"You're successful too, Aunt Crystl," I said looking around at the many trinkets and treasures lining the shelves in her home.
"Reading palms and telling fortunes? That wasn't the life I imagined," she said.
"At least you're not constantly monitored by Uncle, the dictator, and subjected to follow the ancient ideals of the Trillium elders," I said.
"You aren't either," she said. "You're meant to be Queen and when you become that person, you can dictate your own policies within the coven. You do plan to be a Queen, right?"
"Maybe…but I can't do it without the Grimoire."
"I hear rumors that it's lost," she said.
"And I'm going to find it. My mother took it with her to find help with a spell when the demons started breaching Earth. She never returned. Uncle and the other ancestors are relying on other means to execute spells now. They've made many sacrifices."
Aunt Crystl frowned. "Sacrifices?"
I looked over my shoulder at the window above the kitchen sink. Vampires had a good sense of hearing, but these ones had promised to keep me alive. Gave their word. Their blood oath. The Crows were big on blood oaths.
"The Crows," I whispered.
"Don't worry, child. My home is protected. The Crows outside can use their powers all they want, but they can't hear what we talk about here."
"Then you're more powerful than Uncle believed," I said.
Aunt Crystl sat back in her chair. "What kind of sacrifices has my brother talked the elders into making?"
"With the Crows mostly. He uses the blood of supernaturals to keep the demons out of our protected cities."
"So the Crows provide the blood. What do they get in return?"
I looked my aunt straight in the eyes. "Our blood. They no longer have to sneak up on us and take. They receive just by asking."
"Blasphemy," she spat.
"They need Trillium blood to shape shift…to become and remain a true Crow. They never really intended to kill us."
"Who was your mother looking for to help her with the spell?"
I shook my head. "I don't know. Another witch, I suppose."
"A Trillium? A Nightshade? Do you think they could've killed her?"
"I don't know." I balled my hands into fists, my nails digging into my palms. "But if I find that to be the case, they'll pay the ultimate price."
"Do you intend to follow in Clélia's footsteps?"
"I want to find out what happened to my mother just as much as I want to find our Grimoire. The human hunters my father sends only return with mere trinkets and treasures lost during the supernatural apocalypse. I almost wonder if they're more concerned with opening up a museum of ancient artifacts instead of finding the most important thing," I said.
"Do you have full use of your magic?" she asked, her curious eyes darting back and forth across my face.
I nodded. "They came before I reached my prime."
"They came to you when Clélia died," she said.
I sighed deeply as a bolt of pain ripped through my chest. "Please…I don't want to talk about my mother being dead. All this time, I've been telling myself that she's just lost or maybe something or someone evil has gotten to her and won't let her leave. I can't believe she's dead."
"Does François know you're here?"
"It's only a matter of time before he does, but by the time he figures out what I'm going to do, it'll be too late. I'll be gone…"
"You're right. If he knows what you plan to do, he'll stop you at every turn. They'll—" She pointed a thumb in the direction of the kitchen window where the Crows waited outside. "—stop you at every turn. You can't let them know what you plan to do."
"That's the thing." I shrugged. "I know what I want to do, but I don't know if it's the right thing to do."
Aunt Crystl leaned in and put her hand on my shoulder. "If you have to release hellfire to save the world, then you have to release hellfire."
My mouth dropped opened. "How did you know…?"
She smiled and tapped her temple. "Visions."
"I'm afraid of what the outcome will be," I told her.
"Aren't you afraid of what the outcome will be if you don't act?" When I didn't say anything, she continued, "When the time comes, you'll know what you have to do."
"I hope so," I said, quietly.
"It's a dangerous world, Leona. No one is safe. Our friends have become our enemies. If you run into the wrong one…"
"I know. I won't let that happen," I reassured her.
"You have to get rid of those Crows. You've cloaked your magic for now, but the Crows have been feeding on Trillium witches since the beginning. Any foe would be able to put two and two together if they're seen following you. If you're going after a Grimoire, do you want that kind of attention?"
"I told Uncle that and he insisted that I take the Crows with me," I said.
"They'll only hinder you," she said.
"That's why I need your help. You left the coven with a compass. The others believed that my mother had it with her when she took the book. I recalled seeing something made of brass sticking out of your bag on the day you left. I didn't think anything of it until a few weeks ago when my uncle told me that the compass was missing from the vault room," I told her.
"I…"
She looked confused and shameful at the same time, as if she didn't suspect that I knew that she had taken something from the coven when she left.
"Don't worry. I won't tell Uncle," I told her.
"After I was banished for fornicating with a dark sorcerer, I took to the family vault. I wanted to find Bryn. I couldn't figure out how to get the darn thing to work. Unless you can crack the spell, it's probably useless."
"Bryn? Was that the sorcerer's name?"
She sighed. "He probably didn't want to be found anyway. Do you know what the compass is supposed to do?"
"It finds portals," I replied. "But I'm not trying to uncover any old portal. Just the hidden ones. The ones that'll get me to The Void."
