by Lizzy Ford
Decker met Beck’s gaze. They were still for a moment then dashed simultaneously towards the kitchen. Decker shoved Beck into a wall then landed flat on his stomach when Beck tripped him. The chef scurried out of their paths as they reached the fridge, both jostling to be the first to open it.
Decker wrenched open the fridge door. Both stared into the neatly kept space, seeking anything out of place among the stacked containers, fresh food, and dairy items.
“I believe you’ll find what you seek in the butter drawer,” Louis said from a few feet away, amused.
Beck ducked beneath Decker’s arm and opened the butter drawer. In it were two sets of keys, one with a blue tag and the other black. Beck handed Decker the black tag. They were quiet as they looked at the tag.
“BMW,” Beck said.
“Harley,” Decker said.
They grinned at each other and retreated to the family room. Their father was waiting with a smile.
“Perfect,” Decker said first. “I didn’t see anything in the garage.”
“They’ll appear like magick on your birthday,” Michael said with a wink. “Both are customized. And both contain GPSs with speed monitors. If you go over seventy miles an hour, I get a text alert. Brilliant, isn’t it?”
“Really?” Beck demanded. “When we’re eighteen, we can do what we want.”
“Then go buy your own car, son,” their mother, Rania, purred.
Beck rolled his eyes, but Decker smiled. He had one thing to look forward to. Knowing their father, the vehicles would be top of the line, in the boys’ favorite colors.
“Thanks,” he said, pleased.
His suspension from motorcycles had prevented him from escaping when the sounds of others’ souls got too loud at the school. His only reprieve was hiding in the forest. In a few weeks, he could leave again, drown out the sounds of humanity with the roar of a Harley and the wind. The idea made him feel at ease for the first time in a long time.
“Now that you’ve got the carrot, it’s time for the stick,” their mother said, standing. “Your life will change when you turn eighteen. We postponed your vision quests until you assumed your new roles. When we’re back from Europe in Fall, your father will take you out for your official weyekin ceremonies. But tonight, you’re going on a different kind of rite of passage. I want you both to see what it will mean for you to turn eighteen, so you appreciate your family and your heritage a little more.”
Decker pocketed the keys, sensing how serious she was. Beck mirrored his movement.
“You’re going on a field trip,” their father said. “It’s not meant to scare you. But we wanted both of you to have an idea of what Decker will be going through.”
“My own twin abandoned me on our eighteenth birthdays. Your father and I swore we wouldn’t let the same happen to you,” Rania said. The sadness that trickled into her voice whenever she spoke of her estranged twin, Nora— the Mistress of Light—was present. “You will not abandon each other.”
“Decker’s a jackass, but I won’t abandon him,” Beck replied.
“The transition is not an easy one,” their mother said, gazing at Decker.
Decker’s chest tightened. He didn’t know what she wanted to show them, but it wouldn’t be pleasant.
“I’m ready for it, Mother,” he said with more confidence than he felt.
“No one is ever ready for it,” she said, not unkindly. “Come with me, my boys. Let me show you my world.”
She held out her hands ,and Beck took one. Decker took the other, and cold and fire tore through him, taking his breath. Their surroundings changed suddenly from the cozy family room to a dark alley. Wherever they were, it was rainy and cold. The buildings on either side were made of weather-worn stone, resembling the ancient structures that still made up some of the small towns in northern Europe. They spent every summer exploring the European landscape.
“Ouch,” Beck said when he could breathe again.
“Hush. Follow me,” Rania said, unaffected by the chill in the air around them.
Decker glanced towards his twin in the night and stepped after his mother. She led him down the alley and onto a quiet street lined with streetlamps. His mother moved as quietly as a shadow. He shivered in the cold, wet air, wishing she’d let them grab their jackets before taking them.
