by Linsey Hall
“Remember?” I handed her the book, feeling Grey come to sit at my side. He stayed silent, tucking himself back, likely so that Evangeline could focus on me. “You mean your memories were taken like everyone else’s?”
She nodded, a bitter laugh escaping her as she pressed her hand flat to the book, cradling her sleeping baby in her other arm. “My father did not spare me, of course.”
“So you remember what he did? Hiding the Shadow Guild and erasing everyone’s memories of it?”
“Oh, yes.” She nodded her head. “I believe that only I and the housekeeper, Mrs. Birch-Cleve, know the truth. For different reasons, of course.”
“Why were you running?”
“It is all quite a story.” She looked down at the book. “But I believe we should start with this.”
16
Carrow
Evangeline rubbed the book with her fingers. “It is not a simple book, as I am sure you’ve found.”
I nodded. That was an understatement.
“This is a guide,” she said. “A talisman. A holy relic to our family. It has been imbued with the magic of our blood. Not only did it bring you back in time and help you find me, but it is immensely valuable to both you and me.”
It hit me hard, then. Harder than it had previously. This woman was my great-grandmother six or seven times back. My throat tightened. It wasn’t quite like meeting my mother, but it was the closest I would come.
Grey gripped my hand, as if he could feel the turmoil inside me. I clung to him.
“I left it for you,” she said. “Before my memory was taken by my father, I hid the book in the Shadow Guild tower, hoping that down the line, one of my children or their children would find it.” She smiled. “It seems to have taken a while, if you are from the year 2020.”
“It’s helping you remember the memories that were taken,” I said.
She nodded. “It is partially my magic, which is the same as yours. And partially the book itself, reminding me of what has led me here.”
“Please tell me more. I want to understand what happened to you.”
“I believe you know my father, Councilor Rasla, and what he has done,” she said. I nodded, and she continued. “After using great magic to hide the Shadow Guild tower, he erased the memories of the townsfolk, including mine. No one can remember that there was a guild by that name. I remember feeling something lost inside my head. It became worse when he locked me inside my room, along with my baby.” She rubbed her head. “It is all a bit of a mess in my memories. But my power allowed me to see glimpses of what he had done. I could read the story in the various things that I touched. Eventually, I understood enough of it.”
“And you ran away.”
“It was always a matter of time, whether or not I discovered my father’s terrible deed. He hated my child. Was glad when her father died of illness.”
Anger shot through me.
She seemed to notice it and shook her head. “No. Don’t be angry for me. I am moving forward, away from those terrible feelings and memories.”
“That’s why you’re running from Guild City. To start over,” I said.
She nodded. “My father is a monster. I can’t live there anymore.”
“What about the Shadow Guild? You don’t want to fight to bring it back?” I asked. “It’s your birthright.” I pointed to the baby. “From what I understand, she is meant to lead it.”
The woman smiled down at the baby. “Power for power’s sake is a trap. Being born into a role you are forced to fill is a terrible fate.” Her words rang with experience, and I couldn’t help but think back to my fear of taking over the Shadow Guild as leader. It wasn’t the same, though, was it?
“I want my child to be able to choose. It is wonderful to live among one’s own kind, but Guild City has been tainted by my father. It is not a place she can live freely. Better to hide her magic in this world than to be forced to live a life of fear in that place.”
“Are you speaking for yourself as well as for her?” I asked.
She smiled. “Perhaps I am.”
“So you’ll live as humans.”
She nodded. “Perhaps. I will see where the road takes me.”
“But what about the others in the Shadow Guild?” I asked. “Their place has been taken from them. Many were forced to leave Guild City. Those who stayed were made to feel like outcasts.”
I knew I shouldn’t be trying to change the past, but I couldn’t help asking. It was all so terrible.
Her eyes darkened with sadness. “And that breaks my heart, but what is done is done. You are proof of that. Time has continued on, the Shadow Guild staying hidden until you found it. If you and I were to return to Guild City and change things, then the entire course of the future would be modified. People who need to be born might not be born, while others would die. I discovered my father’s subterfuge too late, and too much time has passed.” She reached out for me but drew her hand back before making contact. “And seeing you proves that I’ve made the right choice.”
“Because I found the Shadow Guild?”
“And proved that the future has unfurled in the way I hoped it would. My line has continued. I have faith in fate and my path.” She jostled the baby a bit. “I assume the future is a better place?”
I thought of it for a moment. “There is no one like your father in Guild City, so yes, I suppose. It’s not a perfect place, and a lot of the world is a mess. But the Shadow Guild is continuing. It will continue, once we clean it up a bit.”
“And you are the leader?”
“That’s what my friends tell me.” Though I hadn't embraced it yet, that was for certain. Guilt struck me.
It was my heritage. And I was ignoring it.
“What of your family?” she asked. “How are they?”
“My father was a bastard, and I never knew my mother. But she must have had magic.”
“Never knew her?”
“She died shortly after I was born.”
“Tragic.” She frowned. “Had she known she had magic, I imagine she would have left you a letter. Something to explain.”
