to come back. Please. I can’t—I can’t lose you. I don’t care that you kept your job secret anymore, I don’t care, I just want you back. I just—I just want you to look at me, talk to me. Please say something.”
She clung to his arm as they reached the archway at the top, Kati’s hand shaking badly, throwing violet light erratically around them, and adrenaline flooding her veins.
What do you require from us? Freddie asked.
I don’t know, Kati replied, even her mental voice ragged. Can you … can you give him strength?
I tried, Dolly replied, and that was answer enough.
Kati’s face crumpled, tears dripping hot down her cheeks. She’d never once felt so useless as right now. She wanted her friends, wanted Mrs Grant or Miz Jardin, or hell, she’d take Hale right now. And she wanted her mum and dad with a fierceness that startled her. Souls, she really wanted her parents.
“I love you,” Kati said, thick with tears, pulling uselessly at Iain’s arm. It was obvious now as he easily resisted her struggles that he was strong, not muscular but clearly used to handling himself in his day job. “Please stop walking, please say something. Iain.”
They reached the lobby and the front doors, and no matter how much Kati pleaded, no matter how hard she pulled at him, Iain didn’t stop walking, didn’t react at all to her begging.
Crisp air bit into her face and fingers as they descended the wide front steps outside the academy and swerved around the statue in the circular driveway.
It wasn’t going to work. Iain wasn’t coming back, wasn’t winning the fight this time.
She inhaled a shattered breath and tried to reach the demon magic buried inside her. But she didn’t know how to call it at will, and it didn’t seem triggered by her emotions; she’d never been more emotional than right now. Whatever had triggered it before, it wasn’t activating it now.
She cast a lunar storm spell out of desperation and silver light burst all around them, but Iain didn’t slow for a second.
“Please,” she begged, her voice tiny and weak as she dug her fingernails into his forearm. “I need you. I can’t … I can’t face this alone. Not Lady LaVoire, not Theo, not any of it.” Her bottom lip quivered uncontrollably, hot tears rolling off her chin. “Iain.”
“That won’t work,” an unfamiliar voice commented, and Kati flinched, realising they’d passed the lake a while back, the forest swallowing them into a canopy of darkness and speckled sunlight.
Kati blinked her eyes clear, trying to cast a shield spell. Sparks of magic sputtered from her wand, but nothing else. “Minister Juneau?” she asked, confusion blurring her heartache for a second as she stared at the woman stood in the forest clearing, dressed in a power suit that was incongruous with the wild scenery. “What are you doing here?”
Frida Juneau, minister for supernaturals. She represented necromancers and reapers secretly in the human government, ensuring neither side accidentally exposed the existence of supernaturals. And, Kati recalled, she’d gone missing for eight days not that long ago; it had been all anyone could talk about.
Had the secret business she refused to tell anyone about been connected to SBA somehow? Was she a gentry, working undercover? Maybe for Madam Hawkness?
Kati’s shoulders slumped, a sob catching her throat. “I don’t know why you’re here, but I don’t really care. You need to go warn the gentry, Lady LaVoire’s here’s, she’s controlling…”
Kati trailed off at the wry smile that curled the minister’s mouth. She was in her forties, short and slim in a steely grey suit that only emphasised her shortness—Kati sympathised—with a heart-shaped bronze face and black hair pulled into a bun. Her brown eyes crinkled with amusement, and Kati’s stomach lurched with sickness.
Souls.
She grabbed hold of Iain and pulled with all her strength, managing to bring him back a step at least.
Several things occurred to her at once.
Minister Juneau had gone missing, and she’d reappeared acting differently.
Lady LaVoire had returned, but her body was still petrified and on display outside the Museum of Darke Magic. Which meant … if she really had come through the portal that night Theo and his friends had tried to summon a demon, she was a soulwraith.
And she needed a host.
I’m Cold As Ice (Please Don’t Be Willing To Sacrifice Our Love)
“Stay away from us,” Kati hissed, wrapping both her shaking arms around Iain. “Let him go. You’ve got your damn book now, take it and let him go.”
Juneau—or rather Lady LaVoire—lifted her brown hand and the book floated from Iain’s fingers into hers. “I have uses for both the book and my nephew.”
“You’re not taking him,” Kati said, but it emerged as a whisper, weak and terrified. She could feel it now: the sheer power coming off the woman, enough to make Kati’s bones ache. “I won’t let you.”
“That’s sweet,” Lady LaVoire remarked, and seemed to genuinely mean it. “I’m glad he has you. He’s always been a loner, my nephew. And it’s convenient, really, since I have a use for you, too.”
Kati’s blood ran cold. Actually, all of her went cold; her breath formed a large white cloud in front of her. Hopefully Lady LaVoire wouldn’t think too much of it, since it was cold out here anyway.
“You’re not—you’re not taking either of us,” Kati breathed, her breath wild and jagged as she shook hard. It took her a moment to realise she was hyperventilating. She wanted to cast the shield spell, but she was terrified that if she let go of Iain, she’d lose him.
