half-lich 02 - void weaver

by martinez, katerina

  “I picked Trapper up, brought it to my eye, and pushed my energy into it to make it work.”

  “And it drained you, correct?”

  “Yeah, it made me hungry.”

  “And your will, also. I don’t think Trapper would have worked in the hands of a human. Maybe in the hands of a mage, but I suspect Trapper was specifically designed to be used by someone with your particular talents.”

  “So it wouldn’t have worked for you?”

  “I’m not saying that, but perhaps it would have been more taxing on a mage. I suspect the camera still required your will, your belief, to work. If your magic is even remotely similar to mine, you will have to think what you want to happen, and it will happen.”

  Alice thought back to the moment before she saw Raegan’s corpse come shambling out of the bedroom. The garbage man had hit Alice hard and sent her to the floor, and she hadn’t just wanted to get up—she had told herself to get up. At least, she had thought it. And then she had willed for her own power to manifest, to empower her, and help her in the act of getting up.

  Instead she had empowered Raegan.

  “I think I know how I made Raegan start moving,” she said, “But souls… I killed a man today and his soul presented itself to me. Is that what I have to do every time I need to feed? I don’t think I can do that.”

  “There are ways,” Isaac said, “I can teach you.”

  “Show me, then,” she said.

  “Show you?”

  “Yes. Show me how I can manipulate a soul without Trapper.”

  “That’s difficult. We’re fresh out of souls to use.”

  “No we aren’t. That day in my apartment, after I threw myself against my bathroom sink and knocked myself out, you plucked one out of thin air and fed it to me.”

  “That was different. They were desperate times.”

  “Desperate?”

  Isaac stepped away from the car and walked slowly toward Alice. “I wanted to help you, but I didn’t know how. When I figured out what it was you needed, I acted. But what I did was dangerous. If I had been better prepared, I may have been able to…”

  Isaac trailed off, and Alice immediately understood why. “If you had known more about me then,” she said. “About my condition.”

  He nodded.

  “You know why I couldn’t indulge you, Isaac. You know I wanted nothing to do with it.”

  “I do, and I think it’s time you knew why I pushed so hard.”

  Alice regarded him carefully, like an artist studying a complicated painting for the first time. In that moment she thought, if Isaac was a painting, he would be a Van Gogh. Some may have seen Picasso, but Picasso was zany and strange, while Van Gogh was deep and layered. Painting had always been something she had wanted to do, but she had no talent for it. She had, however, noticed that every time she saw Van Gogh’s Starry Night, there was something new about it she hadn’t seen before, some interesting detail that allowed her to see the entire painting in a new light.

  “Tell me,” she said.

  Isaac looked up at the moon, then back at Alice. “My mother died when I was very young,” he said, “Suicide. It was I who found her. She had only been dead a few minutes. The blood on her wrists was fresh and still oozing.”

  “Isaac,” Alice approached, a hand to her chest. “I’m so sorry…”

  “It was a long time ago. I was eleven. When I found her, I knew what had happened. I understood it. But I didn’t know why it had happened. It wasn’t until years later that I discovered the reason for her death had been depression. That sent me into my own depression. For a long time, I struggled with guilt. I thought if I had known enough about depression, I would have stayed with her, made sure she was okay, and maybe she would still be alive. Then again, maybe not. But she wouldn’t have died that day.”

  “It wasn’t your fault.”

  “I know it wasn’t, but I still wish I could have done something—and I would have, had I only known what I needed to know. It was the same with you, Alice. You were going through something awful, and your life was going the same way hers did. You quit your job, stopped taking care of yourself, and pushed me away… I didn’t want to lose you like I did her.”

  “And that’s why you wanted to know everything you could about me.”

  Isaac held her eyes with his, the faint moonlight highlighting the slightest sparkle in them. Her stomach felt light, like she could just take a breath and start floating. She placed her hand against his cheek. Her heart was pounding, but for the first time in what seemed like a long time, not out of fear or anger.

