The Gray Tower Trilogy: Books 1-3

by Alesha Escobar

  “It’s me, Delana.” The gypsy turned my face toward her and tipped a glass of water toward my mouth. I took in a small sip and stared at her until she came into focus.

  “Delana...what are you doing here?”

  “Ammon told me a wizard was stalking you, and he led me here.”

  “And you came all the way from Baltimore?” I wanted to shudder. There were just too many creepy aspects to her statement. I didn’t like the idea of a gypsy medium’s “spirit” following me, especially a spirit bold enough to make physical contact. She set the glass of water on the coffee table, while Cambria sat at the foot of the couch watching me, and probably feeling just as disturbed.

  “Well, thanks for the help.” I reached for my blouse and realized that it wasn’t the one I wore when I came in.

  “I found an old shirt that belonged to Helen,” the general explained. “Your friend here changed you,” he quickly added.

  “Those herbs I gave you did the trick. I also healed the bruising. I see you haven’t even opened the satchel.” She flipped her long white braid over her shoulder.

  “You went into my purse?” I sat up so fast that she jumped back in response.

  “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t steal from you. I even put your rings inside.”

  “Do you need me to take you to the hospital, Isabella?” Cambria made a furtive glance in Delana’s direction.

  “No, can I use your phone?” I needed to warn Neal, just in case Hotaru was heading their way.

  “It’s in the kitchen.” He helped me to my feet, and I stood on wobbly legs. We made it over to the kitchen and I grabbed the phone.

  “I placed a Circle of Protection around the house!” Delana shouted from the living room.

  I shivered and said in reply, “Okay, thanks! But don’t do any more spells for me.”

  “Who is that woman?” Cambria asked.

  “I buy enchanted jewelry from her.” I dialed home and gripped the receiver in my hand. Each second felt like a millennium as I waited for someone to answer.

  “Is Ammon a wizard?”

  I shook my head, growing frustrated over the fact that no one had yet picked up the phone. “No, it’s a spirit she speaks with, but I don’t really get into that sort of thing with her. I just stick with buying the enchanted items.”

  “Ammon’s a ghost?” He gave me an incredulous look.

  “No, I said spirit--assuming that’s what it really is. Don’t talk to her about it.”

  He gave me a look as if assuring me that it wasn’t going to be a problem for him. “No one’s answering at the house?”

  I shook my head and hung up. “I have to get back there...”

  He must’ve seen the indecision on my face. He had just recovered from the equivalent of a heart attack, and who knew if Hotaru would come back? However, if he stalked me like Delana said, then maybe he’d come directly for me and leave the general alone. I lightly reached out with my senses and touched Delana’s Circle of Protection, gauging its strength. It should hold throughout the night. I’d definitely call General Cambria and check on him.

  “Go to them,” he said.

  “You could come with me, for a while.”

  “Go check on your family. I’ll still be here.”

  “All right, but I’m calling the FBI, so they can at least send someone over to watch the house.”

  “I’ll do it. Now go.”

  “I’ll call you tonight.”

  I ran into the living room and grabbed my belongings. Delana started asking me all kinds of questions, but I ignored her and headed toward the door. When she saw me rush out, she followed.

  “Where are you going, Isabella?”

  “Home.”

  “Can I come with you?”

  “No.” I jumped into the driver seat and fumbled for my keys while Delana poked her head in from the passenger side window.

  “I know what you are. Ammon told me.”

  I cursed under my breath. “Just...get into the car, old woman.”

  She smiled and got inside. I started the car and took off, hoping that Neal and my family were okay.

  I almost hit the hedges that lined the driveway when I swerved in and pulled up. I turned the ignition off and ran into the house, not even bothering to see if Delana followed. The clock struck noon, and though the summer weather was cheery and mild, the turmoil inside me blazed like a storm.

  “Neal! Mom!” I called for them as soon as I stepped into the living room. No one answered.

