by Linsey Hall
“There now,” I said, knowing I was being insufferable. “That’s not so bad, is it?”
Dermot shot daggers at me with his eyes and strained against Aidan’s hold. Our plan had been to have Aidan guard the door, but none of the furniture in here was sturdy enough to tie Dermot to, and he definitely wasn’t going to sit still.
“So,” I said. “Those questions I have. Let’s get started. What are Victor Orriodor’s plans?”
Dermot’s gaze darted left and right. Sweat rolled down his forehead. According to Connor, the potion would compel Dermot to answer my questions. He was fighting it now, but he couldn’t hold out forever.
“Dermot?” I nudged his knee with my boot.
“To destroy the Alpha Council.” His complexion turned green as soon as he spat out the words.
As I’d thought. “Why?”
“Vengeance. For his family.”
That was fair enough. I’d seen in a vision from the past that a group of armed men had killed his parents for being FireSouls. I couldn’t blame Victor, though I didn’t think he should murder a bunch of people.
“Have you told the Order of the Magica about Cass being a FireSoul?” Aidan asked.
I glared at him. I was asking the questions here. But Aidan glared right back at me. His priority was my safety. It always had been. Though I wanted other answers more, Aidan seemed determined to get his in.
“No,” Dermot bit out.
Relief loosened a couple of the knots in my shoulders. My secret was still safe. I hadn’t realized how much I’d wanted confirmation on that point.
We’d probably have to kill Dermot to keep my secret, a task I didn’t relish. With my new strength, there were no more even fights. It made me hate the idea of killing even more than I had before. I had too much power. But as long as I focused on the threat he posed to my deirfiúr, I could do what I had to.
“Why?” Aidan asked.
“We need her and the other two. If the Order knew what she was, she’d stay locked up in the prison where we couldn’t get her.”
“Then why put her there in the first place?”
“I needed someplace to hold her while I settled things after the disaster at my office. There was an inquiry. Too many questions.” He scowled. “I couldn’t have her under foot, and I had a contact at the prison. I needed a few days to deal with the fall-out, and it was the only place strong enough to hold her.”
“And it failed, didn’t it?” I grinned.
“Yes,” he growled.
I reveled in his frustration, but I was starting to feel some of it myself. He was confirming my suspicions, but I wanted new info. “Is Victor planning to use the Heartstone to break into Glencarrough? Or does he want it to protect his stronghold?”
“He’s going to use it against Glencarrough. His stronghold is secure.”
“Where is it?”
“A castle in the mountains of Transylvania.”
I barked a laugh. “You’re kidding.”
“No.”
“Really? He’s got a creepy castle in Transylvania. Like Dracula.”
He nodded his head sharply.
“Of course he does.” I shook my head. Victor was the scariest man I’d ever met. This should humanize him. Make him seem slightly ridiculous. But I had a feeling that if I saw that castle, he’d still be just as scary. “Are there FireSoul prisoners there? Children?”
“I’m not sure.”
“But you think there might be.”
“There might.”
Damn. “Where is this place, exactly?”
“In the middle of Romania, bordered on the east and south by the Carpathian Mountains. The castle is in the heart of the mountains. At the tallest peak.”
I pulled out my phone and found the maps app, then pulled up Transylvania. It was small, a weird-shaped region in the middle of Romania. I found the mountains and zoomed in, looking for the tallest peak according to the topography markers. I dropped a pin in it and held the phone out so that Dermot could see.
“Is that where it is?”
“Roughly.”
I nodded. We’d find it. “How is Victor planning to take down the Alpha Council? And why do you want him to?”
Dermot’s eyes shifted around the room. Like he was looking for an escape. Or help. Were there more guards?
Probably.
“Well?” I poked his knee with my boot.
“He’s going to waken something greater and more powerful than he is. An ancient force that he’ll use to fuel himself with more power. Enough to accomplish all his goals.”
Oooh, shit. A greater power? In the case of Victor, that had to mean a greater, more evil power. I thought I’d already seen the worst, but he thought there was more?
“How?” I demanded.
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do. Tell me.” I wanted to shake him. Victor already had more power than any supernatural I’d ever met. Even me. I might have recently gained my endless well of power, but I couldn’t control it. He could.
If Victor was already so powerful, what was stronger than him? What was worse than him?
Goosebumps broke out over my arms.
“Tell me, damn it.” I held my dagger at his throat, hoping to scare him into talking.
“I’m not sure how he plans to get it!” Dermot cried.
He’d taken the truth serum, so I had to believe him. “What do you get out of all this?”
His gaze darted shiftily around the room.
“Tell me!”
“He’ll give me some of the power,” he said. “Enough that I’ll be the second strongest Magica. Behind him.”
What a pipe dream. Victor wouldn’t share shit.
“What do you give him in exchange?” Aidan asked.
“Money and men and—”
The room exploded with action and shattered glass. Men burst in through the windows behind Dermot’s chair. Four of them, all dressed in black tactical gear.
“Behind you!” Aidan shouted.
I spun to see six people surging into the room. Their magical signatures filled the air, the crackle of fire and the cold burn of ice. There were at least a few Elemental Mages in the bunch, but probably some other nasties as well.
