“How is it you know how to kill an arcanist, but Alaria doesn’t? I’m also still not entirely sure why we should trust you,” said Jen.
“I did say I would tell you everything,” Serana said. She waved a hand toward the other couch. “We might as well start now. The sooner I get this over with the sooner you can go take care of my sister.”
Nobody moved. She waited a moment to see if anyone would actually sit on the couch and when nobody did, she continued unconcerned, “Before Dewinnos, the first arcanist, was killed he wrote down the secrets of arcanism in several volumes; each one was written in different complicated codes, which could only be deciphered if you had all of the others. He distributed them among his descendants and his most trusted disciples so that in the event of his death, he could pass on the secrets, but only to those determined and those worthy enough to collect every book.
“As you know, he was indeed killed before he could pass on his secrets. It has taken centuries upon centuries to gather and decipher what he left behind. But without his influence and vision, the descendants of the people he entrusted the books to vied to possess them alone, rather than bring them all together as a group. If they had, I suspect an arcanist would have risen long before now. Instead, they fought; the winners walked away with a new addition to their collection, while the losers…” She smiled and her fangs seemed to glint in the dim light. “Didn't walk away at all. My own parents were killed in such a fight. But it was worth it in the end because when my sister and I emerged from the dust we had at last collected every single book. Alaria and I are the last living descendants of Dewinnos,” she announced.
I shifted my weight nervously and exchanged a glance with the others.
Serana seemed amused by our reactions. “Now, Alaria is cunning,” she said after a moment, “but lacks patience. When you combine it with her furie-like temper and unquenchable thirst for revenge… Well, it presents a great weakness indeed. You would do well to remember that.” Serana paused again and looked hard at Jen. “If you make her angry, her wrath is swift and violent; she will make sure you suffer. But it also makes her irrational and prone to mistakes. Anger her and you may die a painful death… or you may find a way through her defenses.”
Jen swallowed nervously and I shifted my weight uncomfortably. I regretted remaining standing but didn’t want to seem weak by sitting now.
“As you were already on Mystic Cay,” Serana continued, “you've seen it firsthand. She was so enraged, so insulted, that a witch dared to set foot on her island without permission that she sank the whole damn thing. She looked for you, yes, but as soon as her patience ran out, she decided that destroying everything she had worked for just to kill you was more important than slowing down and trying to find you properly. I suppose you have already made her angry and escaped with your life…” She chuckled darkly, as if the idea amused her. “In light of my sister’s personality, I elected to decode our ancestor’s work myself. I knew that if Alaria lost her patience with the difficult puzzle that Dewinnos left behind, she would likely destroy it out of rage and the secret to arcanism would be lost forever. She doesn't care to dedicate her time to such things, so she was perfectly happy to allow me to do her dirty work. That means that I alone have read everything Dewinnos wrote about arcanism. It was within those books I discovered that he also discovered how to kill an arcanist… information I have never shared with my sister. That is why I know how to do it and why she will not realize it until it is too late.”
“You still haven’t told us why you’re willing to help us kill your sister,” Jen said after it became clear Serana wasn’t going to say anything else.
Serana studied Jen for a moment, silently; the only sounds were a few of us nervously shuffling in place. At last, she heaved a sigh.
“Dewinnos had a plan,” Serana said. I frowned; this didn’t seem like an answer to Jen’s question. “He did not see himself as the only arcanist, no, he knew he would be a target and was aware that even an arcanist can be outnumbered and overpowered, with enough bodies thrown at them. He also recognized how impossible it would be to truly control the entire world alone, so he envisioned a dynasty. His descendants, his family, his disciples: all of them arcanists. If it took more than one hundred magics to kill a single arcanist, just imagine if there had been two or three that day… His only mistake was that he became an arcanist alone to test his theories and did not immediately share his power. He could very well be alive today if he had. Nevertheless, that was his vision, a vision shared by most of his descendants.
