by Patti Larsen
Are there sorcerers on every plane? I need to focus, to ask the right questions before Iepa chooses to send us back and leave us on our own again.
Not yet, she tells me. But once they have the light to show them the way, there will be no plane free of their taint. Or their influence.
Trill gasps beside me. That’s what’s coming? What the prophecy means?
In a way, Iepa says. You are the light, Trillia. It is your brother who will betray you and give you over to them. And when that happens, you will become a tool of the sorcerers and they will have what they need to cross the veil.
Trill weeps openly, clutching her chest as though Iepa has torn her heart from it.
Things are moving faster now, Iepa tells me. Because of recent events, it is possible the time-table of those you call the Brotherhood could be brought out in the open too soon. If that were to happen, all would be lost.
Helpful. Tell me what to do, then. All of my frustration rises to the surface as my demon roars her fury, Shaylee writhes with rage and even my vampire core burns with cold white fire while the family magic inside me calls for action. I can’t act unless I know what to do.
You must keep them safe, Iepa says. The light and the shadow both. That is your task for now. Only they can decide the fate of all planes, Sydlynn Hayle. And you are now responsible for them.
More freaking riddles? I’m done. I pull back, shaking my head. I’m not some pawn in your game, maji. If you want my help, you have to tell me more.
Her face falls into sadness as infinite as the Universe. Alas, she whispers, even I don’t know everything. But what I know, you know, I swear it.
Something jerks against me, pulling me away, this time not with my consent. I reach for Trill, feel her fingers tighten in mine again, hear Iepa call out one last time.
You must be ready—
***
Chapter Twenty Two
—someone was screaming, a name I thought, but it took me a moment to break free of the hold Iepa’s vision had over me. As I spun, Trill beside me, half-falling from the stone slab, her arms outstretched toward the exit and the stairs, my body compressed and shifted, power crushing me.
Instinct took over, shields snapping into place, reinforced even as I finally realized, in the split second I needed to adjust, it was Trill’s high-pitched cry I heard.
“OWEN!”
The chamber was crowded, or felt that way. Hadn’t we been alone only a moment before? No longer, not with Liam and Galleytrot staring in horror, Meira holding Sassafras, grim, tears on her cheeks though she stood her ground. Even Sebastian hovered near, his vampire body glowing white.
None of it mattered. None of them. Not while the young sorcerer stood at the entry with his eyes pitch black, mouth gaping, a hole of nothing while his power pulled me toward him.
Even through my shields, past layers of demon and Sidhe magic, blowing away witch and vampire too. Until I struggled to remain standing, my eyes dimming, the air itself, once aglow with the light of the maji now being devoured by the boy at the door.
Liam flung himself at Owen as I fell to one knee, trying to fight back, no longer thinking offensively, but simply about surviving whatever was happening to him. I could hear it now, the rushing sound of life leaving, of light and goodness being swallowed by the dark.
My Sidhe friend seemed to hang motionless for a moment as time slowed down, stilled, quieted. It was almost a shock when it sped up again, accompanied by Liam’s flying form, tossed back like a rag doll from the black engulfing more and more of Owen. Trill continued to scream, but I didn’t have the energy to focus on her. Not when Sebastian, face set and power flaring, made a grab for the boy, only to cry out and retreat, panting, skin shriveled and wasted for a heartbeat before it returned to normal.
This couldn’t be it, the moment of betrayal. Could it? I’d been caught with my pants around my proverbial ankles, lost in some fiction woven by the maji while the world was falling apart around me. After everything I’d done, every evil I’d faced, I couldn’t believe I was about to fall to a boy who I was trying to save.
My demon whimpered, struggling against his power draw where once she roared. Shaylee passed out a moment later while the vampire core of me retreated, hiding herself away. I hardly blamed her, though the family magic stayed by me, pumping out of me, a ruptured energetic artery. I could feel the coven reaching for me, trying to support me, but I shoved them away, blocked myself off. If I was going to fall, so be it. Gram had the other half of the family’s power. At least some of it would survive.
