The witch held out her hands, concentrating. “It isn’t anything physical, I don’t think.” May said. “A psychic attack spell, perhaps?”
Lix straightened, squaring her shoulders. “I’ll go first. Wait for the all-clear before you start.” She walked to the edge of the fog, and then stepped in. Instead of fading out as she walked deeper into the mist, she disappeared immediately. They waited for her to call out, but all they heard was silence.
Finally, Ben took a step forward. “I think we should get moving. It was a mistake to let Lix go on her own. What if she’s passed out in there? Come on, all together.”
“Okay.” Raze nodded at Ben, and turned to May. The witch was biting her lower lip, her eyes anxious. “May? Let’s do this?”
“Fine. But I don’t like that stuff. It… feels bad. I don’t know how to explain, but it feels… spiteful. Malicious.”
“Yay,” Raze muttered under her breath. “A malicious spell. Just what we need.” But when Ben headed for the fog, she followed.
When they reached the edge, Ben held out his hands to Raze and to May. “Let’s go in kindergarten style. Buddy up.”
Raze snorted, part amused and part annoyed. But she took his hand, just in case. They stepped forward, all in a line. As soon as they brushed against the fog, it was suddenly everywhere. It wrapped around Raze like a clammy shroud, hiding Ben and May from sight. She knew they were there, could feel Ben’s fingers biting into hers, his grip iron tight around the palm of her hand. She couldn’t see him, though, and she couldn’t hear him, either. When she called out, the spelled fog stole the sounds straight from her throat.
She could hear whispering. It wasn’t Ben, she was sure of that. It came from all around her, a hissed litany of words, too low to understand at first, but growing steadily louder. Killer. Murderer. Your fault they died. You weakened them, held them back. Your mother.Your father. They could have escaped. But they stayed. For you, you, YOU. And they died. For you.
She resisted the urge to pull free from Ben’s grip and clap her hands over her ears, as the whispers became a scream. He was trying to get loose, though, so she held on tighter. A moment later, the accusations died back to a whisper, and the images began.
She recognized her parents from the photos her godfather had given her. And a crying infant, its puckered newborn face red and distraught. Baby Rose. Her father dropped a kiss on the baby’s head and reached out to curl a hand around his wife’s cheek. “They’re here. I’ll hold them off. You, Dan, and Rose… you need to go.”
Her mother held him tight when he tried to move away. “I’m not leaving you. If you’re going to fight, so am I.”
Raze knew what she was looking at. This was the moment of her parents’ death, at the hands of Shade’s pack. Dan had told her all about it: about her parents’ sacrifice, so that he could escape with their child. So this was some sort of vision spell — maybe designed to show you the worst moment of your life? She could feel the despair and darkness lurking, trying to drag her in and consume her.
“I refuse,” she told the spell, although no words came out. “I am a seer’s daughter. And I refuse this vision.”
She pushed back at the spell. There was a brief resistance, and then it gave way. Suddenly, instead of her parents, she could see Ben’s and May’s ghostly forms. Ben’s face was contorted in pain, sweat dripping from his brow. His eyes were screwed tight. Raze focused on the warmth of his fingers, and pulled the vision away from him. It slammed into her full-force, and she almost doubled over at the shock.
A tall man who looked a lot like Ben, down to the glasses, stood in the middle of a meeting room. A curly-haired woman stood beside him. Their faces were blank, expressionless. All around them were dead witches, bodies horribly twisted. There was blood everywhere. The man and the woman — Ben’s parents? — weren’t the only ones alive in the room. A younger Ben was slumped over in an armchair in the corner, unconscious or asleep, eyelashes dark against pale cheeks. And three other adult witches stood to one side, their blood-splattered robes an accusation. One turned to the others. “They’ll know nothing? Are you sure?”
The burliest of the witches nodded. “The kid will be out for a few more hours. The last thing he’ll remember is falling asleep. As for these two, they’ll remember nothing but this.” He walked up to the dazed and silent man and woman, and whispered, “What have I done? What have we done?”
