by Patti Larsen
Gram reached through me, linked to Mia. I saw my friend’s eyes widen when my grandmother spoke up.
Are you leader, or aren’t you?
Mia stuttered a moment before nodding.
Are you or aren’t you? I didn’t like Gram’s tone one bit, nor the way she was prodding Mia.
Showed what I knew. The harder Gram pushed, the madder Mia got until she shouted in all of our minds.
I AM THE LEADER OF THE DUMONT COVEN.
Okay then.
Then act like it. Gram’s mental voice softened. Sometimes you have to wield a sword to get the job done, but girl, you have to be willing to use it. And if they think you won’t, if they feel you hesitate even for a second, you’ve told them you can’t do what it takes. Do you understand?
Mia nodded, miserable now, the anger running out of her. “I do,” she whispered.
“Time to clean house,” Sassafras said so matter-of-factly Mia locked eyes with him. “Ethpeal is totally correct. Cut a few of the worst trouble makers loose and the rest will fall into line.”
She gaped at him. “I can’t do that.”
Yes, Gram sent. You can. And you must. They have to take you seriously. Right now they don’t. But strip a half a dozen or so and send them packing and you have your control back.
Mia shook harder, hands trembling as she stroked Sassy’s fur. “But how?” She met my eyes, hers welling with fear and tears. “They won’t leave.”
“They won’t have a choice,” Sassafras said, “if they have no power left.”
I could see my friend’s body unbend, her spine straightening as she thought it through. “Cut them off,” she whispered. “Get rid of them.”
“That’s right,” I said. “Without the worst of them around, life will be much easier. And you’ll be in a better position to straighten out the coven.”
Mia actually smiled then, a small smile, but she was no longer shaking and the two very bright spots of pink on her cheeks were fading as she pulled herself under control.
“How?” She was still looking at me, but hope had blossomed in her eyes.
“Don’t give them a chance to argue with you.” Sassafras stood, paws on her shoulders so she was forced to look in his eyes. “And don’t do a big group all at once.”
Single them out, in private. Gram’s growl was hungry. Cut them lose when they are in a weak position. Don’t ever let them rally support before you cut them off.
Mia was nodding, but frowning too. “Won’t that make me seem, I don’t know, cowardly?”
Gram snorted. Better that than a puppet leader run roughshod by her coven.
Mia’s face tightened with determination. “You’re right,” she said. “There will be time for bravery later.”
“It will take all of your strength to do this,” Sassy said. “But you’re not alone. Find those in your coven who will stand with you and draw on them for support.”
Mia hugged him suddenly before releasing him to hug me, too.
Thank you, she sent to all of us, even Gram.
Go talk to Miriam, Gram said. Tell her what you’re planning, as a courtesy.
“So she can warn the other covens not to welcome those witches.” Sassy hopped over me and settled on my pillow again. “Powerless, they will serve as the perfect example.”
Mia leaped to her feet, cheeks flushed again, but this time with happiness. “I knew coming to you was the right choice.” She smiled, a real smile, before rushing out the door.
I sank back to my bed as Charlotte entered, face a cold mask. I’m sure she heard everything, except the mental bits, but would have caught enough to get the picture.
Do you think she’ll go through with it? Sassy’s mental voice addressed both Gram and me.
I was about to answer yes when Gram sighed. Doubtful, she sent, tired and frustrated. Mia’s mother didn’t do her any favors cutting off her power for so long.
I seem to recall someone else in a similar position. I didn’t mean to shoot back at Gram, but I wanted to defend my friend.
You’re different, girl, Gram growled. You’re a Hayle. I’ve never worried about your ability to lead.
I agree with Ethpeal, Sassy sent. Mia is simply too damaged, too weak. Without a support system in place, she’s doomed to fail.
