Rise of the Arcanist Series: Books 1 - 6

by Elizabeth Kirke

  “Adaira!” Ember cried in horror.

  Serana fixed her with a sharp look. “How do you know the name my sister is using?!”

  Ember turned bright red and clamped her hands over her mouth.

  Serana studied her for a moment, then shrugged dismissively. “I suppose it doesn’t matter. Regardless, my sister was working with Victor to make sure they had Reave where they wanted him. Reave was more…” She wrinkled her nose. “Peaceful. He never liked the fights to begin with and once we got to the castle he had no desire to expand operations. He thought it was perfect and wanted nothing more than to stay there and let it become a safe haven for vampires and other non-humans.” I could hear the scorn in her voice. “Alaria was forced to start using memory potions just to keep him from interfering. He doesn’t realize it, but he’s nothing but a figurehead now.”

  “Why keep him around then?” Jen asked. “That doesn’t sound like Alaria.”

  I nodded in agreement. I had seen Alaria attack one of her own blood casters just for daring to question her.

  “Because, at the moment, Reave is the only one who has the knowledge of how to alter the MES database. They need him whether they like it or not. I think, on some level, Reave realizes that, because he has refused to teach anyone. Not that it matters, the equipment they stole from MES is keyed to him, so he has to be there, alive, to use it.”

  “Does Victor know?” Shannon asked. “About Alaria?”

  “No,” Serana said. “He believes she is what she claims to be: a simple human who wants nothing more than to become a vampire and is madly in love with Reave. He truly believes her interest in his success is to secure her own future as a vampire. Which,” she narrowed her eyes at us, “brings us back to what I have been trying to say. When Victor believed I was in love with Reave, he took advantage of his relationship with my sister to confront her, expecting she would help take me out of the picture so she could have Reave to herself. It was,” Serana laughed, “exactly what I wanted.”

  I glanced at the others to see they were as puzzled as I was.

  “From the moment Alaria had me turned, she wanted me as far from her as possible to ensure that I wouldn't suspect anything, yet still needed me at hand with my understanding of the coded books. Unfortunately, with her feigned sympathy and my initial eagerness to continue helping, she didn't know how to get rid of me without being suspicious. Once I learned of her treachery, I knew that if I suggested leaving myself, without some sort of motivation, she would realize that I had figured it out. Victor’s orchestrated affections for me were the perfect opportunity. We could not afford to have trouble brewing between Reave and Victor, nor could anything threaten their dependence on Alaria. The only logical thing to do was to remove me from the castle. Since the last thing we needed was for Victor to follow me or anything stupid like that, we decided to fake my death.”

  Serana paused and chuckled darkly, obviously amused by her deception. I shifted my weight, hoping we could trust her when it was clear she had no problem manipulating people.

  “How did you do it?” Jen asked.

  “It tested the limits of Alaria’s patience, but we were able to maneuver Victor into a position where he confronted me about his feelings and my feelings, applied a couple of potions, and…” She shrugged. “When he awoke he had hazy memories and some physical evidence to suggest that he had killed me. Alaria told him that she had come upon the scene and he asked her to take care of it. He believed her, leaving me free to go about my life without Alaria’s suspicions or interference… when she doesn’t need me for something, that is.”

  “How did that work though, you two are identical,” I said. “I get mixed up with my sister all the time. They never thought that two sisters were working together?”

  Serana laughed. “I took a potion to alter my appearance when I first went to the farm. I continued to do so until I left; they never knew we were related at all.”

  “So, how did you two find each other?” Jen asked, nodding toward Turner.

  “As clever as my sister is, she does have her weaknesses. One of them is believing herself to be cleverer than me. She told me about him; how he refused to sacrifice his familiar and instead bargained for their lives.”

  Turner bowed his head a bit, likely still ashamed of the deal.

  “I sought him out myself.” Serana’s eyes narrowed as she fixed Turner with glare that sent a chill up my spine. “Initially, I hoped that he would be the one I could convince to deal with my sister. But he refused.”

  Turner hunched even farther in on himself. I swallowed nervously; I wasn't sure how she expected Jen to do whatever a MES agent didn't feel he could. The subject of Turner had come up a few times since we discovered his link to the blood casters, before Dani and the others had gone to Cavaliers. They all seemed to agree that he was a skilled agent and none of them were very surprised that he was proving so difficult to track. Although we certainly had never imagined he’d be right here, in a place we had already checked, albeit not for him.

  “What exactly is dealing with your sister going to entail?” Jen asked. “How am I supposed to do it?”

  “That is what we have to discuss next,” said Serana. “But first I must ask, now that you know what you're dealing with, if you are truly serious about this. If you fail your boyfriend and whoever else is there will be dead. You will be dead. My sister will live. And well, the entire world may just fall.”

  Jen swallowed nervously and my mouth felt dry.

  “Do you actually care about the fate of the world?” Ember said. “I thought you were just in this for revenge.”

