“I knew he wouldn’t let it go,” Catrina sighed. She told Colin what to say.
“Catrina says your mother left her a song she had written for you. She will be able to play the song for you, but not here or now.”
Colin allowed her to tell him what else to say. After another long pause, he continued.
“She says that the most important thing about the song were the words, ‘Find my hidden treasure and you will find the answers you seek.’”
“Hidden treasure,” repeated Ivan. “My mother had no such thing.”
“Hence the word hidden, Ivan,” whispered Catrina.
Colin passed along her message.
Jae’s mother waved to him, he left them and joined his family.
Ivan frowned and stalked away. For some reason, Meghan felt inclined to follow him.
“Oh hey, Sis,” Colin called out after her. She turned. “Happy birthday.” She grinned, having totally forgotten. They turned fourteen today. What a crazy difference a year made. And in some ways, it felt more like forty, not fourteen.
Colin, trying not to look too obvious about it, turned his full attention to Catrina. He was still in disbelief that she was there, and real, sitting in front of him. He could not take his gaze away.
Meghan sidled up alongside Ivan. “So,” she called out getting his attention. “Are we officially done with the whole Initiation thing?”
Ivan turned to her and nodded an annoyed, yes.
“Thanks for not ratting out my brother, Ivan. I know Catrina has information about your mother, but thanks just the same.”
“The way I see it, it’s all part of the deal. As I said, Meghan, I will get what I want. And once I do, so will you.”
“So much business! Can you ever just relax?”
Ivan contorted his face as if he did not understand the meaning of the word. He leaned into her ear. “Business partners, Meghan. I don’t have time for anything else.”
She rolled her eyes in reply, leaving him to ponder his mother’s message. She sat down, breathing deeply, and calmly. Seeing Colin gazing at the invisible Catrina had made her thoughts wander.
“Sebastien…” she mumbled curiously. What was he doing right now? How long had he searched for her after they left Cobbscott? Had his family even returned to the campground this summer? Without even realizing it, a small spark ignited into flame, sitting dutifully in her palm. Her focus had been so intent on her friend, it somehow must have triggered a vision.
He was sleeping, although in a way it almost looked a bit like he was passed out from exhaustion. Or trying to fight to stay awake. Seeing his face was like a punch to the gut; she didn’t realize how much she missed him. His slumber was fitful and he called out her name as if searching for her.
But this was just a vision. The past? The present? The future? She wasn’t sure and there was nothing she could do to comfort her friend. Or even tell him she and Colin were okay.
She let out an uneasy breath.
How sidetracked her life had become.
Magic was taking over.
Just trying to survive was taking over.
Embracing her path as a Firemancer was taking over.
No longer were her goals just that of getting home, finding out the fate of her Uncle Arnon, and getting back to her old life.
Sebastien’s eyes opened and he stared into Meghan’s, almost as if he could actually see her. But there was a gloss over his eyes like he was stuck in a waking dream. His hand reached out, meaning to touch her. Meghan wanted desperately to call out to him, and for him to hear her. She even heard her voice calling out to him in her mind.
“Meghan?” he whispered. “Is that you?”
Had he actually heard her? Sebastien looked around as if searching for the voice he so longed to hear.
“I miss you,” she told him.
“I miss you too, more than you can even imagine,” he replied. There was a dreamy look in his eye like he thought he was hallucinating.
Just hearing his voice sent her heart strumming and her thoughts into overdrive. Her concentration failed and she lost the vision. Or connection. Or whatever it was that had just happened. She tried to get it back but to no avail.
What did this mean? Could she use Firemancy to speak to people?
Was it even real, or just a vision she created to comfort herself?
Was it possible to reach out to him, or others? Like Kanda, or her uncle if he was still alive?
There was so much she did not know about Firemancy.
Was it possible she could even use her power to return home?
More importantly, she wondered, did she want to go home?
Could she go home?
Even once they found out their uncle’s fate, she would still be a Firemancer. She still needed training. She still needed Juliska Blackwell for that.
Both she and Colin were now deeply rooted in their new lives.
Would their uncle want them to come home, or stay?
Nona rubbed her body against Meghan’s contorted face and licked away a falling tear. When she lifted her head, her gaze landed on Juliska Blackwell.
Sighing, Meghan made her decision.
She would stay.
CHAPTER 17
A Fiery Vision….
Meghan Jacoby reached the top of the hillside and marched methodically down to the open field below. The crisp breeze of autumn which she normally would have enjoyed, whisked through her flame red hair, unnoticed. She could not afford to notice anything. Or for something unexpected to break into the calm she’d gotten into her head. And heart.
She stuffed her fears into hiding.
Let go of the years that had passed and how they’d come to this moment.
Numbing herself to the task ahead.
Her target approached, unknowingly into a trap. As he drew near, she forced herself to smile. Surprised when it turned from forced, to real. A slight reprieve from what was coming. But to see him in front of her, with her own eyes… she let go of the paced march and swung her arms around him in embrace.
Colin.
Her brother.
She hadn’t seen him in months.