She bit her lower lip and her brows furrowed nervously. "Do you know what happens to those who enter realms they know nothing of?"
"No, but I'm prepared to find out. And I need to find that portal faster than I realized."
Aunt Crystl looked at me like I had just told her that I was going to walk straight into the gates of Hell. I hope it wouldn't come to that. I coveted my powers and I enjoyed living, but I couldn't live in peace while demons raged through my city on a nightly basis. The combined powers of the Trillium coven were no longer enough to protect the masses. The only thing that was going to save us now was hellfire. And I was possibly the only witch in the world with the power to unleash it.
Chapter 11
Carrick
I hadn’t visited the Lowland swamps in over five years. The Lowland lycans had a different alpha then and I was on duty hunting down a rogue lycan who was recently seen raiding farms and killing livestock.
The first time I met Troy Brickell, he was a mess. He'd just lost his grandmother, the women who raised him, to a senseless attack by humans who hunted supernaturals. He wanted to take his anger out on anyone and everyone.
Brickell started with the rapists and killers of his city. He hunted them at night intentionally, murdering them while they were in the process of their crimes. One night, he must've misplaced his morals along the way. He ran down a thief after the man stole a bag of peanuts from the diner and cleaned out the registers. I happened to be flying overhead that night reporting for duty at one of the portals when I witnessed the lycan with his jaws at the criminal's throat. I flew down, changed forms, and managed to talk Brickell out of tearing through the thief's throat. Afterward, he invited me inside for beer and food and the rest was history. Now, I needed his help.
I followed two lycans deep into a swamp. Two other lycans were behind us. If I changed my mind and ran off, they'd probably chase me down…if I let them. I hadn't revealed just yet that I was a dragon. They knew I was a supernatura
l. They just didn't know which kind. Cross breeds were harder to identify, after all. And because there weren't that many of us to begin with compared to the other supernatural species, dragons were known to keep their true nature under wraps.
After trudging through the swamps, we entered a thick forest and then came to a clearing where a village was surrounded by tall boulders and thick rock, at least a mile long. Inside the walls were dozens of huts, small homes, and sheds. A fortress beyond the swamps—home of the Lowland lycans.
We stopped in front of a hut with a red painted door. One of the men knocked before entering. Only a few moments later, I was inside the hut reuniting with one of the few men I trusted.
"Carrick." Brickell stood with a grin on his face. He came forward and gave me a quick nudge on the shoulder. "Look at you, man. You're all buff and lean."
"I could say the same about you, Brickell."
"What could I say?" He held out his arms. "We have to chase down our own food around here and sometimes fight for it too."
Brickell looked at the lycans behind me. "Leave us."
They obeyed immediately. A tall beauty with a head full of black thick, long hair stayed behind, eyeing us curiously.
Brickell cleared his throat and the beauty stood up. She kissed him on the lips before grabbing a long silk shawl to lay over her shoulder.
"When you're ready for more, Alpha, I'll be waiting."
"Soon enough, Monique." Brickell squeezed her ass as she walked by.
She exited the hut and closed the door.
"You're living well, Brickell."
He poured two glasses of brandy and handed one to me. "I try, but during these times, no one is living well. The Lowland lycans have been doing all we can. We've rounded up thousands of demons and set them on fire. These swamps aren't protected but if any threat crosses onto our lands, they're pretty much burnt toast," Brickell said.
"Sounds like a good plan to keep your people safe. Some of us were living in worst places than this," I told him.
"What happened to you?" Then in a lower voice, he said, "Everyone thinks you're dead."
"Prison. Bursgate. For seven months." I took a swig of the brandy. I left out the part about how my own father threw me inside.
"Bursgate? That godforsaken place? I heard that demons creep through the volcanos there and consume anyone in their path."
"Both the demons and the hellfire," I said.
"I'm sorry. When I heard about how the Council was looking for all the realm guardians to punish them, I went out looking for you. I knew you'd never betray the Council or let the demons in. I would've spoken for you, given you a sanctuary. Right here."
"I know you would have, but you didn't want to get mixed up in that. Those men showing the slightest regard for anyone with demon’s blood were hunted and persecuted just the same."
"No one has seen or heard from any of the realm guardians since it all happened. It's like the lot of you disappeared from the face of the planet," he said, sinking into a chair and then gesturing to the sofa seat beside him.
"I haven't seen any either. Some of us fell during the disaster, some of us were found by hunters and killed. My fear is that very few of us are existing still today."
"How did you get out of Bursgate?" he asked. "They say the only way out is through Blackwald. The only way out is death."
"I'm being sent on a mission," I told him.
"A mission?" He sat straight up in the chair.
"Yes." I looked down into the glass of brandy and then around me at the walls made of boulders. There were cracks in the boulders. I trusted Brickell, but no one else, and I knew there were plenty of eyes and ears right outside the hut waiting just in case their Alpha needed something. "I'm not able to discuss any specifics," I continued. "Not right now at least. I just only need a bit of assistance."
"Ah…" He nodded. "My men are loyal, but I understand where you're coming from. You've been betrayed more times than I have. I owe you one hundred times over. What do you need?"