At least Miriam is aware and has been watching her. Gram’s mental touch lightened a little, but not much as I wondered how much my mother and grandmother talked business while leaving me out of it. It’s a touchy situation all around. The girl is stubborn and yet doesn’t have the power to step up and do what she must. And as much as the Dumonts have fallen out of favor, she sounded like that gave her great satisfaction, they are still a powerful coven requiring a firm hand.
Maybe we’ve changed that? I bit back the bitterness of knowing Gram and Mom still didn’t trust me enough to tell me everything.
Perhaps. Sassy sighed. I doubt it. Is there a contingency plan in place, Ethpeal?
What did he mean by that? Gram grunted softly.
Miriam’s dealing with it, she sent. No matter what happens, the Dumont coven won’t remain leaderless if the girl finally collapses.
Covens are autonomous, I sent, a little horrified by the implication. The Council wasn’t meant to interact on that level. Mom can’t interfere. Could she?
Just keep an eye on your friend, Gram sent. And we’ll see where things go.
The loyal friend in me wanted to argue, but knowing Mia the way I did, I just couldn’t muster anything in her defense.
***
Chapter Twenty Seven
It was a weird thing to me, the next morning, thinking about going to class. Like everything was fine and nothing had changed. But things had changed.
The strangest dreams plagued me all night, tied to the vampire and her history—the ancient people she encountered, her battles with Cesard. And though I woke completely rested and feeling like I’d slept for a week rather than just a few hours, I’d finally found my worry button.
Every time I tried to think about her, though, I found myself instead focusing on Quaid or the attacking vampire problem. How much control did she have and was she able to deflect my thoughts?
As I crossed the Yard on my way to breakfast, Sashenka chattering away beside me, Charlotte hovering so close I was sure she’d walk on the back of my shoe at any second, I reached inside with purpose and touched the vampire.
Listen, I sent, I know we’ve gotten on along well so far, but stop messing with my thoughts or you’ll find yourself behind a shield.
She bristled a little, prickly but still calm. It’s wasteful for you to fret over me, she sent back. I’m simply pointing you toward things that are more important.
I’ll decide what’s important, I snapped back. This is my life, my body. Remember that.
She paused. No, Sydlynn. This is our life, our body. All of us.
Didn’t help that my demon and Shaylee actually took her side.
Bad enough dealing with my own crap. The last thing I needed was my multiple personalities staging a takeover coup.
I know that, I sent back to all of them. But we have to find some harmony here. And, as it happens, I’m the one in charge. Okay?
My demon grumbled her agreement while Shaylee sighed and did the same. But the vampire just shrugged, an act that made me shudder all over.
If this is to work, there must be a leader, she admitted. But it remains to be seen if you are capable of such leadership.
Um, hello?
You know what? I wrapped witch magic around her, the inner layer of spirit. Just for now let’s treat this like a trial period, okay? You can watch all you want, and I won’t try to kick you out and seal you up permanently. Since I had no idea if that was even possible, I was just bluffing, but it was the best I could do. But, if you do anything at all to make me act or try to take me over, this cooperation thing is done. Get me?
She backed off immediately, surprising me a little. I was sure she was prepped for a fight.
&nb
sp; I’m sorry, she sent. You’re correct. Until you’ve proven yourself to me, I will remain an observer.
I still didn’t like what she was saying, but at least I hadn’t triggered Sydageddon.
Worked for me.
Aside from Liam, Sashenka and the girls—a little wide-eyed themselves as they peppered me with questions over breakfast—the majority of the student body continued to ignore me. Only now, instead of being resentful, they seemed afraid.
Was that an improvement? Hard to tell. But I’d take it.
Every time I prodded Mom for information about the Star Club and the vampires she brushed me off with an, “I’m handling it,” or cut me off all together. Yeah, I just bet she was handling it. Which meant she hadn’t found anything and had decided either I was wrong about Darin and his little secret society or someone had convinced her the vampire attack was some single aberration now done with.
I finally tracked down Rupe and Simon crossing the Yard on their way to class, determined to get some answers from them at least, only to have them stonewall me.
