“No,” I breathed.
I grabbed the obsidian only to pull back immediately with a hiss from the sharp pain in my palm. There was a red mark on my palm. The obsidian had burned me. I pulled my shirt over my head and wrapped the fabric around my hands, then grabbed the obsidian again. The burning sensation was still painful but bearable.
I gritted my teeth as I pulled with all my strength while tears of pain from the burn ran down my face. Lorenzo jerked, his heartbeat visible through his chest, and his ribcage rose and fell rapidly. He was distressed. I had to hurry, yet no matter how hard I pulled, I couldn’t get the stone off him.
The third crowd appeared right above his chest.
“No, please don’t,” I sobbed. It was clear that I couldn’t overpower the stone with my physical capabilities, so I turned to the only magic I had. “Release him, release him. Stop the astral projection and bring Lorenzo back to me.”
At first, I had no idea if it was working, but then the stone throbbed angrily in my palms as if yelling back an angry reply.
I put every ounce of determination I had into my voice. “I command you, release Lorenzo immediately.”
There was a pop and a crunching as I was thrown out of the hexagon, clutching the obsidian in my hand. My spine slammed against the ground hard, and stars exploded in front of my vision as my head bounced against the hard earth.
I thought I heard voices, I thought I heard footsteps, but I wasn’t sure because darkness was already claiming me. I didn’t mind. I had done my part. I had gotten the obsidian off Lorenzo, and he was safe.
5
2nd August
I woke up with a pounding headache, my neck and shoulders sore, and my mouth parched dry. Turning from my back onto my side was excruciating, but all the pain was forgotten when I came face-to-face with Lorenzo.
His eyes were closed, and for a moment, I worried that something was wrong with him, but then I noticed his calm breathing. He was just sleeping, recovering from yesterday. And somehow, I had ended up in his bed.
Needing a glass of water, I pushed upright and tried to suppress the resulting groan of pain as my shoulder protested the pressure on it.
“You’re up,” Lorenzo mumbled, his eyelids fluttering open.
“How are you feeling?”
“Shitty, as to be expected.” He examined me. “I wouldn’t have done it had I known the consequences for you. I’ve only ever done astral projection with a demon, who claimed it was nothing.” He shook his head. “I should’ve known better. I should’ve asked Mikka or someone else—”
“Stop. I wanted to do it. I’m fine. I even still have all of my body parts.”
He chuckled. “And your sense of humor.” His face turned somber, and he held up his hand. “How many fingers do you see?”
I rolled my eyes, but replied, “Three.”
“What’s your best friend’s name?”
“Tia, and we’re at Daydream, the bar you own. I’m fine.” I suppressed a cringe as I remembered the fall, the pain running down my spine, and then everything turning dark. “Getting thrown out of the circle was nothing compared to what you’ve been through.”
“It wasn’t too bad.” He glanced away as he spoke, betraying his words.
“What is it like when you astral project?” When he hesitated, I pressed. “I want the truth. No more secrets, Lorenzo. You want me to be open with you. Well, I expect the same in return.”
He smoothed out the bedsheets. “It feels like your body is being turned inside out. When your soul leaves, everything tenses, wanting to bring it back. Adrenaline is pumping through you, and your organs are working overtime.” He must’ve noticed the horrified expression on my face, because he added, “It was worth it. There was no other way to find out what the fae were up to.”
I sat upright. “You overheard what they’re planning?”
He brushed a hand through his long, silver hair. “I was able to overhear parts of their debate. They are connected to the human disappearances, but not involved yet.”
I leaned forward. “What does that mean?”
He sighed. “The fae aren’t behind the abductions. There is someone they call The Leader. Apparently, he approached them, and he wants their help.”
“Why? He doesn’t seem to have problems abducting people on his own.” At least not when it came to the less fortunate souls of Arcadia who wouldn’t be missed. The poor widows at the women’s houses, the neglected and vilified patients at the mental institutions, the single travelers staying at Madam’s Boarding House. If I hadn’t left the orphanage a few months earlier, I could’ve become one of the disappearing people. I jumped up from the bed, barely feeling the stab of pain in my shoulder. “The orphanage. We need to protect the kids in there.”