I leaned forward and put my empty glass on the coffee table between us. "I need you to pick up a scent for me. I can't risk detection by setting my dragon free on this realm. My human form isn't fast enough."
"Whose scent?"
"A witch."
"Dude," he chuckled, nervously. "We don't deal in witches."
It was a well-known fact that lycans and witches didn't mix. They were enemies. Witches and lycans had been battling each other for centuries.
"I know, but—"
"As you can see, we don't live in one of them protected cities. We know how to take care of our own without some voodoo black magic wicked witch of the south. We don't trust 'em. We never will."
"When we first met, I told you about my distaste of witches. You know I feel the same way," I said.
"Why you would want to track a supernatural that could turn you to stone with one word is beyond me. I'd rather be thrown in Bursgate myself than that."
"No, you wouldn't." I shook my head. "I wouldn't wish Bursgate on anyone."
"Then why? Why do you want to track a witch?"
"It's part of my mission," I said. "A mission that won't end well for the witch."
He grinned. "Now you're talking. What have you got?"
I dug into my trench coat and pulled out the torn silk scarf that I had found tangled up in the bushes near the edge of the bank.
Brickell picked up the gray scarf and brought it to his nose, then lifted his gaze to meet mine. "Besides the smell of dirt and river water from the Natchez, I pick up a powerful feminine scent. We can help you find her."
Chapter 12
Leona
Someone knocked on the door to the hotel room. I quickly shoved the compass down into my back pocket. I went over and looked through the peephole to see the soulless black eyes of a Crow staring back at me. It was Adam. I opened the door.
"If you're worried about me not eating again, I'm fine. My aunt packed me some dinner," I said.
"Not that," he said, handing me a folded piece of paper. "A message from your uncle."
"Let me guess," I said, taking the note. "Delivered by Crow?"
Adam grinned. "We've been delivering messages for the Trillium for centuries, but you know this, don't you?"
I fumbled with the paper, unsure if I wanted to read it or not. It was probably my uncle's plea begging me to return home. He'd given me four days to find a lead, but he and I both knew that it was going to take longer than four days. I wasn't going back until I had the Grimoire. And contrary to what Aunt Crystl said, I wanted to return home with my mother.
"Adam?"
The Crow stopped just under the threshold of the hotel room. I looked out the door for a moment at the darkening sky. The toads, night bugs, and crickets were just beginning to emerge, allowing me to listen to nature for a few moments. A light breeze whisked past the Crow and into the room. It brought the scent of swamp and green earth inside.
"Yes Queen," he said.
I didn't know how I felt about him calling me Queen before my initiation.
"If I asked you to do something for me against my uncle's wishes, would you do it?" I asked.
When my question was met with silence, I swallowed. I shouldn't have said anything. I should have kept my apprehensions all to myself.
"I'm here to keep you alive," was all he said.
"Yes, I know, but that's not what I'm talking about."
He turned around and slightly tilted his head to one side.
"I have to do something to save us all," I said. "I have to do it alone. If I asked you to let me go out alone and do this thing, would you do it?"
"No, I wouldn't," he replied, without hesitation. "Is there anything else?"
"No, that'll be all. You and the others should get a room. Maybe the adjoining one to the left of me if you haven't already. There's a hurricane threatening the coast," I told him.
Adam nodded once, backed out of the door, and closed me inside the h
otel room again.
I sat down at the foot of my bed and unfolded Uncle Franc's note.
'I told you to stay away from that deceitful hag,' it read. 'Must I remind you—we agreed that once you had any news, we'd send reinforcements right away. Don't do anything drastic. Don't trust anyone.'
His name was signed in green, just the way he always penned it.
I crumbled up the note and threw it in the wastebasket by the nightstand. Then I retrieved the compass that my aunt gave me and placed it on the map folded out in the center of my bed. The needles of the compass remained idle just like it did the last dozen times I brought it out. No matter what I did to it…reading of spells, using magic, or just plain waiting, the compass didn't function the way I thought it would. If I couldn't use the compass, how did I expect to do what I set out to do? If I couldn't do this simple thing, did I have the strength to bring my mother home?
I folded the map up neatly and put it and the compass in my bag on top of my clothes and other belongings. I zipped up the bag tightly and waited for the storm to arrive.
Uncle Franc was right about something. I would trust no one.
Chapter 13
Leona
I never got the chance cast the spell that would put the Crow vampires into a deep slumber allowing me to make a quick escape. In the middle of the night, the warning sirens blared. Not the sirens they used to alert the citizens to take cover because of a tornado, hurricane, or nasty storm. These were sirens alerting those that demons were out and about.
Two Crows burst through my door. I yanked up my bags just before they yanked me up and out of the room.
"What the hell is going on?" I asked as they marched me down the hall and back down the wide-open metal staircase leading to the first floor.
"The demons have breached this town," Adam said.
Others rushed by, mostly humans, as if they were all headed to one place. I saw a hotel employee up ahead in the main hotel lobby directing them somewhere.
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