Diminished, weak and failing, I collapsed against the pedestal, Trill’s hand touching mine.
Wait, she was whole, untouched. I could feel her power inside. More. Better.
I could feel mine. The maji in me, stirring, waking, rising to the surface.
Desperate, I dove into Trill’s mind. We have to stop him.
She met my eyes, all thought gone, her body shimmering with rainbow light though she didn’t act, her mind empty of all but terror and loss. What was wrong with her?
Fine. I’d do it on my own.
There wasn’t much, but it would have to be enough. I teased the maji energy forward, felt around the edges of this creation magic I’d never known lived inside me. Welcomed the stir of the vampire essence as she answered to the warming maji power until strength returned. Enough I could kneel. Stand. Stagger a step forward. Another.
Owen’s body shook, a thin cloud of black mist formed around him, thickening by the moment as my friends, magic all, withered and fell as I had. Sparkling energy shone over my shoulder and I turned, caught sight of Trill as she slid free of the pedestal, face now a mask of calm as though some kind of switch had flipped. She approached slowly, a glittering torch of iridescence, the light reaching for the shadow.
This cannot be! Iepa’s mental voice reached mine. You must stop them, Sydlynn Hayle, or your world is ended now!
She didn’t have to tell me twice. No time for prayer the power I’d found would be enough. Instead, I put myself between them, both hands plunging into the black cloud consuming everything, including Owen, and pushed him back, using every ounce of power and muscle I had.
He held his ground, a rock, a mountain, the mist tugging at me, suctioning to my skin, my hair and clothing. Vile, filthy, hungry, it pulled me close, wanting to swallow me whole.
I pushed harder.
Owen’s feet slid over the rock, the pressure finally winning as I dug and begged and wept for more strength. Just a little more—
His collapse caught me off guard, sending me tumbling forward on top of him as his feet slid back over the joint of stone marking the entry to the room. Owen crumpled completely, black cloud dissipating in a reeking puff of charred smoke and burning rubber, the scent of destruction and death gone so quickly it felt like I’d dreamed it all. In a rush that made me high and giddy, all of my magic returned, flooding me with so much power I found myself giggling on the edge of hysteria.
Trill fell to her knees next to me, trying to pull me from her brother’s unconscious form, but I shoved her away.
“Don’t even think about touching him.” I didn’t mean to be harsh, but we’d almost lost everything, at least according to Iepa’s warning, and I wasn’t about to allow the two of them a second round.
Liam limped to me, lifted Owen into his arms while favoring his right ankle. “I’m okay,” he said. “But we need to get him out of here.” Liam paused, distress making him seem very young. “Syd, I’m sorry. This is my fault. I should never have brought Owen here.”
I shook my head, letting my power settle, feeling someone rattling against my shields with increasing insistence. Yeah, knew who that was. But I wasn’t in the mood to have Gram yell her head off at me.
I’m fine. I flashed her a tight show of what just happened, through a barely-there break in my wards. She tried to worm her way in but I was quicker. Just let me handle this.
After a moment, she backed off. Am
azing. Or, it meant I was in a whole heap of trouble and she was saving it for when she could get her hands on me.
Lovely.
I turned to Sebastian as Liam began to climb, only to see fury flicker across his face. Why was he angry? Yes, this could have been a disaster, but we’d taken care of it.
If only. “They’re here.” Before he could explain his cryptic comment, Sebastian flickered into shadow and vanished.
Thing was, he didn’t need to explain. I knew exactly who “they” were.
I ran after him, racing up the stairs past Liam, Trill hanging from my Sidhe friend, her eyes locked on her still unconscious brother while Meira and Sassafras chased me, Charlotte bringing up the rear with one hand firmly grasping the back of Demetrius’s neck.
Funny, I hadn’t seen him during the whole Owen meltdown. Part of me snapped in anger. Surely he, as a sorcerer, could have stopped the boy. And yet, was the old Chosen leader in any mental state to even comprehend what just happened?