Lorenzo nodded. “I’ll find someone who will keep an eye on them. We’re needed here.” He cleared his throat and poured us each a glass of water from a large jug standing on his bedside table. I accepted the glass and emptied it in a few gulps.
“Back to the fae involvement,” Lorenzo said. “They’re not meant to abduct any more people. They’re supposed to extract something from humans. You were right; the extraction of emotions is similar to what they’re supposed to do.”
I put the glass down and bit my lip. “They’re going to steal life-energy from the humans?”
“No, it appears that the leader knows how to do that himself.”
I swallowed hard, more certain than ever that this leader was a powerful magic wielder. “Then what is the faeries’ part?”
“Every human has a tiny drop of magic in them. Some have more, some have less, but everybody holds a bit of magic.”
Acacia had said the same thing to me a while ago, stating that I had more magic than any of her other clients. “So are the fae supposed to target people like me who have some magic abilities but aren’t demon or fae descendants and also not witches?”
A soft smile played on Lorenzo’s face. “You have no idea how rare you are, do you, Halia? In my two hundred and seventy-two years, I’ve never met anyone like you.”
“Then who will they target?”
Lorenzo’s throat bobbed up and down. “The amount of magic in a person’s blood changes, depending on how they lead their lives. It’s complicated. There are no fast rules, but generally, those who pursue their passions, such as artists, have more magic in their blood as do people who are in love or pure of heart.”
I pondered this for a moment. Those people wouldn’t be as easy to get to as the unfortunate souls confined in mental institutions and widow houses. How was the leader planning to collect them? And then it dawned on me. “The competition,” I breathed. “The leader will go for the singers.”
Lorenzen nodded. “With so much talent in one space, it’s the ideal hunting ground.”
“You think he’ll succeed? What about the king’s patrolmen?”
“They’re there to stop any unrest and protect the judges as well as the advancing candidates. Those who fail to progress into the next round make for easy pickings.”
I began to pace. It was one thing to find a way to protect a place like an orphanage, but the singers wouldn’t be stationary, and they would refuse to stay in a group for safety. No, we had to approach the issue in a different way. “How did the fae vote?”
“Five voted for, two against it.”
“Meaning?”
Lorenzo rubbed his jaw. “Acacia was in charge of the meeting. She declared that whoever didn’t want to participate didn’t have to join, but that they had to swear not to interfere.”
“Did she vote for it?” Even though I suspected she did, I wanted to be wrong. It was illegal for Acacia to sell the sisters’ fake voices, but at least, she wasn’t forcing or exploiting someone the way she would be if she agreed to extract magic from unsuspecting or unwilling humans.
“She did. Abigail and a fae named Asther voted against it.”
Everything inside me tensed. I was disappointed and
felt betrayed, but it was more than that. I had seen Acacia in action. I knew what she was capable of. She wasn’t somebody you wanted for an enemy. “We need to change Acacia’s mind. Perhaps if the king offered her a position—”
Lorenzo cut me off. “Do you really want somebody like her working for the king?”
“No, but if she allies herself with this leader, they’ll succeed.”
Lorenzo gave me a lopsided smile. “I like it that you aren’t cocky, but a bit of confidence from time to time wouldn’t hurt.”
I plopped down onto the bed. “Maybe we can stop them if we prepare properly. What else did you find out?”
“Nothing, I’m afraid. After Acacia said that not everyone had to participate, I was kicked out of the astral projection. But Abigail heard the whole conversation. Now that she’s accepted the balance scales, she’ll be greedy for more magic. We can probably get her to tell us the rest of what was discussed”
“Why didn’t she use them in the meeting?”
He shrugged. “She probably didn’t care enough about the outcome and wanted to keep them for another time.”
“All right. But even if she wants more magic, isn’t it interference if she tells us what was discussed in the meeting?”
A cheeky grin stretched across Lorenzo’s lips. “No, not according to fae law.”
I smiled. For once, the bendable rules of the fae race would serve us.