  I ran into the kitchen, then the den, and finally went out to the veranda out back. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw Neal sitting at the table outside, enjoying lunch on the back porch with Rachel and my mom. I walked out and went to greet them with a hug and kiss.

  “There you are,” my mother said, apparently in a better mood than she had been in earlier this morning. “Did you see the bed of petunias?”

  “They’re beautiful,” I said. I glanced back and noticed a single flower trampled underfoot near the narrow walkway. “Sorry about that. Is Johnnie home?”

  “He’s still at work,” Rachel said, pouring me a glass of lemonade. “He should be here soon.”

  “Neal, may I speak with you for a second?”

  “Of course,” he said, standing and following me back inside. I led him to the kitchen so that we’d be out of earshot from my mother and Rachel.

  “The safe house wizard is Hotaru. He confronted me today.”

  “Where?”

  I frowned. “I was at Robert Cambria’s house. I’m sorry, I should’ve told you.”

  “Are you hurt?”

  “I’m all right, but I had a hell of a fight with him. Is there a way we could bring charges against him at the Tower? I’m not going to let him get away with what he did.”

  “Yes, but that means you’ll have to be at the Gray Tower to do that. Are you prepared for it?”

  I didn’t think I was. I left the Tower an Apprentice, disillusioned by some of the people there, and put off by the way the Master Wizards demanded everyone’s hearts and minds. More important, going there would be walking into the lion’s den. I would be walking in there knowing I was the Drifter and knowing they would turn on me. However, the enchantment that masked me, that protected me since I was a child...it slipped a little back in France, and I also uncovered hidden memories. One of the Master Wizards, Serafino Pedraic, helped my father protect me long ago. He would be the one I could go to so I could reinforce the mask. Not only that, but if he and a group of other high-ranking wizards had allied themselves with my father, this meant that not all wizards agreed with the Tower’s law regarding the Drifter. If I could show them who I was, and that I was willing to work with them to help the world in these dark times, then maybe they would change or even abolish their centuries old decree.

  I faced Neal and nodded. “If that’s what it takes, then I’ll do it. Besides, if Hotaru wants to try and keep a leash on me because of my father, then he’ll follow me to the Tower and leave my mother and brother alone.”

  “I’ll go look for him,” he said.

  “Are you sure about that?”

  Any wizards found aiding the Drifter would be subject to punishment, if not execution, by the Gray Tower. No one had any proof I had yet reunited with my father and was working to help him, and, as far as I knew, no one knew about Brande, or Serafino Pedraic, or the mysterious wizard who went by the name of Jerome. Veit Heilwig, a German alchemist, had been the only wizard expelled from the Order in connection with my father. If The Black Wolves hadn’t kidnapped him and his wife, the Order probably would’ve gotten to Veit first.

  Neal placed his right hand on my shoulder in a comforting gesture. “I won’t mention anything about your father. Hotaru must be held accountable for what he did, especially since the safe house victims were non-wizards and under the jurisdiction of your government.”

  And because of Hotaru’s brazenly immoral act, it made me all the more frightened of what else he w
as capable of. “Please, be careful.”

  “I will be. When I return, will you tell me why you were with General Cambria?”

  “I’ll tell you everything you need to know.” I decided it was fair enough to explain why I visited Cambria. If he risked his life helping us and chasing after roguish wizards, then the least I could do was fill him in on why. However, announcing to him that I was the Drifter was out of the question.

  Delana wandered into the kitchen. “Excuse me, Isabella, where’s the bathroom?”

  “There’s one by the study,” I replied with a grimace. “Just make a left at the staircase.”

  She looked Neal up and down and frowned at him before turning around and heading toward the bathroom. Neal raised an eyebrow. “Who is that?”

  “She’s...an acquaintance. I’ll explain later.”

  “Tell Rachel and Mary...”

  “It’s my turn to hold down the fort. Just don’t get yourself hurt chasing after Hotaru.”