His mother approached a darkened storefront, passed it, and opened the door to the side leading up to a second floor with flats. Beck motioned to the door as he followed, indicating the lock she’d somehow bypassed effortlessly. Decker closed the door behind him, and they both confirmed it locked.
“We have to ask her how to do that,” Beck whispered as they ascended after their shadowy mother. She disappeared around the corner at the top of the stairwell.
Decker hurried to catch up. The water-stained drywall of the second floor smelled heavily of mold, and a television blared behind one of the doors lining the narrow hallway.
His mother seemed to know exactly where she went. She waved for them to keep up as she stopped outside a door then opened it. It closed behind her. Decker reached it too late to grab it and twisted the knob. It was locked.
“So weird,” Decker mumbled. “I thought she walked through walls.”
“I guess she doesn’t have to. This is how she kept getting my porno stash last summer,” Beck grumbled. “I had it behind lock and key.”
“Our porno stash. I told you to give it to Grandpa Louis. She leaves him alone.”
The door swung open, startling both of them. Their mother raised her eyebrow at them and motioned them to follow again. She disappeared into the darkness beyond.
Heart pounding hard, Decker went in first. He had no idea what to expect. He saw the lumpy outlines of furniture in the apartment. He heard his mother open another door without seeing her and moved towards the sound. He tripped over a rug then smacked his leg into something hard that shouldn’t have been in the middle of the apartment in the first place.
“Watch your step,” he whispered to Beck. His warning came too late, and he heard Beck make the same mistakes.
“God damn it!” Beck muttered.
Decker waited another minute until his eyes adjusted to continue. He stepped cautiously in the direction his mother had gone. She’d had no problem navigating the flat. He tripped once more then made it to the doorway where she waited for them. He didn’t see her until he’d almost run into her.
“Come on, boys,” she said.
The room she stepped into was small and dark, lit by light outlining a cracked doorway on one side and filtering through the curtains on the other side. Decker guessed it was a bedroom by the rough size and shape of a bed to his right.
“Wait right here,” Rania said. His mother strode straight to the bathroom door and pushed it open.
A gunshot went off, and Decker cursed loudly at the roaring sound in the silent apartment. Another one went off. Beck grabbed his arm, pointing to the bed. Decker glanced at what the light of the bathroom revealed then hurried forward, more concerned about his mother being shot.
“Come in, boys!” she called as he reached the doorway. Beck crowded behind him.
Decker stared. His mother crouched in front of a man with white-blond hair who sat on the floor of a bathroom that reeked of vomit. She held the gun and set it on the counter, out of the man’s reach.
“This is Istvan. He’s been skirting me for a while.” Her voice was a low, calm purr.
The man’s terrified eyes went from her to Decker. The man called Istvan was shaking and silent.
“If you saw the body on the bed, you’ll know Istvan snapped finally. Decker.” She twisted to meet his gaze. “When someone from the Light falls, you feel it. It’s like someone slaps you awake in the morning. You can feel him, what he’s done, which Laws he’s broken. You can also find him, anywhere he runs. Eventually, you will find him.” She returned her attention to the cowering man. “Not that you didn’t try to evade me, Istvan. But this has gone on long enou
gh.”
“He killed someone,” Beck said in a hushed voice.
“He killed a lot of people. But only two directly. It’s one thing to use magick to kill and another to use magick to set the stage for someone dying. This isn’t the first time he lost control.”
“You mean you knew and let him go before?” Decker asked.
“I knew what he was long before his first kill but couldn’t act. This is the true burden, son,” she said. “Either knowing someone should be stripped of his Light. Or, knowing someone who was did not deserve it. In either case, you are bound by duty to claim the soul. In Istvan’s case, he somehow managed to avoid me even after he crossed that line.”
At her words, the man named Istvan began to weep. He struggled to his feet. Rania rose with him and took a step back while Decker and Beck crammed themselves into the bathroom to protect her, if needed.
