“Even if that were the only way, you couldn’t go, you’re human,” Turner reminded her.
“Then, I’ll find someone to turn me!”
Everyone, even Rak, gasped at Jen’s declaration and turned to stare at her.
“Turn you? You mean turn you into a vampire?” Turner cried.
“If that’s the only way to save them, yes,” Jen said without hesitating. “I love Thomas. In fact, I love all of them, they’re like my brothers. I would do anything to save them, even become a vampire.”
Turner sighed and studied her.
“You know a way in,” I said softly.
“Not… exactly,” Turner replied.
Wait, this doesn't make any sense,” Mariana said suddenly. “Why is he here in Reave’s barn? How does he supposedly know so much about the castle?”
Jen looked back at Turner, brows furrowed in thought. I quickly realized what Mariana meant – Turner was a blood wizard; why was he here in a barn associated with the so-called vampire army? Mariana was right, it didn't make sense.
“Well?” Jen asked him. “What are you doing here?”
Turner exchanged a look with the raven, then sighed. “Not long after TS called me there was…” He laughed suddenly. “No, no not a coincidence. I was wrong; it wasn’t a friendly call, was it?” Nobody answered him, but he seemed confident he had it figured out. “Have you… do you know anything about blood magic?”
“We know you’re a blood wizard,” Ember said. “And that Fletcher was too.”
Turner let out a dark laugh. “You know more than I thought.” He paused, considering it. “There was a cave in Allegany State Park, a group of blood casters was using it for rituals…”
“Sacrifices,” Ember spat.
The blood wizard inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement. “It was destroyed by… Damn…” He heaved a sigh and chuckled weakly. “That’s in MES Buffalo territory, isn’t it? It was them…”
“Technically, it was Fletcher,” Jen said. “He ran out of blood magic and tried to cave it in on us.”
“You were there?” Turner asked in surprise.
Jen winced, but then nodded.
“Well, you’ll be glad to know that nobody is certain who was responsible for discovering the cave. Since I was in close contact with Fletcher, I was told to lie low for a while. At first I just stayed at home but after Mys…” He trailed off.
“Mystic Cay?” prompted Mariana.
“You know it?” Turner asked. “You really have been thorough in your investigation. I had no idea MES was this close… she’ll be furious…”
“She?” Jen asked.
The blood wizard cleared his throat.
“Alaria,” said Jen softly.
Turner sucked in a sharp breath, then nodded once. “So, you know of her too.”
“You were explaining why you’re here,” Ember reminded him.
He pursed his lips grimly in response. “After Mystic Cay sank, it was suggested I go deeper into hiding, in case anyone was on my trail. This place is supposed to be secret. However did you find it?”
“I don’t think that’s information you need,” Jen said.
I expected Turner to argue, but he nodded agreeably instead, then shrugged. “I’ll be here until I’m told to go elsewhere.”
“Why here?” Mariana pressed. “How do you know about the castle?”
“Because it’s hers too,” Turner said.
Ember gasped and I could swear I felt a blast of heat from her direction. “Earlier… you said if they’re at the castle then she has them. You didn’t mean…”
“Alaria?” we cried together in horror.
Turner nodded.
“Do you mean Alaria is at the castle?” Jen demanded, eyes wide with fear.
“Alaria runs the castle,” Turner said.
“But… but the vampires…” Mariana stammered.
“She is cunning,” said Turner simply. “I assure you, the castle and everyone in it are hers.”
“Please,” Jen whispered. “Please help us.”
We all exchanged a terrified look. I thought things were bad before, but the others were trapped in a castle with Alaria and they didn’t even know it!
As much as I wanted to help them, this suddenly seemed daunting. The blood casters and Cavaliers were connected? How had we missed it? Then there was the fact Turner himself was one of them… Did he really want to help us?
“Can we trust him?” I asked. “He’s a blood wizard.”
“Please believe me when I say I truly want to help,” Turner said. “They were my co-workers and my friends.”
“That’s what Fletcher said,” Jen said. “Then he tried to kill us.”
Turner sighed. “I’m… different.”
I suddenly thought of his file, one of the dozens I had read a thousand times. “Your leave of absence was four months instead of six. Why?”
“Yeah,” Ember said. “That’s right. And according to… it looks like you left Mystic Cay after just two months.”
Turner looked down at the cushion next to him and I suddenly realized I had forgotten all about the raven.
“He still has a familiar,” gasped Jen.
Turner sighed. “I take it you know what… what happens there.” He reached down and set a hand on his raven.
“I thought I did,” Jen said, pointedly looking toward the familiar.
Turner sighed. “I never wanted to be a blood wizard… Fletcher sort of dragged me into it. But once you start…” He shook his head. “It’s… it’s very hard to use blood magic and then not want to use it again. When he told me about a chance to learn a new kind, to become even more powerful… Well, once I arrived on Mystic Cay I met Alaria and before I knew what was happening…” A pained look crossed his face and he looked down at his familiar. “I refused.”
“And Alaria didn’t kill you on the spot?” Jen said skeptically.
“Oh, she wanted to,” Turner said. “But I had something she wanted.”
“What?”