  For a moment Serana looked irritated, then she chuckled. “In truth, I spent so long dedicating my life to becoming an arcanist… then so much time feeling lost after I was turned… longing for revenge against Alaira…” She looked thoughtful and then a smile unlike any of her previous ones crossed her face. “Without the thirst for blood magic driving me or the allure of arcanism, I find that I do somewhat enjoy this world. As long as my sister dies, honestly, I can't say I care if the world burns with her. However, I should much prefer to live in it without her. As for you,” she said abruptly, turning back to Jen. “How serious about this are you? Don't waste my time with false platitudes. I will not help you if you will not ensure that the threat of Alaria is dealt with. If you will not take this seriously…”

  “I don't think I have a choice,” Jen swallowed hard. “I'll do it. Whatever it is…” She cleared her throat nervously. “I'll do it.”

  Serana crossed one knee over the other and leaned back on the couch as if she was settling in for the long haul.

  “Very well.”

  Chapter Six

  Jen

  For a moment, Serana just sat there quietly. I watched her, hoping she couldn't tell how hard my heart was pounding. The twisting knot of anxiety that had been in my stomach for the last six months seemed even tighter. I knew ever since the night that Thomas and Dani didn't come back from Cavaliers that something terrible had happened. Even though, month after month, I tried to keep my hopes up there was a tiny part of me that was afraid they might never come back. Ever since we started working on a plan to rescue them, I had a sinking feeling it wasn't going to be easy. But I never imagined that Alaria herself was going to be involved.

  Finding her had seemed quite a bit less important than finding Thomas and the others, but I still hadn't forgotten that someday we were going to have to face the arcanist and still couldn't imagine how we could possibly do it. I always kind of hoped that maybe we would have been able to weed out the traitors within MES by the time we found her – that we could put together an actual army. Either way, I never imagined we'd do it without Thomas, and Dani, and TS, and Charlie. When Serana first started to speak I assumed I’d at least have Ember, and Mariana, and Shannon… now it was me.

  Just me; with barely five years of experience with magic against an arcanist.

  “Well?” I asked, breaking the s
ilence before the feeling like I was going to vomit grew worse. “How do I defeat her?”

  Serana considered it, as if she hadn't just spent the last hour leading up to the idea.

  “What do you know about arcanism?” she asked finally.

  I hesitated. “Not much…” Even though I tried not to think about it too often, I thought back to the night I saw Alaria sacrifice the air elemental. “I guess it's kind of like blood magic?”

  She nodded. “Arcanism is a form of blood magic. What do you know about blood magic?”

  “It’s powerful?” I offered weakly. “People who use it tend to keep using it. It involves murdering people…” I trailed off.

  “You only get so much and then you have to kill someone again,” Mariana said. I nodded at her in thanks.

  “That's how vampires were made,” Ember volunteered. “And berserkers and apparently minotaurs.”

  “And dhampirs, I assume,” Shannon added.

  “Yes, yes.” Serana said impatiently. “Those are all things that come from blood magic. I'm asking if you know how blood magic works.”

  We all exchanged a confused look.

  “You sacrifice someone and…” I shrugged.

  Serana heaved a sigh. “Well, I don't know how you expect to kill an arcanist if you don't even know how her magic works.”

  “Most people,” I said, feeling just a little bit defensive, “don’t even think Dewinnos was a real person. At least I actually believe in arcanism.”

  She seemed amused. Maybe. “Now, the first witches and wizards discovered and harnessed magic by experimenting with different components; materials to channel the magic, specific words to conjure it, phases of the moon, elements… The magic you use today is the result of these discoveries. As magic was perfected some of the more enterprising witches and wizards tried to strengthen their ability to use the elements or turn into animals, some of them turned to sacrifice. As you know, the unexpected results of these experiments resulted in the ancestors of the first non-humans.”

  I nodded along, but noticed Shannon’s look of surprise and realized she hadn’t taken any classes on magic history like I had. I made a mental note to tell her how magics evolved one day, when this was all behind us.

  “Eventually these same principals were applied to blood magic. If sacrificing a fire sprite leads to the ability to use fire without a wand, provided the right conditions at the time of the sacrifice are met, then what happens if you sacrifice a fire elemental?”

  I felt a flare of heat from Ember’s direction and glanced over at her. Even though her fists were clenched and her eyes were flaring, she looked like she was staying under control.

  Undeterred, Serana went on. “Like your magic, blood magic needs several specific things to work properly. You must have the correct wand, the right magic words, and, of course, a sacrifice. A blood caster’s wand is made of more than just wood. It contains a gem, of sorts, and an iron blade, concealed within the wood. While the blade itself is in the wood, with the right spell it will be as effective as any knife.”

  I thought of how Alaria had sliced open the air elemental’s throat on Mystic Cay and shuddered.

  “You speak the spell skal-ven-resh and draw your own blood.” Serana mimed cutting open her hand. “Say it.”

  “Say what?”

  “Skal-ven-resh. You must memorize the spell.”

  My stomach twisted and I stared at her, wordlessly for a moment. “Wh… why do I need to know a blood magic spell?”