No time to deal with him just then. Not when I finally left the maji chamber and reached for the veil, leaping into it for a mere blink before storming out at the front door of the mansion to stand at Sebastian’s side.
Where the Brotherhood stood waiting.
***
Chapter Twenty Three
Belaisle smiled at me, hands folded neatly before him, impeccable suit perfectly tailored to his short, slim frame. He looked more like a smarmy executive out to rip people off than the dangerous leader of the Brotherhood. But it was the empty feeling of him, the way his cold amber eyes showed only a shark’s interest in prey that gave me the willies.
“I thought I told you,” Sebastian said, deep voice pushing power ahead of it, “you aren’t welcome in my house.”
Belaisle shrugged a little, stroked the shining black goatee on his chin as though he hadn’t just been told to remove his nasty ass from the vampire’s turf.
“I’ll leave,” he said, “when my property is handed over.”
My eyes flickered to the horizon and the dying night. We were running out of time. Soon the vampires would be helpless, unable to fight, leaving Belaisle and his Brotherhood to do what they wanted.
Over my dead body.
Gram, I sent. I need the coven here, now, at the mansion. Tell them to be ready to fight.
A mental hug as hard as a blow and she was gone.
Okay then. At least I wouldn’t be leaving Sebastian and his blood clan unprotected. But it did mean I was putting my family at risk. More than risk. It was pretty obvious Belaisle and his people wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever it took to get what they wanted.
How could I throw my coven into battle with sorcerers when there was little chance they could win?
Agony, as hot as a blazing sun, tore through me at the thought of losing even one of my family to the Brotherhood. And yet, what choice did I have?
Being leader really bit all kinds of nasty.
“You’re coven won’t be able to stop me.” How did he know? Duh, Syd. Must have been obvious. Not a mind reader, just an asshole.
“Maybe if you run now, Belaisle, I won’t have to humiliate you in front of all your little friends.” There were times my mouth got me into trouble. And times when it got me out.
Wasn’t sure which this was going to be, but I couldn’t seem to rein it in.
Even if I wanted to.
Belaisle’s gaze left me, went over my shoulder. I glanced back, wanted to curse. Trill stood there, staring, body shaking even as the sorcerer held his hand out to her.
“You know why we’re here,” he said to her and only to her. “It’s time to come with us now, Trillia.”
Did she waver? I reached for her, took her hand. She seemed to snap out of some kind of trance, but pulled away from me, stepping back, refusing to look up even as Belaisle’s arm dropped.
“Don’t be foolish, girl,” he said. “You’ve run out of places to hide. And you certainly don’t want a repeat of what happened last time you allowed strangers to interfere.”
So my supposition was right. She’d tried to find help before with what had to be tragic consequences from the burden on her face.
“Why can’t you just leave us alone?” Her words came out in barely a whisper, but Belaisle clearly heard her because he laughed.
“You have a great destiny,” he said, for the first time coming alive, though the greedy need flowing from him in waves toward her triggered my protectiveness again. “You and your brother.”
“No.” Owen shoved himself between his sister and Belaisle, his body pressing back against hers, scowl so deep it aged him years. I’d completely missed him waking. “Leave her out of it.”
“Would that I could,” Belaisle said, lips curving downward into a sad face before he snapped his fingers. “I’m done talking. We can finish our conversation on the way home.”
They were on the move, the small group of sorcerers, in answer to his unspoken call. Only about a dozen, men and women, but none seemed afraid, not even the two I’d faced down tonight. Was it really only hours ago?
Vampires appeared behind them, a rush of shadows closing in, trapping the sorcerers in a half circle between them and the cold stone of the house. But I knew better. While some of the sorcerers might fall, there were enough of them, their destructive magic somehow able to defeat the most powerful of us, the kids were in serious danger.
Go. Sebastian’s mind snapped in mine. Take them.