“Some of us are trying to fit in,” Rupe snapped.
“With someone like Darin?” I wasn’t in the mood to go easy on them. Not when it was likely said witch had something to do with the attack on me the night before. “You two really want to be friends with someone like him?”
I should have known the devil in question wasn’t far away. The moment the words passed my lips Darin appeared with his typical two-witch posse, grinning at me with eyes half-lidded like he’d heard what I said.
Like I cared.
I wasn’t expecting his magic to slam into my shields so hard I staggered back a step before I recovered.
“Watch your step, Syd,” Darin said, flicking his fingers at me as if I was inconsequential.
“You watch yours.” I was so ready for a fight. So. Ready. He was about to learn what it was like to push me around. “Thought I taught you this lesson already.”
Crap. Simon and Rupe were looking at us like they were totally confused and we were in a very public place. What was I thinking?
Darin didn’t seem to be held back by such issues. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with,” he hissed at me, stepping forward to poke me in the chest with one finger. Just barely. The moment he touched me, Charlotte had his hand in hers and twisted so violently he fell to his knees with a cry of pain. Didn’t care, not even a little.
He. Touched. Me.
Oh no, he did not.
My demon roared, surging into my eyes. I stepped in, pulling Charlotte from him, even as my witch magic drove into his solar plexus. I didn’t shred his shields this time, instead used them as a battering ram, my power pushing so hard his own wards slammed into him. He was just regaining his feet when I struck, making him curse and stagger back, almost falling again, only to have his two lackeys catch him.
“Don’t. Ever. Touch. Me.” I didn’t need to see Charlotte to know she was ready to kill him, and had I not intervened he’d likely have stopped breathing by now. I’d saved his stupid damned life even while part of me wished I’d let her tear him into tiny bits.
“Just keep pushing, Syd,” Darin snarled as he straightened, snapping his fingers at my friends who turned immediately and fell in behind him. “See where it gets you next time we catch you alone.”
He was part of the attack. Didn’t have to say anything else—I could see it in his eyes, in the hate he aimed at me. And his parting remark told me everything I needed to know.
I watched him go, longing to chase him down, but knowing without more solid proof than some vague threat Mom wouldn’t listen.
Besides, I had class. Yeah, exactly where I wanted to be. Especially with Liam and Sashenka sitting close together, laughing and talking like they were old friends, leaving me out of it. More jealousy, really, Syd? Seemed to be a cycle with me.
I took the time to think about Quaid, really think about him and what I’d done. What we’d done. Even as I gently felt along the connection between us, finding it mostly blocked off, only the faintest impressions of him, happy, laughing, without me, regret filled me.
I’d given him everything I had, my heart and body and soul. Thought he’d done the same. How could I have been so stupid? He was an eighteen-year-old guy, more screwed up than I was. Of course he hadn’t turned me down when I’d... sigh.
Idiot.
Gram’s mental touch was gentle, but her words were harsh.
I warned you, she sent. He’s a Dumont, Syd. Remember that.
Maybe it was rude to cut her off, but I wasn’t really in the mood for I told you so.
***
Chapter Twenty Eight
I lasted the entire day without actually contacting Quaid, a fact of which I was very proud. No needy, grasping me. Nope, nope.
It was hard to maintain that stance when I finally reached for him only for Quaid to gently tell me he couldn’t talk and cut me off.
Jerkaroni.
Didn’t help I felt her in his background. The honey-blonde. Whatever her stupid name was.
Didn’t help at all.
I peeled away from the gang and went my own way, sitting in a quiet corner of the cafeteria alone with Charlotte to eat my dinner, calling up as much anger as I could to keep from going in search of Quaid and demanding he love me.
Jerkasaurus.
My aloneness continued with a short walk through the Yard to the Holden Chapel where I found a bench between two large, sheltering bushes and sat on my hands to keep from wringing them together. The sound of mingling voices, the glee choir singing inside the chapel, helped to calm me a little. It was something to focus on at least, and they really were very, very good.