  Serana huffed impatiently. “I told you that you can't get into the castle without permission, otherwise you will swiftly be discovered and killed.” I nodded slowly. “Seeing as you are a witch, the only way you will be able to get in without being suspected is as an initiate.”

  My mouth went dry. “You… that’s… you’re not suggesting…” I couldn’t finish.

  “No, I’m not suggesting you become a blood witch,” she said with a disdainful snort. Serana arched an eyebrow at me. “Even though you said you would do anything to rescue your precious boyfriend.”

  I bit back the angry retort that was forming and instead settled for glaring at her.

  “However,” she continued, “if you cannot at least convincingly pretend to be a blood witch then this entire evening has been a waste for both of us. You must pretend to be an initiate to be allowed into the castle. In order to do that, you will need a blood caster’s wand and you must know the spell. Say it.”

  “Skal…”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Skal-ven-resh.”

  I swallowed hard and repeated it in a whisper.

  “Then, you draw your own blood.’

  I nodded weakly.

  “Then you must say, skal-ven-resh, ayer-ven-resh.”

  I repeated it. The silence that fell when I was done seemed suffocating.

  She raised a hand and brought it down. “You stab the sacrifice. Not to kill, but to draw out their essence. Then, you speak the words again.” She gestured and I meekly muttered the spell again. Serana nodded in satisfaction, then slashed her hand through the air. “Chant once more and then, a fatal blow. The neck is most efficient. The death passes the essence from the wand to you; blood magic is yours to wield, until the effect wears off.”

  I nodded, silently swearing that I would never use the spell.

  “You will, of course, need the proper wand,” Serana added. “They will know if your wand does not contain the proper components, especially if you are expected to use blood magic.”

  “Where am I supposed to get one?” I asked, trying to ignore the terrible possibility. No way. I would not sacrifice anybody.

  “Procuring the wand is your problem not mine.”

  “But…” I started to protest as she held up a hand to stop me.

  “If you cannot even procure the necessary wand for the task, then this entire conversation has been for nothing. How on earth do you expect to take on an arcanist if you can't even collect the materials for a simple wand?”

  I hated to admit it, but she kind of had a point.

  “In addition,” she said, “to the iron blade portion your wand will also need to contain a special object which must be incorporated. This…” She smiled darkly. “will be quite a bit harder to obtain, I suspect, than an iron blade. Especially if you do not wish to sacrifice anyone…”

  “What is it?” I asked nervously.

  “It is a stone forged by blood magic, using the blood of a sacrifice.”

  My jaw dropped and I gasped.

  “What?” she snapped. “Another opposition to blood magic?”

  “I have one,” I said, stunned.

  “You have one what?”

  “The stone…” My heart was pounding. “Fletcher… the blood wizard… He told me I’d make a good blood witch,” I stammered. “He said if I wanted to be one that I need to go to Mystic Cay and tell them he sent me. He… he gave me a little rock…” I could hardly believe it. Could it be the stone she was talking about?

  “Describe it.” Serana leaned toward me, eyes wide.

  “It’s little, sort of shaped like a tear and red. Blood red.”

  She burst into laughter. “You do have one!” she cried gleefully. “Incredible!”

  “What do I do with it?”

  “You must drop it into molten iron, before it is turned into the blade I mentioned. Then, you will incorporate them into your wand, as if they were another type of wood. You have done that before?”

  I nodded.

  “Good. Do that. You will use the same process for the iron blade. And then, you will possess a working blood caster’s wand.”

  I glanced down at my wand and swallowed nervously. I knew in the life of an immortal that having a wand for five years was hardly a blink. Yet, I had a special attachment to this wand. It wasn’t my first, but it was sentimental and I hated the idea of perverting it with the stone from Fletcher.

  “It doesn't have to be your wand,” she said reluctantly, noticing my reacti
on. “You can get another, just as long as it works well enough for you to convince them that it is your real wand.”

  Well, that was good at least.

  “But,” Serana added, instantly making the situation worse again, “you will need to give up your wand while you are in the castle. You can't risk them finding you have a second.”

  “Yeah,” I said reluctantly. Unfortunately, that made sense too.

  “Now,” she went on. “With the correct wand and the spell I have just taught you, a blood caster can sacrifice anyone and then gain blood magic. Dewinnos theorized that with further modification, that blood magic could be turned from simply taking the essence of a sacrifice to actually taking their magical abilities. He worked tirelessly for centuries and eventually developed the basics of arcanism, which my sister continues to experiment with.”

  “I thought it was all figured out,” I said, surprised. I had seen Alaria kill the air elemental and then use his magic.

  “It is still a work in progress,” Serana said. “One of the reasons she is using the fights at the castle to find the strongest magics is because she has determined that there are different results in what power she is given, depending on the conditions at the time of the sacrifice. She gets particularly good results,” Alaria smiled darkly, “through torture.”

  A chill went up my spine and I swallowed hard.

  Serana took a deep breath. “Now, I told you that you will need a blood caster’s wand in order to fit in.” I nodded reluctantly. “That is not entirely true; you need an arcanist’s wand.”