Maybe. I hoped so. “She may never have known. We lived in the human world.”
“Oh, my.” She shook her head. “What a path I have set us on, to live in the human world so long.”
If my mother had survived, would we have found out what we were together?
I gripped Grey’s hand hard, drawing support from him. He rubbed my back with his other hand, and I looked at the woman. “I need to know what I am. I only know what I can do, and even that is ever changing.”
“You are coming into your power. It takes a while, with magic as strong as ours.”
“I need it to be strong.” I gestured to Grey. “We’re Cursed Mates, and our time is running short. A seer has told me that I can save us and that the answer is in my past, but I have no idea how.”
She frowned, her brow furrowing. “Really?”
“Yes. What are we? How do I break the curse?”
She bit her lip, clearly distressed. Her gaze moved between the two of us. “I did not anticipate this.”
“Neither did I,” Grey said. “But I want to spend my life with Carrow. Without your help, though, it’s going to be a very short life.”
The baby began to whimper, as if sensing its mother’s distress, and she rocked it carefully, her eyes shadowed. Finally, she looked at me. “I don’t know how our magic can possibly break the curse. But I can tell you what we are, at the very least.”
I nodded, wanting her to spill it all quickly.
“You are a Soulceress, a member of the only known line in Britain. Maybe the world.”
“Soulceress?” It was a mouthful.
She nodded. “We derive our power from our souls. From the souls of others, as well. It’s why you can touch people and know things about them. You are reading their soul.”
“And when I touch objects?”
“That power comes from your
own soul.”
I looked back at Grey. “Have you heard of these types of supernaturals?”
“Only by name,” he said. “I never knew the extent of their power.”
“But I can do more than read objects and people,” I said. “I brought my friend back from the dead.”
She smiled, tears sparking in her eyes. “That is a power so rare that only the strongest of us possess it. My grandmother did.”
“How did I do it?”
“May I touch you so that I can understand the circumstances fully?” She lifted her ungloved hand. “I know the theory behind your magic, but understanding your situation will help.
I nodded and held out my hand, palm up. She gripped it gently, her hand cold and firm. But warmth flowed through me, her magic touching mine.
Was this what my power felt like to others?
It was nice.
Evangeline drew in a steady breath, and I could feel her magic inside me, poking around for answers. Finally, she opened her eyes and met my gaze, though she did not drop my hand.
“When you truly love someone—deeply and forever—your soul touches theirs. Bonds to it in an unbreakable way. If they die before you, and you have trouble letting them go, then their soul will resist death.”
Shock raced through me. “I kept Beatrix on Earth? Like a ghost?”
“Not quite like a ghost. Ghosts are here of their own volition. They need magical energy to stay on this plane instead of being dragged to the afterlife, but they produce it on their own.”
“Beatrix said that after she died, she was drawn to my friend Eve, a Fae.”
Evangeline nodded. “This makes sense. When she died, your soul expended a massive amount of energy to draw her back from death. I believe she became a raven because it is tied to her magic and was an easier form to maintain. But she needed to find an energy source if she was to survive on Earth until you could find her again.”
“So she found Eve.”
“Yes. There is something about Eve’s magic that gave Beatrix the power to stay on this plane. You were drawn to each other. No doubt she found Eve because fate wanted to help her find you. Once you had the book, it gave you the strength and focus to finish the spell that would keep her from death.”
My mind was spinning. “So Beatrix is back for good and will live a normal life?”
“Yes. You have prevented her death this one time. But there’s no guarantee you can do it again if another of your friends dies. Circumstances must be right. Once you yank them from the brink of death, their soul needs an energy source to sustain them until you can find them and bring them back for good.”
I drew in a bracing breath. This was all so damned much. I looked at Grey, not liking where this was possibly leading us. “How does this help me break the curse on Grey and me?”
“That, I do not know. But I can feel that you aren’t fully embracing your power.”
“How can I embrace it if I don’t know what it is?”
“We never know what the future holds for us, nor what we are truly capable of. Not until we are tested.”
“And I haven’t been tested yet?”
“Perhaps not.” She shrugged. “But I do know that you have shied from your duty as leader of the Shadow Guild, and that cannot help.”
“I thought you said you were running away so your children wouldn’t be forced to serve as leader.”
“Forced being the key word. But you are not forced, are you? You want it, I believe.”
Icy fear stabbed me at the thought of so much responsibility. “I’ve just discovered I’m magical, now I’m meant to be a guild leader? It’s crazy.”
“Only if you let your fear drive you and stop you from growing. Stop you from taking your rightful place.”
“And if I do this, my magic could grow in a way that helps me save Grey?”
“I believe it’s possible, yes. You must embrace everything that you are and have faith in yourself if you want to be powerful enough to save him. To save yourself.”
I heaved out a breath, worried.
She pressed the book into my hands. “Take this. Claim your place and believe in yourself. That is your only way forward.”
