“Do you need blood?” I asked Thomas.
He shook his head. “I’m okay. Actually, I think I feel a little better.”
I glanced at TS for confirmation and was relieved when he nodded.
As soon as Charlie was done, he gingerly rose to his feet and started down the ocean trail. To my relief it looked like the darkening of his veins had stopped spreading, in fact they even looked a bit grayer.
Thomas, TS, and I quickly followed him to the ocean trail; it seemed like a long way down to the beach and I was afraid Dani and Mariana hadn’t made it to the water. Every time the path was obscured, as it curved around thick underbrush, my heart started pounding as I expected to find them behind it.
To my relief, the trees soon opened to the beach and I spotted Mariana, with Dani lying next to her, down in the shallows, sitting in the water. Even better, there didn’t seem to be any tourists around. We hurried down the beach to join them.
“Is he alright?” Charlie cried, stopping at the edge of the water.
Despite being underwater, Dani evidently heard him and raised out an arm to give a thumbs up.
“I think so,” Mariana answered. She glanced down at Dani, then added. “He says yes. Are you?”
“Yeah, I’m okay now,” Charlie said.
Mariana looked back down into the water and whistled something in Panth.
Charlie sat down in the sand with an audible sigh of relief. My knees felt weak and I heaved my own sigh. As if blood magic wasn’t scary enough when I thought it just came in the form of a sudden attack, now I knew it could be slow and insidious. What if we hadn’t been able to get back in time? How much worse would it have gotten?
With a start, I realized that I hadn’t been affected! I was so distracted worrying about the others, that I hadn’t even bothered worrying about myself. Frowning, I examined my arms and hands, looking for any sign of darkening veins.
“Jen! Are you alright?” asked Thomas in alarm when he saw what I was doing.
“Yeah…” I held up my arms to show him. “I’m completely fine. It… it didn’t seem to affect me.”
Why was that? Was it because I was a witch? Or was it something more? I thought of how Fletcher told me I’d be a good blood witch and felt a chill. What if there was something more to it… what I had some quality that kept the blood magic from hurting me?!
“It didn’t get me either,” Mariana said.
Thank god. That made me feel better; it wasn’t just me.
“But why didn’t it affect us?” I asked.
“Maybe it only works if you’ve been hit with blood magic before?” Charlie suggested.
“Then why wasn’t I affected?” TS asked. He raised an arm and I could easily see his veins hadn’t grown darker either. “I’ve been struck with blood magic before, but I’m grand. Besides, if they wanted to keep people out, it doesn’t make sense that they have to be affected by blood magic first, not unless they’re cursing everyone when they get on the ferry.”
“What else is there?” I asked. “Why just the three of us?”
“We all stayed together, so it can’t be a matter of how long we were exposed,” Mariana said, walking out of the water and up to us. Her green hair lightened and turned back to blonde, leaving just a few green streaks, as she changed back into a human.
Wait! I looked at the sun, then to TS. “We’re human!” I gasped. “All three of us are human!”
“Bloody hell, that must be it,” TS said.
“You know what that means…” Thomas cast a grim look out over the water, toward the sun.
TS heaved a sigh. “We have until sunset to figure out what the blood casters are hiding.” He looked at me and Mariana. “Otherwise it’ll just be you two. Not that I’ll be much help; I’m fecking useless as a human.”
Mariana cleared her throat and looked pointedly at him, then gestured to herself.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” TS said. “You’ve made it through some pretty dangerous situations. Not to mention you’ve started taking some lessons. I know you’ll manage.”
“If you think that now, imagine what I’ll be able to do with a few more decades of practice and experience,” Mariana said.
“Exactly!”
Mariana crossed her arms over her chest and fixed TS with a smug grin. “Exactly.” She couldn’t mimic as a human, but she nailed his accent, in my opinion.
Thomas laughed while TS stammered for a moment.