“As the time to cast the first spells drew near, I realized Alaria did not share that vision. She spoke of a world in which our disciples were merely powerful blood casters as we, the only remaining descendants, were the only ones she felt deserved the power of arcanism. I did not try to argue; there is no swaying Alaria once she has made up her mind. And yet, I did not see…” Serana paused for a moment and then murmured bitterly, “I was a fool.”
Jen made a small sound like she was going to ask something but fell silent.
“We were sacrificing a vampire one night,” Serana continued. “Not for arcanism, merely to restore our blood magic. Something went wrong. The vampire escaped and attacked us. I was turned and I was devastated. I grew up learning blood magic, even as I learned the regular magic most witches and wizards rely on. I do not remember how old I was when I made my first sacrifice. Alaria and I grew up moving from place to place, always seeking the works of Dewinnos, determined to decode them, driven to find the rest… My whole purpose in life was to become an arcanist. When our parents died, I held on to that purpose and somehow felt as though becoming an arcanist would make their deaths worthwhile… As a vampire, I lost not only the ability to ever become an arcanist, but now all magic is impossible for me. I have not missed the irony that I can no longer use blood magic but am instead cursed to be a creature created by it.
“For many years, I continued to help my sister; I felt that even though I could no longer become an arcanist I could still help her. Alaria claimed that she wanted me to remain by her side, that there would be a place for me in the new world she would create with her power. And I, fool that I was, believed her.” Serana took a deep breath and her fangs extended fully. “It was her!” she snarled with rage.
Before anyone could react to her sudden outburst, she composed herself and continued calmly. “It was no accident the vampire turned me that night. It was orchestrated by Alaria. She could not kill me for I was, and remain, the only one able to read our ancestor’s writings. But she would not share the power of arcanism with anyone, not even me. Turning me was her answer; the only way she could assure that I remained alive to serve her, but unable to match her power.”
She fell silent and we all glanced at each other wordlessly. Well, that was a good enough reason to want her own sister dead.
“I don't know why it took me so long to see it…” Serana took a deep breath. “In the time before I was turned, we had already created the minotaur and were beginning work on Mystic Cay. Of course, we also had our ancestral home, which is—”
“Wait,” I blurted. “What do you mean you created the minotaur?!”
She looked at me almost condescendingly. “Didn't you realize,” she sneered, “minotaurs are a construct of blood magic?”
I swallowed nervously and shook my head. Here, I had been acting like some sort of minotaur expert as I helped guide everyone through the labyrinth and I hadn't even known, or suspected, they were made with blood magic. It was a miracle I had helped get us out at all. Ember shot me a grin, likely knowing how I was feeling.
“Okay, well, a labyrinth has seven doorways,” I said trying to redeem myself somewhat. “Where are they all?”
Serana seemed slightly irritated by the question. “We know two were on Mystic Cay,” Jen added. “And another in Allegany State Park.”
“Two,” Serana corrected haughtily. “As well as two in our ancestral home.”
�
�Why two in each place?” Jen asked.
“Because each location required a doorway that our disciples could use to travel and a second doorway, known only to a few, next to the alters.”
“Why next to the alters?” I asked, thinking of the one we used to escape Mystic Cay.
Serana let out one of her eerie laughs. “Because that’s how we sacrifice the familiars.” She shot a look over to the raven on the couch; Turner angled his body slightly, as if ready to put himself between the vampire and his familiar. Serana smiled sweetly at him and returned her attention to us. “The witch or wizard sacrificing their familiar are told a fake spell to use. They believe it is a special blood magic spell that will prevent them from dying when their familiar does, in reality it knocks them unconscious for a few moments. We quickly pull the familiar into the labyrinth and kill them while the bond is weakened, then we return them to the altar and the witch or wizard believes they are responsible.”
“That's…” Jen started. Rak brushed against her leg, she shifted her weight against him in return, looking like she was going to be sick.
“But they all think they killed their own familiars?!” Ember blurted.
“They were willing to do so,” Serana said flatly. “What difference does it make?”