I gripped the book, hating that the solution to our problems was so vague and difficult. Believing in myself was a hell of a lot harder than accomplishing a set task, like fighting demons or finding a magical potion.
“That book will help you with your magic.” Evangeline nodded to it. “Keep it safe, always, and use its power when you need it.”
“Thank you.”
She nodded and stood. My heart raced, my skin chilling. Our time was almost over. She was finished, it was obvious, and ready to make a run for it. Ready to put the wheel of my past in motion.
I stood. “Can I visit you?”
Her eyes flickered with surprise. “You mean use the book to return to this time and find me?”
I nodded. “Yes. You’re the only living family I have.”
“Living?” She smiled. “I suppose that depends on what timeline you are in.”
I winced. She was right. She’d be dead and dust by the time I went back through the library.
“Perhaps you can visit,” she said. “Go home and sort out this problem with your beau. Once you’ve embraced your magic fully, you’ll know if you’re strong enough to come back here. But it’s a risk every time, remember. You must not change the past.”
I sighed, my heart hurting. I couldn’t come back. Not with so much at risk.
Grey stepped around to my side and met Evangeline’s gaze. “Do you have enough money to start your new life?”
“Enough?” She nodded, though it was uncertain. “I have enough.”
He frowned, then reached into his pocket and handed her a pouch like the one he’d given Mrs. Birch-Cleve. “Take this to help.”
She took it and looked down at it, shaking her head. “How strange this day has been.”
“No kidding.” I hugged her briefly, trying not to squash the baby, then pulled back. “We’d best be going.”
She nodded. “Good luck.”
I gave her one last look, then turned. We hurried out of the garden, cutting our way through the crowd. There was so much to think about and talk about—like what the hell was I supposed to do?
But first, we needed to find Rasla and erase his memory of Grey so that his past wouldn’t be modified.
We made it to the Haunted Hound in record time, passing through to Guild City a few moments later. It was late in the evening, the streetlamps illuminating the ancient city. People milled about, laughing and happy.
“Shall we go to his house?” I asked.
“Yes. That’s the best place to start.” He led the way, cutting through the city.
Coincidentally, the library was on the route to Rasla’s house. I almost wished we could just dart in and head home, but it was well worth stopping and erasing Rasla’s memory. There was no telling what kind of hell he’d cause for the other version of Grey.
We were only about twenty meters past the library when a shout sounded. “Devil!” Rasla’s voice echoed down the empty street.
I stopped dead in my tracks, right alongside Grey. We stood in the middle of the road. It was entirely empty. Finding Rasla here was just the most incredible kind of luck. Whether good or bad, I wasn’t sure.
I turned, spotting Rasla sprinting toward us. Two men followed him, both wearing the distinctive cloaks of sorcerers.
“I knew you were after my daughter,” Rasla hissed at me. “Did you find her? You look like her, you know. I can’t let you leave here.”
“You’re a stupid bastard,” I said. No way I was telling him a thing about his daughter.
“You will stop at once,” Grey said, his voice ringing with power.
Rasla laughed, pointing to his jacket. A gleaming red gem was pinned to the breast. “This protects me from your miserable power.”
Shit. He must have been wearing it when Grey had
tried to modify his mind before. That’s how he’d resisted Grey’s power.
Both of the sorcerers were wearing the charms as well. We’d need to do this the old-fashioned way, all without killing Rasla or his men.
Both sorcerers raised their hands, green light glowing around their palms.
Fear struck me, sharp and cold.
I’d seen this magic before. Grey had been hit by it at the Sorcerers’ Guild, nearly dying. And he’d been stronger then.
The sorcerers hurled their deadly blasts of magic at us. The acid-green clouds shot through the air. I dove right, and Grey dove left. I slammed to the ground, skidding across the cobblestones.
Aching, I scrambled upright, still intact. The blast had missed me, though just barely. Frantically, I searched for Grey. He was already on his feet, sprinting toward one of the sorcerers. The bastard was recharging his power, his palm glowing faintly green.
I plunged my hand into my potion bag and withdrew a bomb. I had no idea what it did—there was no time to look. I just threw it, hurling it at the other sorcerer. He ducked.
His hand glowed green, and I didn’t have long before he’d throw another blast at me. I sprinted for him, plunging my hand back into the satchel.
To my left, Grey reached the sorcerer before he could hurl his magic. He drew back his fist and punched him so hard in the face that the sorcerer wheeled backward, landing hard on the ground.
He lay still, unconscious.
Grey turned toward Rasla, who stood only ten feet away. He stalked toward him.
I pulled out another potion bomb and hurled it at the sorcerer who had almost charged up his second blast. It slammed into his shoulder. He gasped, going to his knees. I charged him, my eyes on the glowing green orb in his hand. It was nearly at full power. He’d hurl it at me any second.
I braced myself, ready to dodge the blast if he threw it before I reached him.
He drew back his arm, then threw.
Only, instead of hurling it at me, he chucked it at Grey, who held Rasla by the lapels, speaking harshly into his face.
“Grey!” I screamed, reaching for him.
The green magic slammed into his back.