“No,” Raze said firmly. She was surprised to hear her voice out loud; apparently she’d managed to weaken the spell. “No,” she repeated, louder, refusing the vision. She pushed the images away, banishing them. Now she could hear Ben beside her, panting in exhaustion as though he’d just run a race.
She closed her eyes and reached along their joined hands for whatever image was torturing May. It was easier this time. She had a brief flash of a young child, hair in pigtails, and a bleeding dog, and then she pushed that one away, too.
“Is everyone all right?”
When Ben spoke, his voice was shaky. “I… I don’t… How did you do that?”
“I’m just stubborn,” Raze lied. “I wasn’t going to be pushed around by a vision.”
May was crying softly. Ben gathered her close in a one-armed hug, without letting go of Raze’s hand. “What now?” he asked.
“We keep moving,” Raze said. “We find Lix. We get the hell out of this stuff, before it decides to try for round two.”
They stumbled across Lix after a few more steps. She was curled up on the ground, eyes shut, face miserable. She wouldn’t rise when they tried to pull her up, and wouldn’t even acknowledge their presence, too deep in her vision. Raze wasn’t stupid enough to try and take whatever had her in so much agony.
“Ben, can you carry her?”
“Can you free my hands?”
“Give me a sec,” Raze answered. She released Ben’s hand, making sure she never stopped touching him as she ran her fingers along his arm and down to his waist. She clutched his shirt tightly, and then reached her other hand out for May, pulling her away from Ben. “Don’t let go,” she told May.
Ben heaved Lix into his arms, grunting a little at the weight. “Which way?”
“May, you have a free hand. Take the alexandrite from Lix and guide us out.”
Soon they were moving again, watching the fog grow lighter and the room slowly re-emerge. Raze could still hear the whispers. Killer. Murderer. But she ignored them, and they faded until they were no louder than the rustling of leaves in the breeze. Once they were free from the spelled fog, the whispers stopped completely.
Ben set Lix down carefully, and May flung herself on her cousin, speaking softly to her. Ben watched them for a while, and then retreated a few steps and sat down, pulling a water bottle from his pack. His fingers shook as he drank. Raze, after a moment of hesitation, sat down beside him.
“Are you okay?”
“I will be.” He eyed her, a frown on his face. “You saved me, back there. You took it away. The…”
“The vision? Yeah. I pulled it from you, and then made it go away. I’m still not sure how I did that, so don’t ask me too many questions.”
“But when you took it from me— I felt you do that, Raze. It left me, and embraced you. Did you…?”
“Did I see anything? Yeah. I’m sorry, I pushed it away as fast as I could, but… I couldn’t help it. Were those your parents?”
May was still curled over Lix, neither of them paying attention. Even so, Ben answered quietly, lowering his voice to a murmur, so only Raze could hear him speak. “Yes. And our coven. My parents, they were supposed to have gone insane and killed them all. I was there, you saw that, right? I’d been hit with some sort of sleeping spell. When I woke up, they were already gone — arrested. I wasn’t allowed at the trial. I never saw them again. They were executed by the Court. Except—”
Raze interrupted. “Except they were innocent. They were framed.”
“Apparently.” Ben still spoke softly, but his j
aw was tense, anger flitting across his face. He glanced up at the other two. “Can you keep this to yourself? For now, at least?”
“Of course. Do you think…? Lix has nothing to do with this, does she?”
“Not Lix. She was just a kid at the time. But my coven was wealthy; we owned several gem mines in Africa and South America. All legit, legal ventures. After sentencing, the Court signed it all over to my parents’ business partner. Can you guess who that was?”
“Livia Reis.” Raze grabbed Ben’s arm, fear lancing through her. “Don’t do anything stupid,” she warned him.
“I won’t. I need a lot more information first. And I’m not running the risk of Reis finding out that I know what happened.”
Lix was finally stirring, sitting up to drink the water May fed her. They would have to move soon. Ben held out a hand. “Promise me you won’t tell anyone?”
Raze took his hand, squeezing it lightly. “I promise.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Alex
Alex accompanied the elderly witch to the door. “Del will be all right, then? No lasting effects?”