Shit. Dermot must have managed to hit a panic button.
Beside me, a glow of gray light suffused Aidan. A second later, the massive griffin stood in his place. His golden fur and feathers reflected the light, and his massive beak snapped threateningly.
“Try not to kill them,” I muttered, my new conscience getting the better of me.
Aidan glared at me, then turned to charge the guards climbing through the windows. I hoped he’d just head-butt them or something.
I called upon my magic, going for my Mirror Mage powers. I was pissed enough that I wanted to use Dermot’s own weather witch powers to defeat him.
The guards on the other side of the room threw jets of flame and spears of ice at me. Heat and gold flew by me as I dodged. I lunged behind Dermot’s desk as I reached out for his magic. He sneered down at me from the chair above.
I grinned at him as I caught hold of the gusting wind that was part of his weather witch gift, then rolled out from behind the desk and threw a massive blast of wind at the two nearest guards. They flew backward and slammed into the wall.
Out of nowhere, a jet of ice hit me right in the stomach, bowling me backward. Pain exploded from my middle, stealing my breath. Aching, I scrambled upright. I hadn’t even seen it coming.
Across the room, a Fire Mage held a glowing ball of flame in his hand. He hurled it at me. As it flew through the air, it grew in size and shape. I threw out my hand and sent a gust of wind at the fireball. The flame surged back toward its master, dissipating as it flew. My torrent of air had extinguished most of it by the time it crashed into the Fire Mage’s chest. He slammed into the wall, but at least he wasn’t devoured by the flame.
These guys were playing for keeps. Whatever button De
rmot had pressed, it’d been the serious one. I’d knocked out three of the guards who’d come through the door, but there were still five left.
Aidan’s roar echoed in the room, making my ears ache. I glanced quickly behind me. He’d knocked out four guards, but more climbed through the window. Half a dozen on his side of the room, and they were rushing toward him. He was seriously handicapped by my request that he not kill.
We were outnumbered.
Shit, shit, shit.
I’d gotten cocky, questioning Dermot. Now, we’d be lucky to make it out of here at all. I turned back to my side of the room and gave it one more shot.
As soon as I turned, a massive spear of ice hurtled toward me. I lunged to the side and threw a blast of wind at the Magica who’d thrown it. She went flying backward, slamming into the wall. I tried heaving more blasts at the other guards, but I wasn’t fast enough.
I needed my root power if I was going to get out of this.
But it was dangerous.
So was getting caught. I wouldn’t escape the Prison for Magical Miscreants twice. Worse, I couldn’t let Aidan be captured.
There was only one way.
I lunged to my feet and raced across the room to Aidan, dodging blasts of flame and ice that tore apart the room. Wood splinters and crystal shattered all around me.
When I reached Aidan, I leapt upon his back and jerked off the golden dampener cuff. Magic roared through me, making my hair stand on end. I gasped. Whoa.
“Fold in your wings!” I yelled. I couldn’t guarantee I wouldn’t hit Aidan with my magic, but as long as he was close to me, it was far less likely. He often used his wings to protect me. But that wouldn’t help now.
The magic roiled within me, desperate to be set free. I’d have to try something non-deadly, not only to soothe my conscience, but to guarantee that Aidan wouldn’t get killed in the blowback.
I called upon Dermot’s weather witch power, hoping wind would do the trick. What had previously felt like a warm summer breeze now felt like a tornado raring to be set free. It roared within me, pounding to get out. I threw out both arms and envisioned a wave of wind bowling over my enemies.
The gust burst forth, roaring out of me in all directions. It up-ended all the furniture and people, slamming everything and everybody into the walls. Then the walls in the room collapsed. And then more walls as every wall in the house blew away. The noise was thunderous.
Aidan stumbled to his knees beneath me, but remained upright. I looked up, wondering why the ceiling hadn’t fallen on us.
Above me, the roof was flying into the blue sky, propelled by the wind I’d produced. I’d created a dome of wind, blowing everything up and out.
“Holy shit,” I breathed.
The roof overhead grew larger.
Shit! It was now falling back to earth. The wind had died.
“Aidan! Go!”
He staggered to his feet and took off, his massive wings carrying us away from the house. His powerful body surged beneath mine as he hurled us into the air.
Dermot’s house had been in a forest. There were no other buildings nearby. We were in the trees when a loud crash echoed through the woods. I spun to look.
The roof had fallen back onto the house. My insides clenched as the black tar of guilt washed over me.
I’d killed all those people. They didn’t necessarily know they were working for someone evil.
And I’d killed them. My skin grew cold and my stomach sour. Hot tears prickled my eyes. Had I really done it? Killed all those people?
I couldn’t look away from Dermot’s house as it grew smaller in the distance. The massive pile of mangled stone and wood that we left behind was a horrible visual of the carnage I was capable of. I shuddered.
I really needed to get control of my power. Because if I didn’t control it, my magic could be as dark as Victor’s.
CHAPTER FOUR
I clung to Aidan’s back, my mind racing, for the entirety of the ride back to Magic’s Bend. The wind was cold enough to chill my bones, but I barely felt it.