“Right,” TS said, clearing his throat. “You got me there.” He chuckled, then looked up at the sun with a grimace. “If we’re going to do this, it needs to be now.”
Dani joined us, looking like he was feeling quite a bit better. “We should get back to the hotel and out of sight. It’s one thing to hope they don’t realize we’re not human from a distance, but this…” He twisted one of his arms back and forth, showing the blackened veins running down it. “I don’t know if it would have killed us if we spent too long sneaking around where they don’t want us, but now it’s a dead giveaway we were there.”
“He’s right,” TS agreed. “You’re all marked now, we can’t risk you being seen.”
“We’ll go back to the hotel then, if we can,” Thomas said. “I’ll let you know when we’re safely back in the room. Be careful.”
“You be careful too,” I said.
With no time to waste, we headed back up the path. It was more stressful, knowing we no longer had vampire ears and a nose on our side and the three of us were relieved when we reached the cabanas without incident.
We started to circle around, when TS hesitated.
“What is it?” I whispered.
“I’m wondering if we should check these out now… from here on out I can’t follow the jackal’s scent. We could waste time going the wrong way, but these still look empty and we don’t know how long that will hold true.”
In all honesty, I had felt uncomfortable delving any deeper into the woods without the others. I was the only one of us now who would stand any chance against a blood caster and even then I would be grossly outmatched. My best hope would be a few pathetic spells as a distraction while we tried to escape; if we ran into more than one blood caster though, we were finished.
“Let's check it out,” I said, hoping I sounded less nervous than I felt.
“Wait, look for wards first,” TS whispered.
Glad that I had learned briefly about that type of advanced magic, I scanned around us for anything with a strange symbol carved on it.
“I don’t see any,” I said.
“Blood magic must be enough then,” TS said. “Let’s go.”
Cautiously, the three of us crept out into the clearing among the little shacks and sure enough, nobody seemed to be around.
“This doesn't even look like a nice employee living space,” Mariana said. “The girl who checked us in made it seem like they have all these fun activities, but this is just downright depressing. I wouldn't want to stay here.”
“Something about it doesn't feel right,” said TS. “That's for sure.”
We went up to the closest cabin and tried the door; it was unlocked. I probably could have unlocked it with a spell, but I was glad that I wouldn't have to have to, just in case it left some sort of a trace. With a wary glance around us, TS went inside and Mariana and I followed.
The inside was just as stark as the outside. There was nothing but an uncomfortable looking bed, a cheap-looking dresser, and a small bookshelf. A composting toilet was tucked in an alcove behind a curtain, with a showerhead jutting out of the wall nearby.
“There’s no way guests are supposed to stay here,” Mariana said. “Nobody would reserve these when they can stay in a hotel room like ours.”
“I’d hate to stay here even as an employee,” I said.
“Potions,” TS said suddenly. He crouched down by the bookshelf. “Wish I could smell worth a damn,” he muttered. “These sure look like potions though…”
I knelt nex
t to him to examine the contents of the shelf. It was full of glass jars of different sizes, all with different leaves and powders stuffed into them.
I supposed they could have been for something else, but I wasn’t sure what and they certainly looked like the potions ingredients I had seen.
“Well, someone is staying here,” Mariana said, sliding a drawer shut. “It’s full of clothes. What is…” She slipped around us and crossed the small room to pull something down off the door. She held it up with a frown. It was a black hooded cloak.
“That’s not tropical island wear,” TS said grimly.
“People don’t actually wear those, do they?” I asked skeptically. After several years as a witch, I had yet to see anyone wear anything I’d consider unusual. The only real exception was that Mariana and most other mermaids I met preferred to wear skirts, but even then they wore normal-looking skirts.
“Not for centuries,” TS said. “Of course, seeing as these blood casters seem to be part of some ancient cult, I wouldn’t really be surprised if they still wear them.” He stood and looked around. “Let’s get to another one.”
We carefully looked out to make sure the clearing was still empty, then hurried out to the next cabin. This one was totally empty - no potions, no clothes. Nothing.