I had only a moment’s warning, a twitch inside my chest telling me something was coming, before Alison appeared in a streak of glowing white and dove straight for me.
Maybe if her face hadn’t been twisted into deathly rictus, I might not have acted. But there was so much hate in her my reaction was instant and violent, magic surging forward to block her. When the echo of her slammed into the barrier, she howled an unearthly sound that silenced the choir for a moment before they went on, a little breathless from fright.
But didn’t come to check. Thanks to the magic on campus. Freaky.
“GIVE IT TO ME!” Alison’s shrill scream was no longer audible to normal ears, I made sure of that. I let my power wrap her up, like a ghostly sausage in a blanket, even as she raged at me. “I can feel it inside you, Syd. It’s mine, not yours and I want it NOW!”
She flung herself at my shields, sliding through parts of the energy only to become trapped as I poured more magic into the webbing.
“Alison, stop.” I lurched to my feet, Charlotte on guard, but knowing there was nothing she could do to help. “That’s enough.”
“It’s NOT.” She squirmed and fought and clawed toward me. “Give me my life back!”
Back? “Don’t you dare blame me for dying,” I shot at her. “You killed yourself.”
Oh no. Did I really just say that out loud?
Alison’s wail almost drove me to my knees, not because of the sound, but because I knew I’d finally reached her.
“I DIDN’T.” She stopped fighting. “I didn’t kill myself.” I watched her as she almost panted with the effort. “I didn’t, Syd.”
“Yes,” I said, softly, gently. She had to accept the truth. Maybe if she did it would help her move on. “Alison, you were drunk and upset and you drove your car into the lake and you drowned.”
She shook her head with violence. “I would never.”
“You would.” I sighed. “You did. The night in the kitchen. With the butcher knife. You cut your artery, Alison. You tried to kill yourself then.” I’d saved her while her mother watched in terror, my demon’s magic sealing the wound with amber fire. But Alison would have died, bled out, if Angela Morgan hadn’t called me to come and save her daughter.
She gaped at me in pure horror, the blue of her eyes
going very wide before flooding with black.
“Nononononononono.” She jerked once, actually pulling free of the net of power I had around her, but didn’t try to attack me again so I let her hover there before me, lost in her own grief and suffering. “I didn’t. Did I?” The last came out in a little girl voice. I wished I could hug her, tell her it was all right, but it wasn’t all right.
Would never be again.
She has to be destroyed. Gram’s voice was soft, but firm. Syd, you can’t let her go on like this. Think of your friend, the one you loved. Now look at this shadow of who she’s becoming.
I know. I reached out to the echo of my friend, gathering my magic. I wish it could be different.
But Alison acted faster than I could. She lunged away from me, as if sensing I was about to capture her again. She rose from the ground, hovering over me, eyes still black, face drooping almost as if she was a partially melted candle.
“You’ll pay for betraying me,” she hissed. “I’ll have my revenge, Sydlynn Hayle. I’ll have my revenge!”
She flashed out of view, gone. I reached out, tried to track her, but she was out of contact, even when I used the new and unfamiliar connection with the vampire in the hope the power Alison stole would make her easier to find.
Nothing.
You have to track her, Gram sent. And destroy her.
Agreed. The vampire’s voice made Gram twitch a little, but she didn’t comment. That ghost echo cannot be permitted to exist this way, not with the power she stole from me feeding her. The need for more, like the need for blood, will drive her mad until she is only a monster.
So that was it. She’s craving blood?
Possibly. The vampire thought a moment. If she is able to find a way to feed… I don’t know if she’s considered it yet, if she’s figured out what she really craves. It sounds like she hasn’t. But if she does, I have no idea what she will become.
She won’t be able to feed, I sent. She’s an echo.
With form and substance, thanks to the vampire virus. Gram’s tone was so grim I didn’t correct her terminology. Remember that, Syd. She’s not Alison anymore.