  You could get in a good punch with a Philosopher if he or she was having an off day, but they were extremely difficult to harm and kill in battle. He exited the kitchen and left through the front door. I waited there to intercept Delana, not even knowing what I was going to do with her. It probably wouldn’t be worth intimidating her through magic. Even though the Gray Tower didn’t train her, she had an impressive amount of magical strength. She knew things that even some Apprentices and Elites didn’t know--and, of course, I hadn’t forgotten about those spirits she communed with. The Tower always taught us to avoid the temptation of theurgy, which was magic through invocation and cooperation with the spirit world.

  I didn’t know if Delana was a theurgist or something close to it, but messing around with the spirit world could grab the attention of things other than spirits. Delana definitely wouldn’t have been someone I would share my secret with under any circumstances, so the fact that she discovered it unnerved me. However, the day I last saw her, she actually seemed frightened of me. Was it because the Drifter was someone to be reckoned with? I wondered if she knew anything about my powers and how to control them. Well, as long as she feared me because of this, and if she wanted to be an ally, then at least it would be easier to keep control of the situation.

  “Mmm,” she said, coming back into the kitchen, “I like this house. Are we going out back to eat?” She peered through the window over the sink and spied the meal set out on the table.

  “Yes, but first, there are a few rules I have for you.”

  She placed her hands on her hips and waited. Great, she wanted to be sassy as well. “What is it?”

  “No one knows what I am.” For some reason, I hated the idea of saying “Drifter” aloud to her. It would be admitting some type of defeat. “So don’t tell a living soul. Also, you are not to perform any magic without my permission. The only exception is self-defense or in defense of the members of this household. Don’t speak with Ammon or any of your spirits while in this house, and don’t offer your services to anyone as a medium.”

  She let out a low sigh, as if I were her teacher, reprimanding her for a childish prank. “Fine, I’ll agree to it.”

  “All right, let’s go eat.” I led her out to the back porch, ignoring her mumbling about me being an arrogant Tower Slave. I smiled at Rachel and my mother, who were now more notably subdued, and guided Delana to the seat next to mine. I made up an excuse about Neal having to step away for a work-related matter and took my place at the table.

  Rachel was the only one to at least try to be jovial. “Isabella, I’m glad you’re back, and I see you’ve brought a friend.”

  Delana reached for Rachel’s hand. “A pleasure to meet you, I’m Delana Balanescu.”

  “I’m Rachel, Isabella’s sister-in-law,” she said, regaining more of her cheerfulness, “and this is our mother...Mary.”

  My mom shook Delana’s hand. “So what brings you from Europe?”

  I tensed at her line of questioning and thought of how I could deflect her prying. “Well, Mom, Delana--”

  “Your daughter will try to make up something, surely as an attempt at modesty,” she smirked at me when I gave her a warning look, “but the truth is that she welcomed me into her home when I fled Prague due to the persecutions.”

  “She stayed with you in London?” Rachel’s eyes grew wide.

  I nodded and went along. “Really, it’s nothing.”

  “I hadn’t a penny in the world,” Delana continued, “and she took care of me while I was there. I eventually found work and made it to America, to be with family, and when I found out she was nearby, I felt it would’ve been an insult not to visit.”

  Rachel smiled at me. “Wouldn’t it be swell to write a book about that? What a story it would make!”

  I grabbed my knife and fork and dug into my pot roast and cabbage. “Do you write, Rachel?”

  She paused to stare at Delana wrapping a piece of corn bread in a rag. “Well, I’m no professional, but I have sent in a story or two to McCall’s.”

  “For the homemaking section?” I asked.

  “Fiction,” she answered in a soft voice.

  “Rachel is very talented.” My mother smiled at her before taking a sip of lemonade.

  “Well, why don’t you write professionally?” I asked.

  “Oh, I wouldn’t want to overwhelm myself.” She stood and began rearranging plates and platters, and then grabbed Neal’s empty wares. “I’m here with Mother, and I’ve got the house to take care of, and Johnnie...”