Now there were only two more things to consider. “Where are we going to find Abigail, and what will we use to bargain with her?”
As Lorenzo explained his plan, my smile vanished, and worry consumed me. “No way,” I said after hearing his proposal. “You will not owe Abigail an astral projection as a favor. I can’t let you do it after knowing how it affects you.”
“It’s the only way,” Lorenzo replied calmly. “I don’t have anything else with which to bargain with her, and no time to find a magical item.”
He was right, but there had to be another way. I didn’t trust Abigail not to misuse her power and send Lorenzo into hell by not pulling him out quickly enough from the astral projection. “We can offer her my skills.”
Lorenzo shook his head. “Your magic can only be used for light. We don’t know what Abigail might ask you to do, and it’s best if she doesn’t know about your powers. I don’t think she’ll betray us since she’s in too deep, but we need to be careful and ensure that your singing power remains a surprise. The fae cannot know about it.”
I snarled, knowing he was right and feeling helpless for it.
“I’ll be fine,” Lorenzo reassured me.
“Fine, we’ll go with your plan, but on one condition.”
“What?”
“I get to be the one assisting you with the astral projection.”
“Absolutely not. I’m trying to keep you out of this. You were unconscious after yesterday. If I hadn’t teleported us away, we could’ve both been discovered.”
I shrugged. “You either let me assist you, or the deal is off. I won’t let you place the safety of your soul into Abigail’s greedy paws.”
Lorenzo must’ve seen the determination on my face because he nodded. I stood tall, satisfied that he was being reasonable even as I wondered whether making a bargain with Abigail would one day come back to bite us in the behind.
Since going to Abigail’s house was too risky for either of us and we didn’t have the time to wait for a run-in with her, we asked Tia.
“Thanks,” I said to my friend as she donned her big hat that covered her blue hair. “I really appreciate everything you’re doing for us.”
She waved my statement away and pulled on an oversized shirt over her cropped top. “Hey, Arcadia is my home too, and I want it to go back to normal.”
I chewed on my lip. “So there’s still a lot of bar fights going on?”
“Yes, Arcadians are either extremely aggressive or nervous, almost paranoid. I spotted several people peeking from behind their curtains, monitoring the street outside their homes, and continually glancing around when out and about.”
“I wonder if they’re just reacting to whatever is going on, or if the fae or the leader are doing something to them.”
Tia wolfed down a cucumber-and-cream cheese sandwich Mikka had prepared for her. “Either way, we need to break up their group and put an end to their plans.”
I nodded, trying to figure out why the leader was interested in extracting magic. If he wanted power, even if he wanted to overthrow the king, wouldn’t it be more effective and quicker to buy the loyalty of a few powerful magic wielders? But then the power wouldn’t truly be his. I supposed that explained his complicated strategy. But what was the fae’ motivation to collaborate with him? What were they gaining from it? They already had plenty of magic.
I turned to Lorenzo. “Could the fae use life energy for anything? They age slowly and remain young-looking even in old age, don’t they?”
Lorenzo’s green-violet eyes narrowed. “Life energy can be used for dark magic. It can be sold by itself or mixed in with emotion potions. It could also be used to perform draining magic rituals without having to recover in between.”
Disgust rose in me. For a little bit of convenience, the fae were willing to take the most precious gift from humans. Humans who already lived only a tenth of a fae’s lifespan. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right. I wouldn’t let the fae get away with it.
“I’m ready.” Tia brushed breadcrumbs from her lips and washed down her sandwich with a glass of water.
“You got the address? You remember what to say?”
“Yes. Tell her we have something better than balanced scales in exchange for information. If somebody else greets me at Abigail’s house and asks me why I’m there, I’ll say I want to buy a mood-boosting potion.”
“What if whoever opens the door tries to send you away?”
“I’ll claim a friend recommended Abigail, and that I don’t trust anyone else.”
I nodded and hugged my friend. “Good luck.”
“Don’t sweat it. It’s nothing compared to what you’ve done. I’ll be back before you know it.”
True to her word, she strolled through the door, not an hour later. I jumped off my barstool. “And?”