No way was I leaving. The coven is coming, I shot back. When they get here—
They will be too late to save the children. His power pushed against me as he reached outward to his clan. I could feel his magic, the pulse of it, wondered for a moment why he shared so much with me, such an intimate view of himself.
But he wasn’t sharing, not on purpose. Thanks to the vampire core of me, he was a wide-open book. He caught my eyes, shock in his before he carefully walled me off.
Syd, please, he sent. If these children are as important as you say, they must be protected. At all costs.
Syd. Uncle Frank’s mind touched mine, joined by Sunny’s. I caught sight of them then, standing behind Belaisle, Sunny’s gorgeous face twisted, fangs showing, my handsome uncle glowing with white power. Take them and get the hell out of here.
Hesitation held me still while the sorcerers continued their slow advance. I could feel the wall of empty coming before them, the touch of their power, now familiar thanks to Owen’s little performance downstairs. We had no defense, no way to stop them. Their power seemed to work no matter what we did against them, that emptiness devouring everything—
Wait. What did Trill say to Liam in the Gate room? About sorcery drawing on the internal power of objects for source energy… or stealing from others. I suddenly understood what it meant.
They destroy to feed their magic. I sent the message to Sebastian, to his vampires, to my friends at my back and my grandmother and our whole family as hope surged in a rush of adrenaline so powerful I had to fight my need to invent a happy dance of my own. But they have to have a source to make it work. They use your shields against you, drawing on the power you’re using to protect yourself. Do you understand?
Gram’s grim answer was another hug while Sebastian flashed his very white, very sharp fangs.
Brilliant, he sent. Which means we vampires are ideally built to combat them. His clan’s answering joy was almost horrible as they began their own advance.
Belaisle must have sensed the change in the air, a little frown creasing his forehead, because he snapped his fingers again and his people paused. “Surely you won’t allow it to come to open battle, Trill? Owen? You know how this will end.”
I grinned at him, letting out the exultation, feeling my demon winding up, the earth magic Shaylee commanded sending tremors into the ground at my feet while my vampire watched and waited.
“We could solve this ourselves,” I said. “You and me, Belaisle.”
Oh, please.
; He snorted softly, though he didn’t seem overly confident. “Why would I do such a thing?”
“He will never.” Demetrius slunk out from behind me, stepping close to the entry, just past the threshold. He hissed at Belaisle who started back a step.
Scared of Demetrius? Really.
But only for a moment, it seemed. Belaisle recovered, smirking his oily little smile, stroking the fuzzy pet he had on his chin. “How far you’ve fallen, old friend.”
Demetrius howled like an animal, dropping to a crouch to pound the ground with both fists like a furious caveman. “No friend!” His words were a shriek, cutting the air with razor sharpness. “Never friend.” He shuffled forward further, toes touching the wooden casement marking the line between the front step and the house. So the threshold had a meaning, did it? Were the sorcerers somehow unable to enter, much like uninvited vampires?
Because of the maji?
No time to figure it out. Belaisle flicked his fingers at Demetrius as if dismissing him. “You’ve ended where you began,” he said, disdain making the madman twitch and moan, “as nothing.”
We were so running out of time. The sky was lighter, not much, but enough. And I could feel the nervousness of the clan through Sebastian, through my uncle and his girlfriend.
Belaisle turned his head, let his gaze linger in the east before he returned to face me, smile widening.
“Just a few more minutes,” he said. “Your dear vampires will be asleep in their coffins, or burned by the sun. And your precious coven? Too far away to do any good.” He yawned, checked his watch while my demon chewed and fought for freedom, throwing images of his bloody head in our hands.
You’re right. We have to go. I touched Sebastian’s hand. They should leave if we do.
And if they don’t? Gram wasn’t letting us keep her out of the decision. We’re almost there. I could feel her tension, panic. Just a little more time. But you’re right. You need to go now.
Belaisle snapped his fingers again. “I have the mansion surrounded,” he said. “Just hand over the children and we’ll be on our way. If not, we’ll burn this place to the ground and hunt and kill every member of your family.”