“You must have known, when you did it,” Jen said through clenched teeth. “Did you and Alaria just murder each other’s then?”
Serna snorted. “I never had a familiar.”
We all exchanged a look of surprise.
“Never?” Jen asked.
Serana shrugged. “Our family has always viewed familiars as a weakness. What good is aspiring to become the most powerful magic in the world, when even a non-magic could kill your familiar and thus you?” She shook her head disdainfully.
“If you had a familiar,” Turner said softly, “you'd understand.”
“Perhaps,” Serana said dismissively. “Then again, the number of blood casters willing to sacrifice theirs says otherwise.”
Jen wrinkled her nose but said nothing.
“You made me lose my train of thought,” Serana said in annoyance.
She sat in silence for a moment and Ember offered timidly, “You were explaining how all of the altars have a labyrinth entrance?”
“Yes,” Serana said. “I was.”
Jen gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth.
“What?” Serana snapped.
“You said there were two doorways in the park!” Jen cried, eyes wide. “We found a cavern with an alter there! Is that where the other doorway was?!”
“Yes,” Serana said, clearly waiting for Jen to go on.
“Is that bad?” Ember asked. “The cavern was destroyed.”
“By Fletcher!” Jen said. “And when he brought it down he was standing near the altar! Could… could he have escaped?!”
We all turned to Serana for an answer. I could feel my heart pounding.
Serana shrugged one shoulder. “I don't keep up with the names of all of my sister's disciples.”
Turner cleared his throat and I quickly turned my gaze to him. “If Morgan survived, I haven’t heard about it. Although I didn’t know about the doorways by the alters…”
“You never finished your time at Mystic Cay,” Serana said.
“Did Fletcher?” Shannon demanded.
“Yes,” said Turner. “He boasted that Alaria liked him… that she put him in charge of overseeing the cavern in the park.”
“Then he likely would have known about the doorway,” Serana said. “With blood casters it is always safer to assume they are alive, unless you have seen the body for yourself.”
I looked at the others and saw my own horror mirrored on their faces. What if Fletcher had survived?!
Serana seemed to notice our alarm and said dismissively, “One blood wizard is inconsequential when we're talking about dealing with my sister.”
Having seen blood casters in action, they didn't seem very inconsequential to me, but I nodded agreeably.
“Now,” Serana snapped, “No more interruptions. By the time I was turned we were already using Mystic Cay and the park quite effectively to collect sacrifices. Our sources inside MES made sure nobody got too suspicious and if anyone did, we slowed down our operation in one location and focused on the other. Hikers get lost all the time… as for the island, we had it set up so visitors paid after leaving. It was simple to identify the loners and take them without leaving evidence behind.” She took a deep breath. “We also had two doorways in our ancestral home, as I said, but we couldn’t figure out how to use the site to our advantage. After I was turned, I naively believed my sister still wanted me for more than just my knowledge of the code Dewinnos left. As a vampire, I could not set foot on much of Mystic Cay, so I returned here.”
“What about—” Ember started, Serana shot her a glare and she fell silent.
“Eventually, I heard about Reave and Victor’s little club.” Serana rolled her eyes as she spoke. “I thought nothing of it, until I realized how it could be turned to our advantage. Several of their members were very keen to steer clear of MES. It made them the perfect candidates for sacrifices…”
We listen in horror as she explained how she had manipulated Victor and Reave, encouraging fights and other behavior that slowly changed the dynamics of the group until it was made up almost entirely of the sort of people Alaria would be able to sacrifice without MES catching on. Then, preying on the fact they were in debt, she convinced Victor and Reave to move everything to a remote island castle which she claimed had been built by Dewinnos himself. I realized in horror that she was referring to the same castle where Dani and the others were trapped!
“Once we settled down, we brought in blood casters, Alaria included, who we claimed wanted to be turned. I convinced Victor and Reave to allow them to remain, under the conditions they prove their loyalty by serving us and giving up their wands; Alaria and I then had the perfect spies in place, proving their loyalty to us and making sure things stayed under control.”