  “What does Johnnie think?”

  “He’s very encouraging, bless him, but--”

  “Rachel’s side of the family is irritatingly strict and traditional,” my mother explained.

  “Excuse me.” She grabbed most of the dirty dishes and snatched up a spare silver knife and fork from Delana’s reach before the old woman could get any ideas. She quickly hauled everything into the kitchen.

  I glared at my mother. “That was a little rude, don’t you think?”

  “I just needed her out of the way so I could tell you something,” she said matter-of-factly.

  “What is it?”

  “I may overlook the fact that you left this morning in a navy blue blouse and returned this afternoon in a black one, or that you’re wearing the ring I’ve seen your father’s friend, Veit Heilwig, wear for eighteen years because these may be unimportant in the grand scheme of things. But, I’m not going to sit here and pretend you’re not hiding bigger things from me--more important things. I’ve put up with it for years with Carson, and I think maybe, if I had been prying into his dealings more often, somehow, he would still be here. I’m not going to make that mistake twice, and I want you to know that whatever it is...I’ll do anything to help you. Understand?”

  Delana let out a low laugh. Well, at least someone was amused. “I’ll excuse myself and let you two talk.”

  When she had walked off and gone back into the house, I stared at my mother and spoke. “It’s complicated. One of the reasons I came back, besides wanting to see you all, was that I had learned a dangerous wizard has targeted you and Johnnie.”

  “Why?”

  “He believes you have information that he needs about Dad.”

  “And why would he believe that?”

  “Because you’re...we’re his family, and probably the last people to have seen him alive.”

  “Why does this wizard need to know about Carson?”

  “That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” I said, my cheeks stinging from the lie.

  I just couldn’t tell her that her husband was number one on the Gray Tower’s wanted list, and to try to reach him, or be with him, would mean death for everyone. And, if I told her about Dad, I’d probably have to tell her about myself--which I absolutely could not do. If the trackers got hold of her, pried into her mind and read her thoughts and memories, their fury would turn toward me, and my father’s self-sacrificial act would be in vain.

  “Are you even enga
ged to Neal?”

  I didn’t know why, but I laughed, and then I almost cried. “No, the wizard I told you about killed the man who gave me that engagement ring. Do you see why I was afraid to say anything? Why I felt I needed to protect you from all this?”

  She nodded, and then got up and came over to wrap me in her arms. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. Needless to say, I know what it feels like to lose the man you love.”

  All these years, I viewed my mother as an oppositional force, someone who tried to hold me back from exploring my abilities and studying at the Gray Tower because of her lack of strength or inability to understand that world. That was the main reason why I had eagerly taken off for London. I now realized that I’d underestimated her, though I shouldn’t have. She had spent years with my father, one of the brightest Philosophers the Tower has ever trained, and to be with someone like that could be intimidating and would force you to adapt. She could pick up on things that would bypass most other people, and worked through her inferences and conclusions quickly and accurately. I imagined she would have to do that just to keep up with my father.

  My mother released me and gazed toward the house. “Johnnie, is everything all right?”

  My brother approached with a nervous expression. “There are two FBI agents in the living room asking for you, Isabella...and who’s that strange woman in our kitchen?”

  “I’ll...be right there.” Maybe I should’ve started wearing an “I’ll Explain Everything In Due Time” sign around my neck.

  My mom threw me a sympathetic glance. “Come and have lunch, Johnnie. And, for goodness sake, watch my petunias. She’ll fill you in on the details later.”

  He tried to protest, and was probably of a mind to accompany me back inside. However, one stern look from my mother squelched it all rather quickly.

  “Go ahead, Isabella. Have a seat, Johnnie.”

  He obeyed her, all with a look of confusion on his face. I headed in through the kitchen and saw Rachel sitting at the table speaking with Delana. I tugged at the old woman’s white braid in passing, just in case she conveniently forgot about our arrangement.