by CY Jones
Catching the door before it closes behind her, I step inside my father’s cavernous study. As a boy, I wasn’t allowed in here. This is where Father schemes and conducts his diabolical plans. There’s a safe room built under the floors as well as a secret passage leading out to the forested area behind the house, ideal if he ever needed to escape in a hurry. Of course, he never told me these things or anyone in this household. It’s just one of his many precious secrets he lords over like a dragon does its treasure.
I was always curious as a child, and when I came home for the holidays from school, I would go exploring around the mansion. When I was eight, I found blueprints of the house stored in an old box in the attic and discovered the new finds for myself. Everytime I knew my father would be gone long, I would sneak into his office through the secret entranceway in the forest and discover his misdeeds for myself. Even at eight, his wards were easy for me to break, mostly due to his pride. The front door to his study is heavily spelled with a shitload of nasty curses, the secret door leading inside? Not so much. In fact, he doesn’t even have a locking spell on it because he’s that confident no one will discover it, and if he were running for his life, it would take precious life-saving time to lower them.
The heavily spelled door is the main reason why I did not let it close behind my father's guest. To open it, he himself had to disengage the curses, which means I could walk through freely without the door reading me. So far, I’m at a lucky start. The door was one of the many challenges I was worried about on the plane ride over here.
Sitting behind his desk like he owns the world is my father and just like the whore that left, I’m just as disgusted to see him as I was her. I’ve always hated that we looked alike. I’m sure when I was born, there was no doubt that I was his son. I got my auburn hair from him and behind his glasses, our eyes are the same shade. We even have the same shaped nose and facial structure. Despite his age, thanks to the power from our bloodline, he still looks young, maybe in his late twenties when he’s actually almost fifty. Our only difference is that he gives off an air of cunning deceitfulness while I’m just angry. I hate him with every fiber of my being, more so since my sister died. She was the only good in this wretched family.
“Boy, what are you doing here?” he asks with steel in his voice as soon as he looks up to see me standing there. I realized I’m clenching and unclenching my fists held stiffly at my sides as I stare at him with loathing and pure unfiltered hate. Taking a deep breath, I hold steady, remembering why I’m here and put on the mask of indifference I wear so well.
“I was in the neighborhood,” I answer in a bored tone.
“Why? Hasn’t the war already started? Don’t tell me your Champion has already been defeated and you’re here seeking shelter?” His tone tells me just how disgusted he’d be if that were the case. He should know he’d be the last person I’d seek out for help. I wouldn’t be here now if I didn’t know I would find the answers I needed.
“Hardly, Father,” I sneer the title. “I’m not weak. Saber is a fine warrior and combined with my power, we’re an unstoppable force.” I purposely let it slip that I drew the most powerful warrior, just in case he gets any ideas and mistakes my visit here as some kind of weakness. His calm demeanor does not fool me. Besides the powers of the phoenix, he can shatter people’s minds. He’s always looking for a way into someone’s head, so he can wreck them from the inside, learn all their secrets, and leave them damaged, or in the best of cases, dead.
“If not that, then why are you here?” He’s agitated. He hates not knowing something, and me just showing up out of the blue during a war has him on edge, especially now since he knows I have drawn a powerful warrior who will not let anything happen to me. It doesn’t matter that he doesn’t know she’s not actually here with me.
“I was in the neighborhood doing research. You out of all people should know you can never know too much with these things. Didn’t you teach me, it’s better to be prepared than dead because of ignorance? You know I formed an alliance with the other heirs. They are well qualified to take care of things while I’m away.”
He’s interested. I can tell with the way he’s holding himself. To test me or maybe it’s just him being his conniving self, I don’t know. I nearly miss a spark of magic in the air and I reinforce my shield around myself before his power washes over me, looking for holes in my armor. When he doesn’t find any, he looks a little put out and I almost laugh. Did he really think I’d make it that easy?
“What can you possibly be researching that you can’t find at the academy? The enchanted library has every book ever written on the Mage Wars, not to mention the knowledge of the professors.”
“Careful, Father,” I sneer. “You almost sound concerned. You know as well as I do that the good stuff worth knowing isn’t written in any book, and no mage worth learning anything from would easily give away information.”
“What exactly are you searching for? Maybe I can help. You are my only heir after all.”