Istvan tried to shove past their mother. A flash of darkness filled the bathroom then cleared just as suddenly. Their mother glowed with seething evil. It drank the white of her eyes and moved through and around her body. She slammed Istvan to the ceiling with her power, pinning him there. His amulet dangled over her head.
“For breaking the Light Laws, you are condemned.” Her voice took on an inhuman note. “Your soul is my food, your Light my drink. Your soul is now lost forever.”
Istvan’s tears fell from the ceiling. She took his amulet and studied it. With a frown, she unwrapped one long, black hair - that resembled hers more than the blond Istvan’s - from the amulet then dropped the trinket to the ground, smashing it with her heel. The white light within swirled around her leg. Her shadows swallowed it and she sighed, as if deeply satisfied. The amulet reformed itself, glowing black.
“Our power comes from those who are damned.” Her voice slowly returned to normal. “We feed on them, Decker. It sustains us. When one sins, we become thirsty and hungry, until we claim them.”
Decker’s mouth was too dry to respond. He remembered when she’d claimed his soul. She’d been gentle, taking his amulet and returning when it was black while he sobbed in his room.
Don’t worry, she’d assured him. You are the next Master of Fire and Night. When others die, their souls are lost forever. Yours will not be, for you are a servant of Light and Dark.
This man’s soul was lost forever.
Beck’s breathing was ragged in Decker’s ears.
“What happens if you don’t claim him?” Beck asked.
“I forfeit my own soul.” Their mother faced them, her eyes still black. They stepped back in unison, away from her.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” Decker whispered.
“You must,” she said. She held out her hands to them.
Decker hesitated before taking one while Beck took the other. More fire shot through them, and they were somewhere else, in a forest. At once, Decker recognized the feel of the forest near the school and relaxed.
“That’s it? What about the woman?” Beck asked. “You didn’t even call the police.”
“That’s not what I do,” their mother said gently. “I am there for one purpose only. To enforce the Law of Magick.”
Decker sat on the ground, lightheaded. Beck gripped his shoulder.
“Mother, how can you make Decker do this?” his twin demanded.
“It must be done, Beck. Would you rather that guy wander the streets, using his magick to kill?”
“What will make him stop?” Decker asked. “You took his soul. But he’s still alive. I’m still alive.”
“You can’t compare people like us to them,” she warned. “We are born into our positions and expected to perform evil in the name of good. Once a soul is lost, it can never be recovered. The souls of those who do good return to the world even after the witchling dies and becomes a part of nature. The souls of those who do evil must be destroyed, or they will continue to do evil even in death.”
“But he can still do evil now,” Beck insisted. “You’ve done nothing to protect innocent people from him!”
“That becomes your role, Beck. Decker will enforce. You will protect. Decker is not the only one who can kill those who go astray. The role has fallen solely to me over the past twenty years, because of my twin sister’s rather absent dedication to her duties.”
They were silent.
“Worst practical example ever,” Decker said at last. “Who enforces those Dark witchlings who become threats to everyone? I mean, there are layers in evil, right?”
“That’s our next stop,” Rania said. “Those who break the Laws of Magick become Dark. Those who break the Dark Laws are killed.”
“You kill them?” Beck asked in a strangled voice.
“I do. We have three Dark Laws. No magick involving the dead. Second, no evil can be stolen from a witchling by another witchling. Third, evil wasted weakens us all. This is a catch-all. I can use it to kill anyone I feel uses their magick inappropriately. It’s meant to give the Dark Master or Mistress more freedom than the Light Master has. Beck can only kill when absolutely necessary.”
Decker closed his eyes as she spoke. He felt sick.
“The next man we visit broke the third law. Magick is finite, and he’s used his to the point of madness.”
“I’m not sure I want to see this.” Beck voiced the words Decker wanted to say.