The witch took his hand gently. She was both a skilled healer and an actual doctor, with a string of letters after her name and a teaching job at Yale. “I barely had to do a thing. Del’s self-healing powers are extraordinary. I’d love to study the effects of the Heart Blade, if that would ever be possible. For now, though, she just needs warmth and rest.”
He shut the door as the witch left, and beckoned Daniel with his head, gesturing silently toward the bathroom door. Deacon followed, leaving Del to Ash’s care.
The bathroom was cramped with three large men in it. Alex cleared his throat. “Has anyone here any doubt it was a murder attempt?”
Daniel’s face was grim. “I think it’s pretty clear what that was. She was supposed to be found alone, face down in the pool. No one would have known that spoiled piece of crap played a part in her death. He’ll deny it, you know he will. We can’t touch him, Alex. He’s royalty!”
Deacon cut in. “Not just royalty, but the prince is here as Ambassador for the Deep. He has diplomatic immunity. It will be near impossible to pin this on him. It would be Del’s word against his.”
“We’ll see about that,” said Alex.
“I know that look.” Daniel narrowed his eyes. “Don’t do anything rash.”
“Since when have I done anything— Never mind, don’t answer that.” Alex gave Daniel a glance that was part affection, part frustration. His former squire knew him too well. Daniel was no longer the bright-eyed boy who threw himself at danger without hesitation. Age and maturity had taught him caution.
“What I don’t get is, what reason would Prince Serren have to kill the Heart Bearer? It doesn’t make sense,” Deacon said, frowning.
“It does if you cast your net wider,” Alex replied. “Who does his mother owe her allegiance to? Who votes for the Regent of the Deep?”
Deacon’s eyes widened. “Reis. But I thought Reis was after the Night Blade? I was sure she was trying to gather power.”
“We all thought that,” said Alex. “But perhaps we were wrong. Perhaps she simply aims to stop others gathering power. Except, you can’t just steal the Heart Blade. The only way to interfere with it is to corrupt its Bearer…”
“…Or kill her,” Daniel finished.
Deacon’s mouth tightened. “Ash should have been there.”
“It’s his first rodeo,” said Alex. “He couldn’t have guessed Del would sneak out. Unfortunately, we can’t afford the luxury of any more mistakes. They both need to learn, and fast. Let me talk to Del. And to Ash. After all, he gave his vows to me.”
Alex could see that Deacon didn’t like that. A sudden flash of guilt hit him at the desolate expression on Deacon’s careworn face. But he hadn’t taken Ash from his father, Ash had chosen that path himself. Daniel still looked grim, the late hour and the artificial lighting deepening the lines that time had etched. Alex, older than them both despite his eternal boyish looks, felt only weary.
He clapped Deacon and Daniel on the shoulder, a hand upon each of them. “Go and get some sleep, both of you. I sent Camille to my bed, so Ash can have hers. I doubt he’ll want to leave Del’s side tonight.”
“You should rest, too,” said Daniel. “We have a long day tomorrow.”
“I know. But I heal well. I can take a sleepless night. I’ll stand guard over the two youngsters. The armchair will do fine.”
He waited for Deacon and Daniel to leave the room, and then he walked over to where Ash sat by Del’s bedside. The boy’s shoulders were taut, and his hands held the arms of the chair in a white-knuckled grip. Del was half-asleep, dark shadows under her eyes.
“Ash, peace,” Alex said. “Del’s alive, and she’s well. Not many people could survive being attacked by a nix in its own element.”
Del’s eyes fluttered open. “A nix? Is that what he is? What’s that?”
Alex smiled down at her. “A type of sea preternatural. Sort of like a mermaid, without the tail. What I don’t understand is, how did he know where to find you? You didn’t tell anyone you were going to the pool, right?”
“I…” Del glanced briefly at Ash. “I was talking to someone. While I was dancing. She mentioned the pool, and the solarium.” Alex couldn’t help noticing that Del spoke slowly, as if weighing each word. He watched Ash’s face, but there was no sign of suspicion. So Del wasn’t lying, or else Ash’s sentinel blood would have picked up on it. Was she evading? No, he was overthinking this. She was probably just trying to remember the events correctly.