Turner blew out a long breath and looked down at his lap. “I… I work for MES. I offered to use my position there, in any way she asked, in exchange for Frel’s life… I’m not…” Turner glanced at his familiar, the raven raised her head and cawed softly to him. He reached down and Frel nibbled gently at his fingertips. “I’m not proud of what I have done. But I would do anything for Frel, even betray MES if I have to.” His fond smile turned grim. “And I promised myself that I would do anything in my power to stop Alaria if I can.”
“What are you doing for her?” Jen asked.
“Mainly what Fletcher did,” he confessed. “My office is in the region where Cavaliers is located. I try to take the lead on any investigations involving Cavaliers and cover them up when I can.”
“Why don’t you just tell MES what’s happening?” Ember asked. “If you’ve been helping Alaria for years…”
He shook his head. “She would know it was me. Even if she didn’t, she’d likely just kill all of her informants. Besides, I’m only alive as long as I’m useful. The moment she decides she doesn’t need me, she’ll kill me. I just hope that… somehow… she’ll be defeated before that happens.”
“So, will you help us or not?” Jen asked.
Turner considered it for a long, tense moment. At last, he sighed. “I can’t… but I might… know someone who can…” Turner said slowly. “I need to call her.”
“Why can she help, but you can’t?” Ember asked.
“She was a blood witch,” said Turner. “within Alaria’s inner circle. I never became a disciple, but she knows more about what Alaria has done than anyone.”
I caught Jen’s eye and could tell she was considering it. She arched a questioning brow at me and I shrugged. I was inclined to trust Turner. She looked at Ember and Mariana who both nodded, like they were on the same page as us.
“Okay…” Jen said slowly. “Call her.”
Turner pulled out his phone
and we all watched nervously as he dialed.
“Greyson,” a woman’s voice said coldly.
“I think I have someone who can help you,” he said. “I’m at the farm.”
“I’ll be there.”
He hung up. “She’ll be here soon.”
There was nothing to do but wait. A couple of times we tried to ask him more questions, but he assured us that the woman who was coming would answer.
At last, I heard the sound of someone outside. I could also hear the wind and realized the weather was getting bad – I wasn’t used to snowy New York weather yet.
“She’s here,” I said.
I wasn’t the only one who took up a defensive stance. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ember draw a throwing knife.
The door opened and a hooded figure hurried in out of the snow. She shoved the door closed quickly as snow blew in behind her. She shook it off her, then turned to face us and lowered her hood and fixed us with a critical look.
“This better not be a waste of my time, Greyson,” she snapped.
Jen gasped and Mariana let out a little shriek.
“You!” Mariana cried.
Jen raised her wand and backed up a step in horror. “It’s her!”
The woman seemed undeterred. She smirked at us and said with a chilling laugh, “Ah. I see you’ve had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting my dear sister.”
Chapter Five
Mariana
“Your… sister?” Jen gasped. “Alaria is your sister?!”
The woman who looked exactly like Alaria nodded, sinister smile plastered firmly in place. Well, I thought she looked just like Alaria; it was hard to say since I had only seen Alaria with her stolen siren powers, but the resemblance was uncanny. Their voices were the same too.
Alaria’s sister slowly crossed the barn toward us. I involuntarily took a step backward and saw the others do the same.
“She can’t be Alaria,” Shannon said suddenly. “She’s a vampire!”
The woman let out another lilting, bone-chilling laugh and I shuddered, remembering the sound of Alaria’s. “She’s right,” she purred, slowly extending her fangs as she advanced on us. “Now, let’s get down to business. You’re here because you want to kill my sister. I’m here because I want her dead.”
“You do?” Ember blurted.
The vampire laughed again. “I do.”
“Why?” Jen asked suspiciously.
“I am asking the questions. It is enough, for now, to say I want nothing more than her death. I cannot kill her myself; even if I could, she would never let me get close enough, which means I need someone else to do it for me.” She paused and studied us. “Do you know the truth of what she is?”
“An arcanist,” said Jen softly.
The vampire actually looked a little surprised we already knew. She nodded once. “Then if you truly wish her dead, it will interest you to know that I am the only person in the world who knows how to kill an arcanist. I will not give up this information lightly. If I tell you how to defeat her and if you fail, she will know it was me. You must convince me you are worth the risk.”
We all exchanged a look.
“Why do you want her dead?” the vampire asked. “Simply because she is an arcanist? Are you with MES? Is it revenge?” She strode to one of the empty couches and sat down, seemingly unconcerned that there were four of us to contend with “Tell me. Know that I have no interest in anything but the truth.”
After a few nervous glances, Jen cleared her throat. “We do work for MES…” The vampire nodded, seemingly unsurprised. Jen took a deep breath. “We were assigned to see if there was a connection between any of the magics who were going missing in Allegheny State Park. We… couldn't find a connection but while we were at it, we found a different group of magics were going missing from Cavaliers and during our investigation we found the farm and then…”
I didn't miss that Jen was deliberately omitting a lot of information and I hoped that she wouldn't be pressed for more details, but the vampire simply nodded and waited for Jen to continue.
“During our investigation, one of our… coworkers went missing. We followed his trail into the labyrinth.”