“You will, though, Beck. My sister left me to deal with my power alone. I won’t see that happen to Decker, not when the two of you need each other,” their mother said firmly. “Light and Dark need one another. Only when the enforcer and protector work together can they truly make a difference. My split with Nora severed our effectiveness, too, and altered the balance between Light and Dark. The result is a world with more evil and death than there should be. The pendulum will continue to swing in my direction, if you two do not work together to bring balance back.”
“But isn’t that what we want?” Decker asked. “Shouldn’t I want a world with more evil and Beck want a world with more good?”
“Evil cannot be stopped, only contained. By serving the Dark, we become a part of it. We monitor and enforce its laws from within. We don’t do it so that evil can prevail but so that it doesn’t take over,” she explained.
“We’re fighting for the same thing but in different ways,” Beck said.
“And hated by everyone,” Decker added.
“Yes, son, this is true.” The sadness was in his mother’s voice again. “You will be very alone. I met your father when I was seventeen, and we married when I was twenty. I was twenty-five when you were born. He’s been my sanity, and you both have been my whole world. Even so, keeping the secret of what you are from those you love most is very difficult.”
The revulsion Decker felt watching her do what she did faded at her words. He couldn’t quite come to grips with knowing she’d done this her whole adult life and protected them both from it until tonight. But he pitied her and himself for taking on a duty that made him want to vomit.
“It’s for the good of everyone,” his mother added, as if aware of his thoughts. “And it’s only until your children turn eighteen, Decker.”
Decker drew a deep breath. He didn’t want to say what was on his mind, that he didn’t think he’d cope well enough being a soul reaper to date anytime soon. Or ever.
“Not really a romantic introduction,” Beck joked weakly. “Hi, I’m Decker. I’ll take your soul if you screw up.”
“You take souls, too,” Decker pointed out.
“Good souls. It’s like comparing a candy bar and a stick of dynamite. If I remember correctly, killing is how you got sentenced to the Dark.”
“Lame.” Decker snorted. “You would’ve done the same if you were there.”
As they bantered, their mother withdrew the long, dark hair she’d pulled off of Istvan’s amulet. Frowning, she held it up in the moonlight. Decker was about to ask her about it when she shook her head. She replaced the hair in her pocket then leveled her dark gaze on him.
“You guys sound like you’ve recovered. Come on,” she said. “You’ve gotta be back at the school before dawn.”
Heart beating faster than a hummingbird’s wings, Decker stood, knowing he wasn’t anywhere near ready to see his mother kill someone.
Chapter Five
“Summer, aren’t you hungry?”
Summer looked from her plate to Dawn, who sat down the table from her at breakfast. There were a few kids up already, including the Turner twins, both of whom appeared half-asleep at the other end of the table.
“Not too much,” Summer replied. She pushed her nearly full plate away.
She was starving. But everything here tasted like fish after the first night. She didn’t understand it.
“You need to eat. You’re skin and boobs,” Dawn said with a laugh. The girls flanking her laughed as well.
Summer’s face grew hot. She rose and returned to her room, where the small deer still slept in the middle of its pillow fortress. She patted its head then left the room quietly.
“I was just coming to get you for dance class,” Amber said from down the hall. “You ready?”
Summer nodded. They descended to the first floor and down the hallway to the dance studio. Everyone was already there. She took up her place in the back of the class, mind on the deer in her room. She went through the motions the instructor showed them. Before she could flee back to her room, Amber stopped her.
“The rest of the girls have the day off. You and I are going to do some introductory magick studies. Meet me out back in half an hour? Is that enough time for you to change?”
Summer nodded and ran back to her room.
Her deer still slept. She hovered over it for a few minutes before changing into jeans. She’d grabbed some milk at breakfast; it sat on her dresser, waiting for her friend to awaken. It didn’t during her short break, and she left it grudgingly.
Amber waited for her at one of the picnic tables. In front of her, outlined by rocks and candles, was a circle around a pentagram. She patted the table beside her, and Summer sat.
“You look a little pale,” Amber said, studying her. “Are you sleeping well?”