Grey (The Romany Outcasts Series, Book 1)

by Christi J. Whitney

  ‘Despite this behavior of yours, I want you to know that my offer still stands. You can trap yourself into a life of servitude with the Gypsies, or you can come with us, and I can show you true freedom.’

  I gritted my teeth. ‘Some choice.’

  ‘Yes,’ Augustine replied, tucking the knife into his belt. ‘But it is a choice. And if you don’t make it, then I assure you, Sebastian Grey, we will make it for you. I hope you’re prepared to deal with that.’

  I clutched my side, feeling an awful sense of dread. What did he mean by making my choice for me? Did he already have something in mind? Before I could voice my questions, the Gypsy suddenly leapt through the tower window. I staggered forward. The sound of pounding feet on the stairs rang in my ears. By the time I reached the belfry platform, Augustine was gone. Only clouds of dust remained in his wake.

  Hugo flipped the closed sign in the shop window and bolted the lock. ‘You’re hurt.’

  ‘It’s nothing,’ I growled, pressing my hand against the wound.

  Hugo stepped closer, and I leapt out of the way. I didn’t want anyone near me. My emotions were wildly out of control, and I didn’t trust myself. My lips quivered in a defensive snarl. I watched Hugo warily, feeling like a cornered beast. His eyes flicked to Vincent’s, and the red-headed man nodded and left the room.

  ‘You went to see him, didn’t you,’ Hugo demanded.

  ‘Well, yeah,’ I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. ‘Or I did the first time, anyway. I was sort of knocked out and dragged there this time around.’

  ‘I told you there were enemies out there you weren’t strong enough to face. You could’ve gotten yourself killed.’

  ‘Ah, yeah, I got that.’ I wiped my blood-covered hand against my jeans. ‘How do you know this Augustine guy, anyway?’

  ‘He’s been banished from Outcast society, but he’s still a Gypsy.’ My brother scowled. ‘And that means we’re all connected, in one way or the other.’

  My body went taut. ‘I don’t get it, Hugo. If you knew about Augustine, then you knew I’d end up there eventually, looking for answers.’

  ‘That’s why I ordered you to stay here,’ my brother replied, his voice like a whip. ‘The answers you want are going to come from us, not him. Whatever that marime scum said, you can’t believe it. He’s nothing but an exile.’

  ‘Maybe he is,’ I said. ‘But right now, he’s the only one talking.’

  The room went instantly quiet.

  Finally, Hugo took a breath, and he looked suddenly resigned. ‘When a gargoyle awakens, he is given a brand using the prah. The Corsi clan has traditionally been the ones responsible for this. Afterwards, the clans decided who the gargoyle would protect. In some cases, it would be an individual. In others, it was a family, or even an entire clan.’

  I clenched my fists. ‘Like I told Augustine, I haven’t been asleep. I’m just a kid without a family. I was in foster care. I lived with your parents. I came here. I’m not being awakened, Hugo.’

  His eyes clouded over. ‘Have you ever wondered why you can’t remember things, Sebastian? Why your past is a blank page? Before my parents brought you here, you slept. I don’t know where or how they got you, but when you woke up, I was ordered to give you the brand.’

  The room felt like it was tipping sideways as I struggled to grasp what Hugo was saying. Augustine’s words came back to me. ‘How does a seal work, exactly?’

  ‘We don’t know,’ Hugo snapped. ‘So much knowledge has vanished from our clan’s memory. There are books without pages, stories with unfilled gaps. Zindelo and Nadya spent years researching the old lore. My parents believed that branding you would be enough to seal you to the Corsi clan, and if I were the one to inject the prah, it would seal you to us. But they were wrong. I was wrong. Something is missing, a critical element we’ve overlooked.’

  My gaze fell to my wrist. The stark outline of the dandelion stood out against my skin like ink on parchment. And then, it hit me like a punch in the gut. Josephine’s pendant! The insane, magnetic draw between our two dandelions wasn’t some chance occurrence. It was happening on purpose. Her necklace was a piece in Hugo’s unfinished puzzle.

  It had to be.

  I wrapped my fingers around my wrist. ‘So how does a seal become permanent?’

  Vincent returned. My skittering stomach should have warned me that something was up, but I was too intent on getting Hugo’s answer.