When we landed on the wide expanse of his green backyard, I stumbled to the ground. Aidan’s house was located at the edge of Enchanter’s Bluff, the nicest neighborhood in town. He owned a big plot of land that butted up to the ocean, and I could hear the waves crashing against the rocky shore. I sucked in a deep breath of the fresh sea air and tried to clear my head.
Gray light swirled around the massive griffin who watched me with concerned eyes. A moment later, Aidan stood in its place, looking as calm and put-together as usual. No matter what kind of fight we were in, he usually ended up looking like he’d just stepped out of a catalogue.
“Are you all right?” He pulled me into his arms.
I melted into him, thawed by his heat. For just a second, I let his strength support me. We’d only been together for a couple of months, and none of it had been normal, but I couldn’t imagine my life without him.
“Cass? You okay?” His breath was warm against the top of my head.
“No,” I mumbled. Images of the blown-apart house flashed in my mind. I’d done that? I’d just meant to blow folks over. Stun them a bit so we could make our escape. Instead, I’d…
“I killed all those people,” I murmured. My stomach still felt like it’d been dipped in acid, and my tears had dehydrated me totally. There were none left. “There were so many of them, and I killed them.”
“You don’t know that.”
I looked up at him. “Come on, Aidan, of course I do. Did you see that? A house fell on them.”
He gripped my shoulders. “You didn’t mean to. You were defending yourself.”
“I know. But tell that to their families.” I shook my head, trying to banish the image of the crushed house. I’m turning into a monster. “I have so much power that I could have ended that all without death. But I can’t control it. I never should have used it. That was so careless of me.”
I clenched my fists in his shirtfront. This much power was a problem. A huge problem.
I looked down at my hands. “It’s just that this new power I have… It makes me so much stronger than everyone else. I’m so aware of it now. It was one thing when it was an even fight and I was scrapping for my life. But now, it’s just unfair. I can blast people away with a thought.”
Understanding lit his gray eyes. “It’s understandable that it makes you nervous.”
“I just feel like I’m finally growing a conscience.”
He grinned. “You’ve always had a conscience. You’ve just valued protecting your deirfiúr over anything else.”
“Yeah.”
“Just because you are now stronger doesn’t mean you aren’t at risk. That your deirfiúr aren’t at risk.”
“You’re right. I need to get my head in the game. I guess I spent too much time mulling things over in prison.”
He pulled me toward him and hugged me tight. “I think it’s good you’re taking your power into account. Becoming more responsible. But don’t forget to protect yourself. I admire your honorable heart, but you can’t let it paralyze you.”
“I won’t.”
He stepped away. “But you do need to practice your magic.”
I nodded vehemently. “God, I hope I can master it.”
“You’ll learn and become more comfortable. In the meantime, I’ll send men to check on the house. To see about survivors. Maybe they survived.”
I knew they hadn’t, but I appreciated it. “Thank you.”
He kissed me again, then pulled his phone out of his pocket. As he made the call, I realized he hadn’t worn a mask to see Dermot. Until now, Dermot hadn’t known he was involved.
He hung up the phone, and I said, “You didn’t wear a mask.”
“No.” He shrugged.
Understanding dawned. “You weren’t planning to let him live.”
He gave me a look like I was crazy. “He threw you in the Prison for Magical Miscreants. He plans to use you in som
e horrible plot. Of course I wouldn’t let him live. Neither would you, I don’t think, no matter how you’re feeling about your new power.”
I nodded slowly. “You’re right. I wouldn’t have killed his men, but I’d have made myself kill him to protect my deirfiúr.”
“It would have been the right thing to do.”
I knew he was right, but I didn’t want to think about it. I tugged my phone out of my pocket and glanced at the time. It was three o’clock. “We’re going to need to alert the Alpha Council soon, but I want to know more about this greater power that Victor is seeking. That sounds really bad.”
Aidan scrubbed a hand over his face, his gaze worried. “I agree. Whatever he’s seeking, we can’t let him get it. And we need to know more about his Transylvanian castle. If we’re going to rescue any FireSouls, we’ll need more details abut the castle’s defenses. Going in blind is a death wish.”
“We could ask Aethelred to scry for us.” Aethelred was the only seer who I knew personally. He wasn’t always a fan of me, but he’d help.
“Good idea,” Aidan said.
“I’m going to call him. If he’s in Darklane, I can head over there now. You can call the Alpha Council and tell them what’s up.”
“We have no evidence of Dermot Mulvey’s betrayal or Victor’s intentions, so I’m going to have to talk to the Alpha Council in person and hope they believe me,” Aidan said. “And now that Dermot is dead, it’s going to be even harder.”
“Good point.” Accusations should be made in person. That way, they’d at least take the claim seriously. Just calling up on the phone and naming names was suspicious.
But it was too dangerous for me to go with him when they could possibly sense what I was. I’d gone to their stronghold twice before, and both times had been risky as hell. I couldn’t go back. Mathias, the one Shifter who knew what I was, had made that clear.
“Call Aethelred,” Aidan said. “I’ll go with you to Darklane, then I’ll head to Scotland to meet with the Alpha Council.”