Lady LaVoire opened the black book, flicking through its pages. “Think of it this way: at least you’ll be together.”
Kati shook her head, tears of hopelessness building in her eyes.
“Ah, here is it,” LaVoire remarked, as casually as if she’d been browsing the Yellow Pages for the number of the nearest curry house.
Kati wrenched at Iain but he wouldn’t budge another step, and as terrified as she was, there was no way in hell she was leaving him. She’d rather … she’d rather be taken as well than let him be abducted alone.
“I’m not leaving you,” Kati whispered to him. “You hear me? I’m not … I’m not letting her take you alone. But if you fight her, if you come back, we can get out of this. We’ll be okay—you just have to come back to me.” Kati’s vision blurred as she cried, hiccuping for breath. “I need—I need you, Iain.”
Lady LaVoire snapped the book shut. “Don’t even think about it, Iain LaVoire,” she warned, disappointment thinning her lips. She sounded like she was rebuking a kid for trying to sly an extra scoop of ice cream, not like she was telling her nephew not to fight her black magic. She lifted a hand, and a twiste
d oak wand appeared in it, a spell forming in deep royal blue.
Kati didn’t even think; she jumped in front of Iain and took the spell, crying out at the impact. Weakness pressed into her until her bones felt leaden, her feet rooted to the mossy ground, but Lady LaVoire tutted and the sensation vanished.
“I can see this star-crossed lovers thing is going to be an issue,” she commented, an eyebrow raised. She looked at Kati the same way her mum did when she’d grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge; judgy, unapproving, but not too angry. “Although, I’ll be the first to admit he needs a woman in his life. That boy has no idea how to take care of himself. Do you know he’s been using a Sleepless Night spell? That’s how I was able to take hold of him; he’s worn himself too thin. Of course, he’s heartbroken over you and your new boytoy.”
Kati’s mouth went dry. Lady LaVoire had been watching them. Or … or she had access to all the thoughts in Iain’s head.
“It was designed for soldiers during the war,” the dark lady went on, skimming through the book again. “The Sleepless Night spell, I mean. Helped troops stay awake through the night and keep fighting the enemy. My idiot nephew has been using it to teach his classes, protect you, and keep up with his gentry duties.” She sighed, gesturing with her wand and not seeming to notice when Kati flinched. “He’s got no regard for himself, holds himself in far too low esteem.”
Kati squeezed Iain tighter, pressing herself to his side and drawing his scent of ink, paper, and bergamot into her lungs. “Please just let us go.”
Lady LaVoire’s—or rather Minister Juneau’s—face softened. “I can’t do that, love.”
Kati’s bottom lip wobbled. “Are you going to kill us?”
“Souls, no,” LaVoire replied, looking horrified. “That would be a shameful waste of your energy and magic. I’m going to use that to return myself to my true body.”
A ripple of dread moved through Kati, followed by a rush of ice.
No.
Absolutely no fucking way. Kati wasn’t gonna let this bitch drain either her or Iain. And if this was Lady LaVoire at less-than-full power, Kati couldn’t let her return to full power. Just standing this close to someone so immensely powerful made her bones ache, her breathing thin and tight. LaVoire was keeping Iain under unbreakable control and she hadn’t even broken a sweat.
At full power … she’d burn down the whole world just to rule over it, and no one could stop her.
Kati held onto Iain with one arm and snapped her wand up with her other, barking, “Shield!”
Violet magic spread out around her and Iain, nowhere near as strong as normal—too weak to really stand up to Lady LaVoire—but it was something.
“You’re not taking my magic,” Kati said, breathing hard. “Or his.”
Lady LaVoire looked heavily disappointed in her. But instead of berating her, or whipping another spell at her like Kati expected, she angled her head toward the dark patch of trees to their left and said, “There you are. That took forever.”
Kati shuddered, fear pouring through her like ice water. She’d thought … actually she didn’t know what she thought Lady LaVoire was doing. Gearing up for a villainous monologue? But now as the trees rustled, it became clear she’d been killing time, waiting for someone.
Two figures stepped out of the shadows, both of them familiar to Kati, and her heart tripped in her chest. She held onto Iain so hard that she was probably leaving bruises as she stared at the two men. The first was stocky and dressed in army fatigues, his hair a flat boxy shape and his skin translucent silver-blue. Mr Prise.
What the hell?
Kati might have spent more time dwelling on that if her eyes hadn’t fixed on the second man who batted a branch away and stepped into the clearing. Tall and rangy, with a shock of ginger hair, freckles, lopsided glasses, and clothes that were on the wrong side of well loved.
Kati staggered back, her fingers twisted in Iain’s pyjama shirt. “So it’s true then,” she said, her voice hard. “You’re evil.”
Theo hadn’t noticed her at first, but his head whipped around at the sound of his sister’s voice, stumbling to a stop. He didn’t take his eyes off her, fear making his face bleach, but his words were for the dark lady when he demanded, “What the hell is my sister doing here? You said you’d keep my family and friends out of this.”
Lavoire sighed, again that disappointment in her expression. “I did, and yet you were the one who placed a tracking charm on that plant so I would know when she arrived.”