  ‘You have to understand, Sebastian, you’re the first gargoyle we’ve had in our possession in nearly a century. So much of what we knew about the shadow world has been lost. I’m going to need time to…’

  Fury ripped through me. I sprang forward, yanking off my hood. My brother’s startled gaze met mine, and I wondered if my eyes held the same molten silver look as Anya’s. Did I unnerve Hugo the way she had unnerved me?

  ‘There’s isn’t any more time. Now tell me what you know,’ I commanded.

  My brother rose slowly. I sensed a shift in the emotional current of the room. Something was wrong. My instincts snapped awake, but I was slow, too slow. Sharp pain stabbed the back of my neck, and I jerked, arms flailing. My fist connected with something before I went down on my knees.

  I heard Vincent grunt, and he staggered into my line of vision, holding his jaw. There was an object in his hand, but I couldn’t focus on it. Everything was racing around me, like a carousel spinning way too fast. I clutched my neck. My skin tingled all over. Hugo knelt in front of me as I swayed and rolled onto the floor.

  ‘I’m sorry, Sebastian,’ I heard him say as my eyes closed. ‘But you should have listened to me.’

  20. Everything and Nothing

  Buzzing.

  An annoying, whining noise.

  Like an irritating mosquito, flying around my head.

  But it wasn’t an insect. It was something else. My eyes refused to open. The sound was slow, methodical.

  Painful.

  I couldn’t distinguish between noise and pain. The buzzing was above me, but the hurt came from somewhere else, somewhere along my arm. The pain was sharp, biting; the kind that made me want to scream. But my mouth – like my eyelids – seemed glued shut. The buzzing noise morphed into voices.

  ‘How long has he been out?’ The voice was gruff, vaguely familiar.

  ‘Since last night.’

  The second voice belonged to Hugo. Air brushed my face, as if someone was leaning over me. I couldn’t break free of the dark void. I felt pressure above my eyelid, followed by a harsh, searing light. I tried to move – to protest – but nothing worked. Then the pressure was gone, and I was in darkness again.

  ‘You should have been more careful,’ said the first voice.

  ‘What was I supposed to do, lock him up?’ Hugo sighed heavily. ‘Sebastian’s my brother. Orders or not, I can’t do that to him.’

  ‘I see you had no problem knocking him out,’ replied the voice.

  ‘Yeah, well I can’t risk him hurting himself or our clan either.’

  My arm was lifted, and I felt a sharp sting.

  ‘You see, Karl,’ said Hugo. ‘Nothing’s worked.’

  The name and the gruff voice matched up. Karl was the Romanys’ personal trainer; the old man who’d tended to me the night of Josephine’s party.

  ‘Have you tried burning the flesh?’

  My brain screamed. Burning? No! What was going on? I struggled in vain to move. There was more shuffling, and then, a clicking sound.

  ‘Watch,’ replied Hugo.

  Heat radiated up my arm, quickly becoming a jabbing ache, and then a scorching fire. My insides writhed in torture, everything pleading for him to stop.

  Please, Hugo! Please!

  The sharp agony dulled, leaving a lingering hurt.

  ‘Interesting,’ said Karl, his tone curious, almost apologetic.

  ‘I don’t understand it,’ replied Hugo.

  There was a pause. ‘What are you going to do with the boy?’

  Another pau
se was followed by more movement. I listened, frustrated, still unable to move. I felt something cool on my wrist, then more pressure. I realized my arm was being bandaged.

  ‘I don’t know yet,’ Hugo answered. ‘I can’t fail my parents. I received word from them a few weeks ago, from a cousin of ours in Chattanooga. The letter is the first communication I’ve had with Zindelo and Nadya in almost a year.’ I heard the crumpling of paper: the envelope Hugo had kept in his jacket pocket. ‘Their orders are clear. I have to keep him here until they return. See?’ The paper passed hands. ‘He can’t be allowed to go to the Romanys.’

  ‘This sound serious, Hugo. But, even so, they left you in charge.’

  ‘Of the clan, yes. But not this.’ Hugo’s large form paced the room, his steel-toed boots hard against the floor. ‘My parents risked their lives to bring him to us, this creature. He’s a gargoyle, not a Gypsy. He’s supposed to serve our people, Karl. He’s not supposed to look and talk and act like a kid. I didn’t think it would happen like this. I never expected…I never meant…’

  ‘To get so attached,’ Karl finished softly.