“They’re safe in the hotel,” announced TS with satisfaction.
“Good,” I said in relief. I pushed myself to my feet after making sure there was nothing under the bed. “Nothing there.”
“Nothing in here either.” Mariana tried to close a drawer, but it was stuck. She shoved it a little harder; it groaned and squeaked, then thudded closed.
“Is someone there?” called a woman’s voice.
The three of us spun in alarm. TS grabbed me by the shoulder and yanked me down so I couldn’t be seen from the window.
“Hello?” the voice called.
We looked at each other, eyes wide with fear. If this was a blood witch…
“I heard you, come out!” the voice demanded.
“I’ll go,” I whispered, starting to stand.
TS caught my wrist and shook his head.
“She’ll find all of us if I don’t. I’m a witch, I’m the only one who’s supposed to be here!” I hissed.
Mariana rolled under the bed and TS backed up behind the curtain, both watching me nervously. I flashed what I hoped was a confident smile, then opened the door.
There, standing not far from the shack, was a woman in a black cloak!
“What are you doing here?” she demanded, snapping out a wand at me. A witch. But was she a blood witch?
“What are you doing here?” I echoed, unable to think of anything better. I yanked out my own wand and aimed it at her.
Her demeanor changed almost instantly and she lowered her wand with an almost embarrassed smile. “I’m sorry, I thought you were a non-magic.”
“Oh, I, uh…” I trailed off, unsure of what to say. I obviously couldn’t say I thought the same thing, not when she had her wand out first.
I was saved when her eyes widened with recognition. “Oh! You must be Donna.”
For a moment, I just gaped at her. If she knew that name, she must have been a blood witch, but was I so lucky that I had come across one who didn’t know what Donna looked like?!
“Y-yes,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Yes, I am. And you are…?”
“Taylor.” Her eyes narrowed. “Mistress Alaria thought you were arriving yesterday. She’s not going to be very happy with you.”
Alaria! I forced myself to maintain a neutral expression at the name, frantically thinking of how to respond. “I was… delayed,” I said. “I have uh… interesting information that will please her.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth I winced inwardly; what a stupid thing to say.
To my surprise, Taylor seemed to buy it. “We should get to the ritual then. It’s starting soon and even interesting information won’t save you from her wrath if you’re late.”
“I was changing,” I bluffed, gesturing slightly to the door behind me.
“The ferry arrived hours ago,” she said. “What have… oh, right. You get to use the labyrinth. I guess you just got here. Sorry, I’m not…” She trailed off and nodded, more to herself than to me. As she did, I noticed she looked as if she had been crying. Curiosity got the better of me and I took a couple of steps closer to her.
“Are you… okay?” I asked nervously.
“Fine!” she snapped, quickly wiping one eye with the sleeve of her cloak. “I’m fine!”
I wondered what would make a blood witch cry. “Do you want to talk about it?” I offered, hoping that not all of them were as cruel as Fletcher was.
She looked surprised and I swallowed nervously, praying I hadn’t messed up. “It’s just…” she began. “A new initiate arrived earlier, on the ferry, and he had a jackal and…” Taylor cleared her throat and straightened her shoulders. “We’re not supposed to talk about it, you know that.”
I had so many questions, none of which I could actually ask. Did she mean they weren’t supposed to talk about familiars?! Why would someone with a jackal make her cry? Then there was the word initiate… didn’t Fletcher say he was initiated? Is that what was happening here?
“I know,” I bluffed. “That doesn’t mean we don’t. Talk about it, that is. Sometimes it… helps to get it off your chest.” Surely that was true, even for blood casters.
She actually smiled a little, even as I could swear I saw tears in her eyes. “When were you initiated?”
I frantically thought of a number. Fletcher had taken his “vacation” four years ago, right? “Four years ago?”