“What?” Kati rasped, unable to take her eyes off her traitorous brother. “What plant?” Wait… “The fucking cactus? You piece of shit!” Kati started forward, letting go of Iain and lifting her wand. Theo didn’t back off as a nasty hex crashed over him, his face and body erupting in angry red sores.
“Children, enough,” Lady LaVoire said with a tut, waving her wand. Theo’s wince vanished, along with the blemishes on his skin, and Kati shivered at the demonstration of just how powerful the dark lady was. She’d undone Kati’s spell so easily, with no sign of strain, when most death magicians would struggle for minutes to do the same thing.
Black magic, then. Every story was true. And Theo was caught up in it.
“Why?” Kati asked, still staring at her brother. “Why would you do this?”
“There are things you don’t understand, little sis”
“Oh?” Kati’s voice rose; she gripped her wand tighter. “Like how you tried to summon a demon to impress a group of sadists?”
Theo paled even further, his freckles dark against his cheekbones. “Kati—”
“Get fucked, Theo. I don’t want anything to do with you.” She raised her hand to hex him again but arms locked around her from behind, knocking her wand down so the spell went into a tree trunk, scorching its bark.
She remembered Mr Prise all at once, going stiff and breathless, but … the arms that held her, the body keeping her caged … she knew them. A lump formed in her throat, her eyes blurring with tears.
“Let him go,” she begged Lady LaVoire, lifting her wand again. Strands of magic streamed from the tip, strengthening the violet shield around her and Iain.
“Kati, what the souls?” Theo demanded.
Kati swung her wand at Theo and concentrated hard, throwing another hex at the same time she maintained the shield. The second spell came alarmingly easy, but she’d always been scarily good at spells, and maybe … maybe this was her demon magic. Maybe it had always been her demon magic, rather than regular death magic.
Theo dodged this hex and cast a shield with his own wand, turquoise magic shimmering around him. “Are you fucking him? Lady LaVoire’s nephew? What’s wrong with you?”
Kati gritted her teeth and threw another hex. She knew the second she fired it that this one would land, and it did, so hard that she heard a bone crack in Theo’s arm. Shitshitshit, she hadn’t meant to hurt him that badly, she only wanted to shut him up. She’d have rather punched him in the nose but she refused to move from Iain. Wait … shouldn’t Iain be restraining her arms? She could lift her wand easily; his arms were locked around her waist. Restraining her but not keeping her from protecting herself.
Hope blazed a weak path through her, her breaths coming quicker.
“Let us go,” she said, fixing on LaVoire and keeping her voice calm, with immense effort. “I won’t tell anyone about this. You can take your book and go. But I’m not letting you take Iain.”
Lady LaVoire just gave her a sad look and shook her head. When she lifted her wand again, Kati strengthened her shield, blood rolling down her thumb. But the spell didn’t attack her. LaVoire simply said, “Swarm.”
“Do you have to?” Mr Prise muttered. “I hate these bastards. The taint of the underworld on them makes me sick.”
Lady LaVoire’s mouth twisted. “Keep complaining, and I’ll let you fade from existence.”
Prise snapped his mouth shut.
Kati frowned, looking between the two of them. She
could do that? Make a ghost vanish? Kati knew she’d controlled an army of ghosts back in her heyday but this threat shocked her. And it made her wonder what Mr Prise got out of the arrangement. He’d been a lot more solid this term, not nearly so ghostly. Because the dark lady was feeding him power?
“Why are you doing this?” Kati asked him. “How can you be okay with her draining my magic? I’m supposed to be your student.”
Prise gave her a flat look. “I’m not a people person.”
“No shit.”
“So why would I give a crap what she does to you? As long as I get my power—”
“Quiet,” LaVoire cut off, her voice strong but her volume never raised. “Idiot ghost. Where’s the girl?”
Prise’s expression turned surly. “Ran off. I told you pushing her was a bad idea, she’s always been a weakling.”
“Her parents are loyal to me,” Lady LaVoire said, a wrinkle of concern between her brows. “I’ll advise them to toughen up their daughter.”
Kati subtly began searching inside her for wherever her demon magic lay, wondering just how powerful she was. Enough to break Iain and her free? They’d learned a basic object relocation spell last week, and she had a good handle on it, but they weren’t supposed to use it on people.
But desperate times called for desperate measures and all that shit.
Better that she and Iain were injured than kidnapped by a psycho possessing their supernatural minister.
Mr Prise snorted. “I doubt they can. With a name like that, how’s she meant to be anything but a pathetic sap?”
Kati’s mouth went dry. She realised, all at once, who they were talking about. Marigold Archer. Kati had even seen her and Prise arguing. Shit, she should have intervened. Kati cursed herself, pulling harder on that inner core of her magic, but shadows wrapped around the clearing, blotting out the daylight, and fear made her freeze, power slipping from her fingers.
Her shield spluttered out.
So did Theo’s.
“Finally,” LaVoire sighed irritably. “How long does it take to cross a valley, honestly?”