  Hugo was silent.

  My chest felt like a sledgehammer had been dropped on it, smashing my emotions into tiny bits. I focused on my eyelids, pouring every bit of my strength into them. They twitched, and I was able to slit them open, but I could see only shadows and silhouettes. The shadow nearest me passed over my arm.

  ‘Well, physically he’s fine, Hugo. The wrist will heal, and the knife wound doesn’t seem to have affected him, which is fortunate, considering. You know how dangerous diamond-coated weapons are to shadow creatures. Of course, these injuries are the least of his problems, if what you’ve told me is true.’

  A diamond knife?

  ‘Thanks for the help, Karl. I’ll have to figure out where we’re going from here.’

  ‘I’m going to head back, Hugo,’ he said. ‘You know I can’t be gone too long, especially when I’m needed at the Fairgrounds.’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ said Karl. ‘I know this is a difficult situation for you.’

  ‘Come on,’ replied my brother. ‘I’ll walk you out.’

  The two forms disappeared, and I was left with nothing but shadows and silence.

  I wasn’t sure how long I lay there. But slowly, my vision cleared. I was on Hugo’s tattoo bench, and the only light came from his small work lamp. I coaxed my stiff, heavy body into a seated position and prodded my neck with my fingers. A tender lump bulged beneath the skin. I winced. What had Vincent given me?

  The clock on the wall read five o’clock. But was it morning or evening? I scrunched my brows, thinking hard. Hugo said I’d been out since last night.

  Which meant it was Sunday.

  I staggered to my feet, fending off the dizziness, and yanked up my shirt. Augustine’s knife had left a razor-thin line just below my ribs. To my surprise it wasn’t bleeding or even scabbed over. Karl had said the weapon was diamond-coated. I didn’t know what that meant, but apparently, I’d been lucky. I let go of my shirt and examined my wrist.

  It was wound tightly in gauze. I grabbed a pair of scissors off Hugo’s cart and went to work. Several snips later, the bandage fell to the floor. The tattoo was perfectly intact, but the surrounding skin looked like it had been torched.

  They’d tried to burn the brand off of me.

  I clung to my wrist as I ducked into the hall. There were voices coming from the waiting room. I got a sense of déjà vu as I eased closer to listen in.

  Kris’ voice came first. ‘We’ve tried everything, Hugo.’

  There was a heavy pause.

  ‘Not everything,’ said Vincent.

  ‘Well, then we need to decide now,’ answered Kris.

  ‘I agree,’ said James. ‘We can’t stay out of this any longer.’

  Another pause.

  Then, Vincent. ‘So what next, Hugo?’

  ‘We’ll take him to Ezzie’s.’

  I didn’t know what that meant either, but I knew one thing: I was done with the Corsi clan making decisions for me. If this was my life now, then I was going to have the final say in it.

  ‘You’re not taking me anywhere.’

  The effect of my appearance was almost comical. They whirled and gawked. Only Hugo remained composed. He studied me, his eyes roaming from my face to my wrist and back again. It was the same emotionless expression I’d grown used to, but now – maybe because of what I’d heard between him and Karl – I could see the hint of pained conflict in the lines between his brows.

  The heaviness in my chest returned. I’d spent the last three years living a lie the Corsis had created for me. Pretending I was normal, with a family and a future that had never existed in the first place. I should’ve been furious. I should’ve been hurt beyond repair. But instead, I felt nothing, not even towards Hugo.

  ‘I’m going to the Circe,’ I said walking past the group.

  ‘No you aren’t,’ Hugo said. He snatched my arm, dragging me back. ‘You don’t belong to the Romanys, Sebastian.’

  ‘I don’t belong to anyone, Hugo.’

  ‘We’re your clan, and we’re the only ones who can help you through this transition. You’re changing, Sebastian, and it won’t stop until you’re fully awakened.’

  I wrenched free from his grasp. ‘I know.’

  ‘Then you know I’m telling you the truth.’

  I stared at Hugo incredulously. ‘How can you say that? It’s been nothing but lies and deception from the start.’