He stiffened, but relaxed, accepting her gesture and even returned it. Neither attempted to open the connection in their minds, but many unsaid words passed between them, strung out in the embrace so long overdue.
“I’ve missed you so much, Colin.” Meghan let go of him, for a brief moment, forgetting why she was here. That he was her target. The space that opened between them was like a wall of reminder, the relief at seeing him alive churning into something much more unsavory and sour.
She didn’t have much time.
He’d probe through her mind eventually.
Regardless, she maintained her welcoming persona and refused to let anything snap her out of her practiced ease.
“I’m sorry, Meghan.” Colin lifted a brow and shrugged unconcernedly. “I couldn’t take the risk. In the end, it’s better for us to stay in hiding.” The us, being him and Catrina.
“Are you both okay?” Meghan asked him. She reined in the unfortunate irony of that question, considering the reason for their meeting. But wouldn’t it seem unnatural if she did not ask? And again, genuine need to know overruled all else, just as when she’d first seen him a minute ago.
She was teetering on a precarious edge.
Her memories of the boy she once called little brother clouding her judgement.
She slammed that notion to the very depths of her soul. It would only lead to utter failure and destruction. And not just for herself, but to all.
There was a nudge at that block firmly in place in her mind. If Colin wanted in, he’d get in. But the pressure went away and he smiled, weakly.
“I’m fine. Catrina is… well.”
And not here, Meghan noticed. Although she imagined Catrina was close, probably invisible unless she wanted to be seen.
There was a half-attempt at a laugh. Colin eyed his sister,
that familiar gleam she recognized as her brother, appearing. “Can you believe where life has taken us, Meghan? Could you ever have imagined this?”
“No. Not in a hundred years could I have imagined this. It’s a long way from our travels with Uncle Arnon. Or even when we first started living with the Svoda.”
Guilt rose again.
No.
Imagining what I’m about to do is not something I could have thought up ever, even in my wildest dreams.
She hung tight to the thought, keeping it securely locked in her own mind. Her outward appearance, unchanging. Under her skin, in her heart, she wanted to run away. Shout to her brother, this is a trap. Neither was an option.
“I was hoping to see Catrina, too. It really has been too long.” Much longer than she’d even gone without seeing Colin.
“She is…” her brother trailed off, face, flat.
Meghan panicked when he did not answer right away. Did he suspect something? She forced the panic down, swallowed it like sour milk. But Colin smiled. No, beamed, was more like it.
“I imagined this moment for months now, and I guess the best way to explain is to show you.”
So she was here. How fortunate, and misfortunate. Meghan had been afraid they might never find Catrina after today.
There was a giddy sort of twinkle in Colin’s eyes. “We refuse to be apart. She refuses to leave my side, and she puts up with a lot you know. I mean, I have killed her three times.” His new favorite sick joke. He shrugged as if to say, what can you do? Magic is crazy like that.
Meghan laughed, as real as one could in this strange situation.
Colin waved his hand and a moment later Catrina’s silver hair and dark cloak popped out of nowhere, next to Colin. She rushed forward to embrace Meghan as if no time had passed, and all the terrible things that had happened, had never been.
Meghan soaked in the moment. If only she could go back. And stop Colin from saving Catrina… maybe these last years would never have happened.
“I cannot tell you what it means for us to see you,” cried Catrina, happily.
“Life is too short,” responded Meghan in a rush of breath at the ease of Catrina’s welcome. “No matter what has happened in the past, you are my family, and I love you both, very much.”
And that much was true. For all their flaws, she did honestly love them both. Colin, because he was and always would be her brother, and Catrina because Colin loved her.
Meghan’s eyes filled with tears. She took a deep breath and bit her tongue, trying to retain her composure, and allowed Catrina to take her place by Colin’s side.
It was that same love that brought her to this current task.
This terrible thing she was about to do. The ultimate betrayal. A necessary one.
She swallowed, hard, keeping her thoughts blocked. Meghan could sense Colin’s attempts to penetrate them; she was weakening. Needed to get a move on before the plan was crushed right before her eyes. Complete the mission. Get it done.
Catrina gathered Colin’s hand in hers. “Would you like to tell her our news, or should I?”
“News?” questioned Meghan.
Colin’s eyes gleamed and he motioned for Catrina to share her secret. Meghan watched as she removed the bulky cloak. Heart sinking downward, straight through her body into a puddle on the ground below her feet.
Ivan Crane’s constant warning rang like warning bells.
“Be prepared for something to take you off guard.”
So many times, he’d repeated this during their rehearsals for this confrontation.
“It’s bound to happen and you cannot lose control.”
Ivan’s warnings could not have prepared her for what she was now witnessing. Meghan’s legs nearly faltered.
“Catrina… you’re… you’re pregnant.”
“Yes. Isn’t it wonderful?”
Meghan’s control unraveled. The block in her mind dissolving, her thoughts free for her brother to read. She staggered, raising her arms to steady herself.
“Oh, Colin. I didn’t know. I swear it.” Not that it would have changed anything in the end. And now, Meghan had just destroyed months of preparation. Along with many lives. Most definitely including her own.