At last the woman looked vaguely interested. “Into?” she replied, arching a thin eyebrow.
“Yes.”
“And you escaped?”
“Sort of,” Jen said. “There was a blood witch there… the minotaur saw us fight her and told us that if we promised to kill Alaria, he'd let us go.”
Alaria’s sister smiled at that but said nothing else. Jen waited a beat and then went on. “And he let us out onto this island…”
We all jumped when the vampire burst out in a shriek of laughter. “It was you!” she said, looking positively delighted. “Wasn't it? You're the witch who came uninvited to Mystic Cay!”
“Yeah…” Jen said, obviously not sure if she should actually admit it.
Alaria’s sister laughed again. “Oh, Alaria is furious. She destroyed her entire island because of you.” Her laugh died as quickly as it had started and she scowled, casting a threatening look at Jen. I tightened my grip on my knife, knowing I had absolutely no chance against a vampire. “Decades of planning,” she said darkly. “Gone in an instant because my sister does not know the meaning of the word patience.” She took a deep breath as if grounding herself, then smiled again. “She thinks you're dead. But here you are.”
“Here we are,” Jen said weakly.
The vampire gestured for her to continue.
“We… we tried to find Alaria after we got back, but we couldn’t. We did get a lead in the Cavaliers investigation and found out they were having an interest meeting. So, we…” Jen hesitated and I realized that she couldn't continue without giving away the fact we already had people in the castle.
It didn't seem to matter; the vampire already had it figured out. “Oh,” she breathed. She laced her fingers together and leaned forward, studying Jen. “You know someone in the castle. The truth,” she added with a hiss when Jen bit her lip without answering.
“My boyfriend,” she admitted.
The vampire looked expectantly at Ember, who had started to speak before thinking better of it.
Ember swallowed nervously and at last murmured, “My dad.”
The vampire turned her chilling gaze to me.
Since Jen and Ember had both been somewhat vague, I decided to do the same. “My brother,” I told her. With any luck, she would assume I was talking about a mermaid, which helped protect Dani. Besides, he pretty much was my brother anyway.
The vampire smiled. “My, what a busy man.”
We all started to speak at once in response and then fell silent as she laughed.
“I told you,” she sneered, “I want the truth. I would have to be a fool not to see that you are trying not to give me too much information about the people already inside the castle… Be that as it may, I don't care to know. Unless you have one hundred allies inside, they don't stand a chance against my sister.
“One hundred?!” Ember blurted incredulously.
“It took one hundred magics to kill the first arcanist,” I said softly.
“Wrong,” the former blood witch snapped, looking at me sharply. “They say that it took one hundred magics to kill him, yes. But that number refers to the ones who survived. They never counted how many died trying.”
“So, you're saying it's impossible to kill her?” Jen asked.
“No. It can be done without an army, provided you know how… You have already escaped her once, that means you're either clever or lucky. Tell me, seeing as your little boyfriend and other… assorted loved ones are trapped there and the only way you will escape with them alive is to kill my sister… will you do it?”
Jen swallowed hard. “Yes.”
“So, how do we kill her?” asked Ember.
“You cannot.”
I sucked in a sharp breath of alarm.
The vampire pointed to Jen. �
�You must.”
“Me?” Jen repeated uncertainly.
“The only way to kill an arcanist is with a spell. It must be you. Alone.”
For a long moment we all stood there in stunned silence.
“I… but…” Jen stammered. “I’m… not very powerful.”
“It doesn't matter,” the vampire said dismissively. “It is not a question of overpowering or out-casting my sister. You simply need to know the spell and you need an opportunity to use it.”
“Where did you learn it?” Jen asked.
“I will tell you nothing,” Alaria’s sister said, “unless we have an agreement.”
“An agreement?” asked Jen.
“I will tell you everything you need to know to defeat an arcanist and I will tell you how to get into the castle. After that you're on your own. If you manage to rescue your friends and leave my sister alive, I will kill you myself. If at any point while I am instructing you, I feel that you will fail and risk exposing me I will stop and… depending on the circumstances…” She smiled and her fangs extended. As she spoke, she rose and took a few steps toward Jen. “Do we have an agreement? Unless you wish to walk away right now…”
Slowly, Jen nodded.
“Very well then…” The vampire extended her hand, then pulled it back almost disdainfully. “What was your name?”
“Jennifer…” She started to raise her hand and then paused. “I… uh, didn't catch your name either.”
“My name is Serana.” The vampire snapped out her hand and caught Jen’s in a handshake. “We have an arrangement, Jennifer.”
Serana released Jen’s hand, then turned and swept away. She sat back down on one of the couches, wordlessly watching us.
“So, how do you know how to kill her?” Ember asked.
“And what's to stop her from realizing I'm casting the spell and blocking it?” Jen asked.
“Because she doesn’t know it,” Serana said simply.
“She doesn't know the one spell that could kill her?” I asked skeptically.
Serana shot me a glare and I had a feeling she didn’t care what anyone except Jen had to say. Nevertheless, I squared my shoulders and tried to give her a look that said I wanted an answer.
Rise of the Arcanist Series: Books 1 - 6 Page 58