“Abigail took the bait. She’ll come over to discuss your proposal after nightfall.”
I cursed underneath my breath. We needed to talk to Abigail before that. The announcement of the twelve candidates that would progress into the next round was today, leaving thirteen candidates undefended against the fae and the leader.
“I tried everything to convince her to come now, but she said she couldn’t, and that it would be safer after night fell.”
“Thank you, Tia,” Lorenzo said with infuriating calm.
I whirled on him. “We need to do something! We can’t just let the fae take away the losing contestants like a bag of trash!”
“I doubt the fae will move today, but even if they do, we’ll get the performers back.” Despite his voice being reassuring, I found it hard to believe him. I trusted him, but there were so many things that could go wrong.
However, I doubted that Abigail would appreciate it if I sent Tia back to negotiate the timing of our meeting. We couldn’t afford to push Abigail too hard. She had something we needed, so she was setting the terms. Which meant I had to find another way to distract the fae from the singers that lost today. Luckily, I had a plan.
“What are you scheming now?” Lorenzo asked.
I relaxed my face. “Nothing,” I lied, feeling only the tiniest bit of guilt. After all, Lorenzo had agreed with me that the police needed to be notified about the goings-on in the mental institution. Acacia was involved in Arcadia’s unrest. It was time that one of the patrolmen paid a visit to her.
“I’ll go for a quick walk to clear my head before the competition announcement.” Lorenzo didn’t look convinced, and I rolled my eyes. “I won’t do anything. I just need to work off some of my nervous energy. You don’
t want me to be a wreck on stage while half of Arcadia scrutinizes me, do you?” He scowled, and I grabbed Tia’s hand. “Here, I’ll even take Tia with me.”
“All right.” Lorenzo agreed begrudgingly.
As soon as we were outside Daydream, my friend grinned. “So, what did you have in mind?”
“Nothing much. I just want the dirty fae to pay. Acacia hurt my Arcadia, so I’m going to strike her where it hurts the most—her business.”
Tia’s face lit up with excitement. “And how are you going to do that?”
“Easy. Tip off the first patrolman I see by singing in his ear that there are illegal dealings going on.” And that’s exactly what I did when I spotted a patrolwoman whom I remembered milling around outside Madam’s Boarding House after a guest had died from a heart attack and Madam had tried to cover up his death.
“Interview Acacia, the fae. She’s a close friend of Madam Fontaine’s. She’s involved in the strange death and the disappearances at the boarding house. You’ll find illegal magic at Acacia’s. You know that fae’s always seemed suspicious.”
The patrolwoman turned around sharply and hurried to the police station, probably to get whatever papers she needed to barge into Acacia’s home. I smiled with satisfaction. I would teach Acacia not to underestimate us humans.
“Very nice.” Tia’s smile faltered. “You’re not going to get into trouble for this, are you?”
I shook my head. “It was an anonymous tip. The patrolwoman will sell this idea as her own.”
The church bells rang, and Tia cursed. “Let’s get you back to Daydream and into your outfit.”
“What outfit?”
“The one the stage assistant dropped off while you were recovering from the astral projection.”
Unlike the previous stage appearances where candidates wore all colors of the rainbow, tonight, we were all decked out in black, but that’s where the similarities of our attire ended. My black dress was a flowing number, moving in the breeze. In contrast to my light chiffon, other singers wore lace, silk, even velvet, or leather. Some of us had slim silhouettes while others wore gowns. Each of our outfits represented the personas we had assumed in this competition. There was the pretty princess, the dangerous femme fatale, and the no-nonsense singer. My outfit appeared to have a touch of mystery to it, and I guessed that that’s how the judges viewed me, especially after I had refused to talk about my personal life at the interview. While I thought my dress blended in nicely with the others, the same couldn’t be said about what the monstrosities Georgette and Bernadette wore. Their bosoms and stomachs were squeezed into tights corsets, and their hooped skirts ensured they took up three times as much space as other contestants. Their attires were more appropriate for members of the court than performers, which I guessed they liked, given how desperate they were to leave the simple folk behind and become blue bloods.
Halia: Daughter of Cinderella Page 23