“Ah.” She nodded, seemingly accepting it. “My initiation was five months ago. I thought I was okay but… well, the jackal today was the first familiar I’ve seen and…” Taylor paused and took a deep breath. “I had a jackal too. I didn’t expect to get so emotional… and knowing he’s doing his initiation as we speak… that it’s probably already over I just…” She shrugged and forced another smile.
“I understand,” I offered. Oh my god, they were killing their familiars. This was horrible!
“I thought it was a test,” Taylor blurted. “You know? I thought it was just a test of my loyalty to Alaria. I didn’t think it… that it was really…” She paused and wiped at her eyes again. “Anyway it’s… it’s worth it… the power. Right?”
“Yeah,” I said, trying to sound confident. “Totally worth it.”
“And it gets easier?”
I nodded.
Taylor sighed. “I’m sorry. Please don’t tell Mistress Alaria.”
“I won’t,” I said. With a start, I saw a way out! “Why don’t you go on ahead to the ritual? You could probably use a couple of minutes alone and I don’t want you to be late because of me. I need to… prepare a couple of things for Mistress Alaria.”
“Okay. Thank you, Donna.”
“You’re welcome?”
With a nod and a swish of her cloak, Taylor started away, heading in the direction of the scent Thomas had been following.
As soon as she was out of sight I rushed back into the shack where I was met by a pair of stunned faces.
“They are killing familiars!” Mariana gasped.
“If I heard that correctly,” TS said grimly, “the jackal is already dead and Alaria is here. Right now.”
“Yeah,” I said. Now that Taylor was gone, I could feel myself shaking.
“What do we do?” whispered Mariana.
“I hate to say it,” said TS, “but I think we have to try and follow her. We still hardly know anything about blood magic. We don’t know how many are here and we don’t even know what Alaria looks like. This might be our only chance to get some information. Once the sun sets, I have to go back and I won’t leave you two here alone… but if we don’t go now…”
Mariana and I nodded nervously. The three of us hurried out of the shack and headed in the direction Taylor had gone, going toward Ala
ria and some sort of blood caster ritual.
Chapter Four
TS
I wasn’t sure what was harder, trying to conceal how anxious I was from Jen and Mariana or trying to block Tom so he wouldn’t sense it. The truth was though, that I was completely out of my element and quite unsettled by it. It was frustrating as well; being the first one to go into an unknown, potentially dangerous situation was literally in my job description. Yet, I had never done it in broad daylight when I was stuck as a fecking human.
If something happened the best I’d be able to do was physically block a spell – two if I was lucky – and hope it was enough for Jen and Mariana to get somewhere safe. It didn’t help matters that I couldn’t hear or smell a bloody thing.
All at once I spotted something beyond the trees and stopped in my tracks, flinging out my arms in front of my packmates. Even more cautiously now, we inched closer, then all gasped as we got a better view.
We had reached the far end of the island. The trees opened into a flat cliff, overlooking the ocean and there, right in the middle, was a large stone alter, identical to the one in the cavern with Fletcher. Unlike the cavern, the area was far from abandoned; I quickly counted ten blood casters, shrouded in black cloaks.
Eight of them were standing in a semi-circle with their backs to us. The other two were standing opposite them, on the other side of the alter. Unlike the rest of them, they both had their hoods pulled back.
My eyes locked onto one of the two and I couldn’t look away; she had pale skin and was breathtakingly, impossibly gorgeous. No, that wasn’t quite it. Something about her beauty bothered me… She was too beautiful. It wasn’t right. Her long hair, as dark as her cloak, lashed around her in the wind. In spite of her unsettling attractiveness, she sent shivers up my spine.
“That has to be Alaria,” Jen whispered. “She’s…” Jen cleared her throat awkwardly. “I mean she looks…”
“She’s a siren!” Mariana gasped.
That explained it. I took another look, trying to see beyond what I now knew was a siren’s aura. Yes, she was certainly more frightening than beautiful.
Rise of the Arcanist Series: Books 1 - 6 Page 33