  “I understand,” she said, “I didn’t then, but I do now, and I’m… I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t have to be. We both have pains we’ve kept from each other.”

  “I don’t want to do that anymore. Not with you.”

  He nodded. “I won’t ask you to share with me more than you feel like you want to, but if this—us—is going anywhere, we need to build it on a solid foundation.”

  Alice hadn’t entirely given thought to exactly what they were. They hadn’t picked up where they left off; too much had changed. But they had just had sex, and it wasn’t sex born out of something simple like being happy to see him. Alice wasn’t the type to sleep with someone on a whim. She had never been that kind of girl, and would never be that kind of girl. So when she slept with Isaac tonight, it had meant something.

  She just hadn’t considered what it may have meant until now.

  “Let’s get this done,” she said, “Let’s finish this. All of it. And we’ll talk about us.”

  Isaac smiled his charming smile, pearly white teeth gleaming in the moonlight. “I would like that,” he said, and he plucked the shovel out from the ground. He was about to push it into the earth again when he stopped and perked up, eyes wide with alarm. “Quiet,” he said.

  Alice’s entire body electrified at the thrill of Isaac’s sudden movement. “What is it?” she asked, poised and ready to move at a second’s notice.

  Isaac came up to Alice, handed her the shovel, and said “Dig. Someone’s trying to find us.”

  “What? Who?”

  “I don’t know, just dig. We need to get this done and we need to get moving. I’ll throw them off.”

  Alice watched him walk past her and noticed how the bangle on his right wrist had started to glow with soft blue light. She held the shovel firmly, walked briskly to the hole they’d been working on, and started to dig again while Isaac concentrated on throwing them off. If she was being truthful, she could sense something in the air—like a vibration, or a current. It hadn’t been there before, and she knew this because the sensation was difficult to ignore in much the same way as her skin prickling over when in the presence of Nyx, her magic, or her Pain Children.

  Alice’s arms were sore before she had even gotten half way, but she pushed through, and Isaac did help when he was “in between” efforts at throwing off whatever trace had been set upon them. When they were done, they hoisted Raegan up and dropped her as gently as they could into the grave, then began covering the hole with dirt. This part was easy, but still tiring, and Alice was glad to be done when it was over.

  She stood at the head of the grave, looking down at the disturbed soil, and thought about Raegan. Alice had never met her, but the girl she had seen in the picture standing in front of the veterinary clinic in the park seemed like a good person. She had a kind smile, easy eyes, and had clearly cared about her mother a great deal; not many twenty-something year old’s Alice knew would take care of their sick parents the way Raegan had.

  “Are you alright?” Isaac asked. He was standing by the head of the grave too.

  “Yeah,” Alice said, “It’s just a waste. Nyx has already killed so many. We have to stop her.”

  “We will. But we have to go. Whoever is trying to find us is being persistent. We’ll make it harder for them to find us if we’re moving.”

  “Do you think it’s the legionnaires?�
��

  “I don’t know, but I’m willing to bet it is.”

  Alice nodded and headed for the car. She threw the earth-covered shovel into the trunk and dashed around to the driver’s seat. Isaac got in, too, and in a moment they were back on the highway. However, the city lights were still behind them, and when Isaac noticed this, he questioned it.

  “We aren’t going back?” he asked.

  “No,” she said, with her hands firmly gripping the wheel. Her knuckles were turning white.

  “Then where are we going?”

  “We’re going to the sanctuary,” she said, “If the legionnaires are looking for us, then why haven’t we heard from Cameron? I don’t like that.”

  “We aren’t ready for Logan. You know that.”

  “I do. But Logan also isn’t ready for us.”

  CHAPTER 24

  Mark of the Void

  The big cat sanctuary came up on the right; as Alice pulled in, the first thing that struck her was that the sanctuary was lit up and in use. There were three cars parked outside of the green front gate—two sedans and a hatchback. Alice didn’t recognize them, but this was a good thing. It meant none were the cars the legionnaires had ridden in on like the fucking horsemen of the apocalypse. She could also see shapes moving around beyond the gate—some human, some feline.