“Except they still have their wands,” Ember said.
“Of course.”
I thought of Dani’s message and swallowed hard; I could feel myself trembling. Dani and the others knew the witches and wizards still had wands and sounded like they were being careful, but they had no idea what danger they were in.
“From what I hear it’s all still going smoothly, they continue to hold their weekly fights,” Serana added.
“Fights?” Jen asked.
“Yes, fights.” Serana smiled, exposing the tips of her fangs. “To the death, on occasion.”
I wasn’t the only one who cried out, “What?!”
Over the last few months TS had said he got the vague feeling Thomas was fighting, but I never imagined… I wondered if a fight was the reason TS had felt a stronger emotion a few weeks ago.
“Why?” Ember cried. “What’s the point of keeping them there for Alaria to kill if they’re killing each other? Why do they even fight?!”
“They are forced to fight,” Serana said. “I talked Victor into arranging them; he believes the fights are designed to determine the strongest among them, so they can serve as the leaders of his stupid army. The fool has no idea what the fights are really for, instead he is doing Alaria’s work for her.”
“What are the fights really for then?” asked Jen nervously.
“To determine the strongest,” Serana said. Her lips spread into a sinister grin. “So that my sister can experiment and see if sacrificing the strongest makes a difference in the power granted to an arcanist.”
“Then, assuming they don't get killed fighting,” Jen said in growing horror. “The ones who survive will all get sacrificed when it's done?”
“Precisely.”
“When…” Ember began. “How… how long do we have before…”
“My sister has not yet entered that phase of the plan. I believe the loss of Mystic Cay slowed her down,” Serana answered. “Although you prob
ably don't want to take too long.” She let out a dark laugh. “However, it is quite optimistic of you to assume that your friends will survive long enough to be considered worthy of being sacrifices.”
“How do we get into the castle then?” Jen asked. “If everyone there is going to be murdered sooner or later, then we need to get in now!”
“You're getting ahead of yourself,” Serana said.
“Wait!” Ember cried. “You said there were labyrinth doorways connected to your family's ancestral home! That's the castle, isn't it?! Can't we just go into the labyrinth and—”
“No!” Serana said sharply.
Ember’s eyes darkened and she bit her tongue, unwilling to further anger the only woman who could help us.
“You are correct,” Serana said, “there are two doorways there. That's how the blood casters travel to and from the castle. Victor and some of his closest assistants believe it is some sort of magical doorway and are unaware of its true nature.”
“That’s why we couldn’t find the bus!” Shannon gasped. “You only told us about six doorways. The seventh is in that campground, isn’t it?”
Serana laughed gleefully. “Oh, you made it all the way to the campground! Maybe you do have a chance of success… Nevertheless, the only way you will be able to enter the castle through the labyrinth is if you are permitted to be there.”
“The minotaur might let us through, he did once before,” Jen pointed out.
“And then what?” asked Serana. “The blood casters there all know one another. You would be discovered long before you get the chance to stop my sister. With any luck she would kill you outright and not find out about me.” Jen wrinkled her nose but said nothing. “No,” Serana continued. “There is another way in… Now, are you going to keep interrupting or do you want to hear this?”
“We want to hear it,” Jen said meekly.
Serana nodded in satisfaction. “With the destruction of Mystic Cay, Alaria has turned all of her attention to the castle. A couple of years after we established it I, at last, became suspicious. It took some doing, but I confirmed that Alaria was indeed the reason I was turned.” She paused and a dark cloud seemed to settle over her face, before her expression twisted into a sinister grin. “Ever since, I have been working against her. It took a few months of manipulation and cunning, and even some potions, but I convinced Victor that he was in love with me, even while making him think I was in love with Reave. Alaria had already positioned herself as Reave’s personal witch and Reave believes they are very much in love. Naturally, this presented a problem for Victor.”
Rise of the Arcanist Series: Books 1 - 6 Page 59