But how could she go through with it? This wasn’t just Colin and Catrina, but an innocent new life caught in the middle.
Colin’s face spoke it all.
No more gleam over his news about Catrina.
Or smile due to seeing his sister, believing this an honest attempt at rebuilding what was broken between them.
“How. Could. You?” The venom lashed out at Meghan. She flinched, no longer able to contain the fear of the brother she had once thought it was her job to protect.
“I’m sorry. I really am. I had no idea she was pregnant, Colin.”
Catrina stood at his side like a statue, bewildered.
The ground beneath Meghan’s feet began to rumble as Colin’s eyes turned blood red, indicating he was losing control as well. His fists balled up tightly, and he rocked back and forth.
“Why are you people always trying to kill us?” he shouted in angry heaving breaths. “When will you learn you’d all be better off if you just left us alone?” He turned to Catrina. “I’m sending you away so you don’t get hurt, again.”
Before Colin could act, Meghan withdrew a long, silver blade and lunged at her brother. Out of instinct, to save the man she loved though he did not need it, Catrina leapt in the way. The knife plunged directly into her heart.
Death was quick.
But her eyes begged to understand why as she took her final breath. It was what they had hoped for, Meghan and Ivan. In all their planning, this was the best scenario: for Catrina to offer her life to save Colin’s.
Meghan withdrew the dagger, bewildered at what she had done.
Breathe, and focus, she reminded herself brutally. The job is not finished yet!
Colin, in angst of seeing his beloved Catrina slump to the ground, fell to her side, and although clearly furious over the act did not look worried in the least over her death.
Meghan was prepared for the magical dome that materialized around both she and her brother, blocking anything or anyone else from getting in, or out.
She had expected this, too.
Just the two of them.
No one else.
At first, Colin just stared at Catrina’s lifeless body. He touched her swollen belly, laying his head on it as if to listen. Everything had changed after she had taken over Colin’s life. There was no more Colin Jacoby. She was Colin’s life, completely and unconditionally; one could not exist without the other. And for holding onto that unconditional love, they would both pay the ultimate price.
It was unfair. Meghan had said it many times. Unfair that her brother and the woman he loved were cursed by a power they never asked for, and could not control.
Meghan still held the bloody knife that had taken Catrina’s life. She could barely catch her breath, and questioned whether she could go through with the final part. But if she didn’t act while Colin was still distracted, it would be too late.
She let the silver blade slide to the ground and removed another weapon from her pocket. A white dagger made out of bone. A special weapon made especially for Colin.
Movement outside the magical dome.
A magical army led by Ivan Crane.
But all their power combined not enough to stop the power locked inside the dome.
But the army was their only viable Plan B, should Meghan fail. However, if she failed, everyone on that hill would die, including Ivan. As well as Nona, her loyal Catawitch who paced at Ivan’s feet, anxious to be back by Meghan’s side.
“Do it. Now.” Ivan’s voice was firm but even. And sure. It grounded Meghan, but did not stop the tears that flowed freely. Maybe Colin would take her life and end the torment she knew would follow if she survived this mess.
Colin rose up from Catrina and faced his sister.
“Remember!” Ivan shouted at her.
Meghan caught his eyes. And nodded.
Colin laughed. Wickedly.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think this day would come, and it would be you and Ivan Crane, working together. Against me. They cannot touch me in here. But don’t worry, Sis.” He stalked closer. “I’ll take care of them when I’m through with you.”
“I don’t know what to say, Colin. I am sorry, but I have no choice.” Her voice was shaky, but truthful.
“No choice?” he mocked. “And what exactly are you going to do to me? You never were all that good at magic. And you’re definitely no match for me. None of you are.”
He was no longer the Colin Jacoby she had grown up with.
No longer the Colin Jacoby she used to protect from bullies.
And no longer the Colin Jacoby she had once shared her most intimate thoughts, fears, and dreams with.
He had been changed, by powerful magic and his love for Catrina.
Meghan looked away from Colin, ready for whatever terror was inevitably to come.
The pain seared through her veins like a knife. She doubled over, unable to scream. Or plead for him to stop.
“Stop this, Colin!” demanded Ivan on her behalf.
Colin snapped his head in Ivan’s direction and he instantly fell to the same fate as Meghan, dropping to the ground, writhing in agony.
No one dared touch him.
Courage of the army, wavered.
Colin almost made the magical dome soundproof but decided he enjoyed that everyone could hear the pain he was causing. A fearful reminder of what was about to happen to all of them.
Meghan’s pain subsided, but she saw that Ivan’s did not.
“Forget about me,” Ivan told her.
Meghan looked away from him, crouched, and stared down at the ground.
“You can’t kill me, Meghan.” Colin stared down his sister. “I know you too well. You always thought you were the strong one. The brave one. The daring one who’d do whatever it took, to survive. Turns out you were the weak one, after all.”
“Whatever you say, Colin. I don’t have any fight left in me,” she lied. “I’m sorry I killed her, but I had no other choice.” She kept her gaze downward.
The Map, The Dagger, and The Vampyres (Fated Chronicles Book 2) Page 17