  Alice stopped the car just off the main entrance and stepped outside, but her heart was already thumping hard inside her chest, and her stomach had gone cold. How could this be? The last time she had been here, the clouds had been churning and six legionnaires were threatening to tear it down. How was it that the place seemed to be operating normally?

  She circled around the back of the car, but only got as far as the passenger side before Isaac put his hand out across her abdomen, stopping her abruptly.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “Does it look like a battle took place here?” Isaac asked.

  “No, and that’s what worries me.”

  “So then we proceed with caution.”

  “I am being cautious.”

  “You were about to stroll up to that place in plain view.”

  “Yes, because sometimes we don’t need the cloak and dagger routine. There are people in there. I can hear them talking. Someone’s hosing something down, too, by the sounds of it. I doubt we’re going to find legionnaires in there, Isaac.”

  “And if we do?”

  “We won’t. Just keep working on making sure we aren’t found. If it helps, they were standing over there when they arrived.”

  Isaac’s eyebrows knitted together and his Adams apple seemed to work inaudibly, but he nodded and headed to where the legionnaires had been standing when Alice first saw them. He would be better at picking out their energies—or whatever—than she would, and she needed to not only know if Cameron was okay, but also the cats that he loved so much. Alice may have only spent a few hours with those cats, but they were Cameron’s world.

  She thought about Nuala and her cubs, thought about Kirk and Hope and Selene, and remembered how their eyes had been the color of molten gold the last time she had seen them. Like little demons, she thought as she arrived at the green gate, careful not to look like a weirdo stalker. A floodlight illuminated the entire front area of the sanctuary. There were more of them dotted around the place, too, but they weren’t all on.

  Alice waited for someone to stroll by, but no one did. She could see people inside the sanctuary, beyond the green gate, but they weren’t within yelling distance. Yelling would attract the entire sanctuary, and subtlety was important here. She was about to turn around and head for the living wall Cameron had shown her the last time she had been here when someone from the inside called out.

  “Hey,” said the voice, “You looking for something, miss?”

  “I, uh, am, actually.” Alice said to the man who had come into view. “I’m looking for Cameron. Cameron West? He works here.”

  The man who was casually approaching the gate was wearing a set of black sweat pants, sneakers, and a long-sleeved black top that had been ripped in places. A small cat’s paw had been printed on the breast, and in white block text underneath the paw were the letters ABCS. Ashwood Big Cat Sanctuary, Alice thought.

  “Cam?” the man asked. “Who are you?”

  “I’m… a friend. Is Cameron around?”

  The man shook his head. “No,” he said, “He called this morning, said he wasn’t feeling well.”

  Alice’s heart sped up. She could feel it pulsing against the sides of her temples now, and a nervous heat was causing her stomach to warm. “He called? From where?”

  “From home, I guess. It’s weird, though. He doesn’t call in sick.”

  “Did… he say anything? Like, where he was?”

  “No, and you know what the weirdest thing is?”

  Alice swallowed hard. “What is it?”

  He reached into his pocket and pulled a phone from it. “You’re Alice, right?”

  “I am.”

  The man approached the green gate and handed the phone to her. She hesitated, but then took it. In the man’s hand there had also been a note, which she now also had. On the note there was a phone number, and nothing else.

  “Who gave you this phone?” she asked. “And how did you know who I was?”

  His face was now the face of someone who wasn’t sure what he was doing or where he was. Distractions kept stopping him from speaking in continuous, normally paced sentences; the kind of thing someone only does if they’re in a daze.

  “I was told a girl would come looking for him,” he said, “I was told her name would be Alice, and was asked to give her this phone and the note. You’re supposed to call the number when… you’re ready to see your boyfriend again.”