“Afterward, I couldn’t sleep,” Del said. “I guess I was too wound up, especially after meeting Shade. So I went upstairs to check it out.”
“So the prince might have overheard you at the ball, or someone connected to his employer,” said Alex thoughtfully.
“Prince?” asked Del, startled.
At the same time, Ash said, “Employer?”
“Yes, Ash, employer. We think he might have been working for Reis. His mother has ties to her. And Del, Prince Serren is the youngest child of the Regent of the Deep. Congratulations, you were almost murdered by royalty.”
“Huh. Excuse me for not feeling honored.” She gave a weak smile, which quickly faded. “I’m so, so sorry to cause all this trouble. I thought I was safe here at Court. I almost died, and it would have been all my own damn fault.”
“No,” said Ash. “I should have been there for you. You should have let me be there for you, instead of running off alone.”
Del propped herself up on her elbows. “But you can’t always be there. Sometimes I’m going to have to do things for myself.”
“Still, I could have lost you. You should have called me; I could have gone with you.”
“Should. Could.” Alex interrupted the argument. “It’s no use dwelling on ‘could haves’ or ‘should haves’. Next time — and yes, there’s always a next time — you both need to try harder, and succeed.” He hesitated, wondering if he should say more, or let them figure it out themselves. But they both looked so forlorn…
“I know you love each other. Anyone can see that. But love, it isn’t that simple. It doesn’t just take two people liking each other — that’s not enough. Trust me, I’ve learned that lesson well over the centuries. Love is just the spark that kindles the fire; what actually builds and fuels a relationship is the careful laying of twigs and branches, that lets the flames grow and the embers endure.” Alex ran a hand through his tangled hair. “It’s late. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to start spouting words at you.”
“No, it’s okay. I get it,” said Ash. “You’re saying that it’s not enough to love her, or for her to love me. We need to work at this, and build it up so it’s strong enough to last. We need to communicate, and to trust each other.”
“That’s… Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. And be patient with each other. Building strong foundations takes time and effort. But enough. You both need
to rest. You have a deposition tomorrow, have you forgotten? Ash, you can take Camille’s bed.”
“What about you?” Ash’s voice was raw, vulnerable. He sounded young, and Alex hated the way this preternatural war had dragged these kids into the thick of things. They deserved different; they deserved carefree dates, and holding hands in dark movie theaters, and all the ridiculously simple things that modern teenagers should be allowed to have. Alex set a hand on Ash’s shoulder.
“I’ll be here. I’ll stand guard. Reis must have had several traps set up; Serren can’t have been the only ace up her sleeve. I’m leaving for a short while, but I’ll be back soon so you can get some sleep. I’ll take the extra key. Lock up behind me.” He drew Redemption from its scabbard, heading for the door.
“Where are you going?”
Alex gave Ash his fierce grin, the one that meant business. “I’m off to have a little chat with a certain sea prince.”
***
It wasn’t hard to find Serren. The arrogant boy hadn’t even bothered changing rooms, although he had to know the Guild would be paying a visit. When the door opened, Alex was met by a bodyguard, a tall werewolf built like a brick wall.
“His Royal Highness isn’t seeing visitors,” the werewolf informed him.
But a lilting voice drifted out of the bathroom. “Oh, let him in. Otherwise he’ll just stand outside the door glowering.”
The bodyguard stood aside, but gave Redemption a pointed look. Alex set his sword on one of the beds and went to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. This suite was bigger than the ones the Guild had taken, and it included a full-sized hot tub. The nix was lounging inside it, one foot kicking idly over the side and fair hair flopping across his brow.
“Alexander of York,” he said. “Or rather, Brother Alexander. Though what on earth would compel a vampire to take Holy Orders, I can’t imagine.” He gave a wicked grin. “Actually, scratch that. I can think of several reasons, none of them good. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”
Night Blade: Blade Hunt Chronicles Book Two Page 19