  Hugo ran his hands through his dark hair. ‘You’re right, Sebastian. But I had my reasons, and I’m not going to apologize for anything I’ve done.’

  ‘I’m not asking for your apology. I just want you to trust me for once, okay? Everyone wants me to break this tie with Josephine Romany, but I can’t, Hugo.’

  ‘Sebastian, I know you feel a pull…’

  ‘I can’t.’

  Hugo frowned. ‘And why not?’

  My heart flew wildly up my throat, like it was trying to tear itself loose. My body shook with a new emotion, one that I couldn’t force back, no matter how hard I tried.

  ‘Because I love her.’

  Oh, God. I’d said it out loud. But as soon as the words left my mouth, I knew they were true. Everything fell into place. I loved her like I’d loved nothing else in my life. That’s why I had to protect her. Not because of seals or duty or destiny.

  Because of something far more powerful.

  ‘I love her.’ I said again.

  Maybe everyone around me was right. Maybe I was compelled to act because I was her guardian. But what I felt went far deeper than the ink on my wrist. That truth was all that mattered.

  Hugo’s voice shattered my clarity.

  ‘You’re incapable of love, Sebastian.’

  I stared at him. ‘What?’

  Hugo moved closer, his face set. ‘You may think you love her, but you don’t. And your feelings may even be intense, but it isn’t love.’

  I staggered back as though I’d been slapped. ‘I don’t believe you.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter if you do or not. Sebastian, you were designed and crafted to protect us. That’s the driving force that gives you life. You may think it’s love, but what you really feel is the duty and obligation of your kind.’

  ‘My kind,’ I repeated slowly. Despair crept over me, filling me like water in a sinking boat. Images of Josephine flashed though my head. ‘No…’

  ‘Anyone could tell you that love clouds judgment. In a guardian, it would be a weakness. Our ancestors knew that when they created the shadow creatures.’

  The waters rose higher until I was drowning in them. ‘I don’t believe you,’ I said again, but it wasn’t Hugo I was trying to convince.

  ‘Look, Sebastian,’ said Vincent. ‘Accept your place here with our clan and let us figure out how to deal with this. It’s the only way you’ll find any peace.’

  James nodded. ‘Make the
choice while you still can.’

  More choices that weren’t really choices. I backed away. I needed space, needed air. Clarity was turning into confusion, and I couldn’t be sucked back into that void again. ‘Why am I so important?’

  ‘In case you haven’t noticed,’ Vincent replied, ‘there aren’t too many gargoyles running around here. Just those three Augustine’s managed to force under his control. But our history tells us that when gargoyles make an appearance, it means some kind of trouble’s on the horizon. So yeah, Sebastian, I’d say you’re kind of important to us.’

  ‘Then why don’t you break the ties yourself?’ My blood boiled, making it easier to deal with the ache of their words. ‘If you own me, then just make the choice for me!’

  Hugo sprang up. ‘We don’t know how!’ A heavy silence fell over the room. I blinked back at him, my body quivering with emotion. His cold demeanor was gone, and I could see the frustration in his face. ‘This never should have happened,’ he continued with forced calm. ‘Gargoyles are sealed at the clan’s discretion. It shouldn’t be your decision to make in the first place.’

  The dark emotions suddenly left me. ‘Why do I have to be sealed at all?’ I pressed. ‘Why can’t I just be a gargoyle free agent or something? If I’m supposed to protect Gypsies, I’ll do it. I don’t need some seal for that.’

  ‘It doesn’t work that way,’ Hugo said. ‘Once you’ve been branded, the process is irreversible. You must be sealed to a charge or be branded for another one.’

  I looked at my wrist. ‘You tried that.’

  ‘Yeah, and it didn’t work,’ admitted Hugo. ‘There’s something different about you. When my parents brought you to us, they said they’d never encountered a shadow creature like you before.’

  I slid down the wall putting my head in my hands. I’d only just found out I was a gargoyle, and now I was discovering I wasn’t even a normal one, at that.

  ‘Then what do you know?’ I asked wearily.

  ‘A seal is a permanent bond, and according to everything I’ve read, it can only be broken when the gargoyle or the charge dies. But since you aren’t sealed yet, I’m not sure if that applies.’