  “Boyfriend?” she said, though she regretted saying it aloud. Should’ve used my inside voice, she thought, but it didn’t matter. The man on the other side of the gate hadn’t noticed, and if he had, he was incapable of processing what he had heard.

  “I should get back,” he said, “I hope Cam gets better. His cats miss him.”

  “Wait,” Alice said as the man went to turn around. “The cats—Hope, Nuala, and Kirk… are they here?”

  “How do you know their names?” he asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

  “I… uh, I’m Cam’s girlfriend, remember?”

  “Right,” he said, “They’re fine. Napping. They’ve had a pretty long day... I think.”

  Alice cocked her head. “You think?”

  “Yeah… I think so…”

  She stepped away from the green gate, keeping her eyes on the man on the other side for a moment, then turned on her heel and headed to where Isaac was standing. Her heart was racing, and her mind along with it. Was this Cameron’s phone she was holding? Maybe. She had no way to be sure, but it didn’t matter. Whether it was or it wasn’t, someone had given that guy the phone to give to Alice, along with a phone number for her to call.

  She didn’t like what this implied, nor did she like the way the guy had been so spaced out, like he was high or something. No, she thought, not high, but in a daze all the same. And it had happened so suddenly.

  “Isaac,” she said, and he turned to look at her.

  “What is it?”

  “He’s not here.” Alice handed him the phone. “A staff member gave me this. Said Cameron had called in sick, and that someone had given him this phone to give to me. By the look on his face he had no idea who had given him the phone or why. He also couldn’t understand why Cameron hadn’t shown up. He looked spaced out. Not with it.”

  “Damn,” Isaac said, “That’s their work.”

  “Legionnaires? Isaac, don’t tell me they have him.”

  “I don’t know, but we have to prepare for the possibility that they somehow managed to overpower him and take him in.”

  “Why the hell would they do that? And why isn’t your government intervening?”

  “I can’t tell you why the m
agistrate isn’t stepping in. Six missing legionnaires would have surely caused concern among the praetors, unless Logan managed to convince the magistrate to condone his actions. But this would be another grave violation of the Magus Codice. He violated it once when he attacked me, then again when he attacked Cameron at his sanctuary. Kidnapping a mage is… it’s just inconceivable. He would be exiled.”

  “What if he did convince the magistrate to be on his side about this, though? Is there even a slight chance that’s possible?”

  Isaac thought about this for a long moment, and then he looked at Alice, and nodded. “There is.”

  “How?” she asked, frustration causing her voice to elevate an octave. “All you did was withhold some facts about what happened the night at the museum. I mean, Christ, you were the one who was attacked—and by an evil fucking Void entity, too. You’d think you were on trial for murder or something. I don’t believe any rational organization would condone this kind of behavior from their supposed enforcers just to have a couple of facts clarified.”

  “You clearly don’t know mages very well.”

  “God dammit,” she said, exhaling a puff of air and allowing her nerves to calm down. “So, do we call this phone or not?”

  “Not yet,” Isaac said, “There’s something I want you to see first.”

  “Okay?”

  Isaac stepped aside and said “Walk ten paces in that direction.”

  Alice gave him a perplexed gaze. “What?”

  “Just do it.”

  “And what else?”

  “Nothing. Just walk.”

  She looked at where Isaac was pointing and noted he was asking her to walk onto the dirt road that led out of the sanctuary and onto the highway. She frowned, but walked anyway, despite not being sure what she had just been tasked with. Did he want her to look for tire tracks? There were probably going to be plenty to choose from here, and besides, it wasn’t like any car coming in had any other place it could go unless it wanted to go off-road—and she knew first-hand the earth off the path was rocky and uneven.

  But then she felt it.

  Her skin broke out into goosebumps that crawled all along her arms and up into her chest. It felt like she had walked into a spider web, or like a thousand ghostly fingers were caressing her skin all at once. She shuddered, and immediately turned around, eyes wide and alert. Isaac was looking at her, watching her, and when he noticed her reaction he straightened his back and his facial expression hardened.