I can tell by his tone he hates that. I’m not a chip off the old block, so he despises me. He can’t scare me to do his bidding or make me fall in line, so I’m nothing to him but a liability, but since my sister’s death, I am his only heir. Mother refuses to lay with him, and even if she did, I long suspected she’s done something to herself so she can’t have any more children.
“Our bloodline rides on your success, son.” I want to laugh at that too. He will never help me freely no matter what he claims. No, if I want to find out anything I’m going to have to be as conniving as him and trick it out of him like he’s trying to do with this farce act of concern.
“I doubt you’ll be able to help, Father, so there’s no point in wasting both our time by asking.”
He bristles at my brush-off, but hides it well. “As I said, I was in the neighborhood. On my way back from a harlequin commune, I stopped here to retrieve something I needed from my room. It would have been impolite to not speak to you and Mother on my way out.”
“Why on earth would you be visiting a harlequin commune? You’d think after what happened to your sister, you’d have enough of that lot of overgrown clowns,” he replies disgusted, waving my words off like day old trash and replacing them with callous humor. Father hates harlequins more than I do. That hatred is the reason why my sister is dead.
Holding back my anger, I manage to spit out in an even voice, “I like to know my enemy, especially now from recent events. Did you know there are two Boudreauxs attending the academy?” I question.
My words hit just the right cord and I smile coldly when he jumps out his seat and roars, “What!?”
“You didn’t know?” I taunt, raising a brow, smiling wider. “The youngest Boudreaux joined our class a couple of weeks ago, twins. Perhaps you heard of them. Quinn and Angelica?”
“I know their names. I just did not know they’d be attending academy this year, especially that academy. Do you know if they were chosen by a Champion?” he asks, curious as he tries to work out this mystery in his head. I want to revel in the fact that I know something he does not, but I don’t have time to doddle. Every minute I’m here, I’m putting Angelica in danger.
“Not sure. Like I said, I left after I got my own Champion to gather information.”
“Don’t you think it would have been prudent to stay behind and find out?” he growls.
“Why?” I answer offhandedly. “They may have come from a powerful line, but that’s the only thing they have going for them. I don’t see them as competition. They’re weak, especially the daughter. If they did receive a Champion from some fault in the stars, then they are just as weak as them and will be easy to kill.”
“You’re a fool. A bigger one than the ones those harlequin’s worship. You should never take a Boudreaux lightly, especially that girl. They may come off as mad and seem like they are never serious about anything, but that’s all just an act. They excel at hiding their true nature. Secrets, deadly secrets hav
e always surrounded that family line. Knowledge is a very powerful thing you can have in this war and life, and they have been sitting on a shit ton of it, waiting for the perfect time to strike.”
I laugh. He sounds absolutely insane. Mad like the mages he’s insulting. “Look at you, Father. You sound like a paranoid old fool. Don’t tell me you’re actually scared of them?”
“Don’t mock me, boy. If you knew the things I do, you’d take this more seriously. It’s not just the Boudreaux line you should be worried about, but the Morganstein one as well.”
“Morganstein?” I repeat. “Why? That family line is practically obsolete with no living heirs. The old man doesn’t even have any bastards. He hasn’t had a say in the mage community in decades, choosing to snub his nose at us, living all high and mighty in his mansion hidden away in the mountains.”
Victor Morganstein has been living like a recluse ever since he killed his mate when she ran off with their unborn child and only heir. While on the run, the baby died and due to the seriousness of her actions, the Council granted his request for a public execution. I was nothing but a small babe myself when all this happened, but when a powerful mage is executed on the Council’s authority, people talk about it even years afterwards.
“Oh, son, how stupid you are. Do you really think a powerful line like that will just die off? They are just as mysterious as the Boudreauxs, more even. If I were you, I’d kill those twins off without hesitation and save yourself the trouble later. Everything done in the dark always comes to light with a black murdering cloud of revenge trailing after.”
“Father, you sound mad. What are you even talking about? Morganstein has no heirs. No matter how powerful or influential he is, he still failed to do his duty. He’s nothing more than an old has-been with no standing in this war.”
“Ignore my words all you want, it’s your life on the line, not mine. Now, if you’re done with idle chitchat, get out. I have important things to do.”
I stand, as done with talking with him as he is with me. In a hurry to leave, I foolishly turn my back on him without first checking on my shield to make sure it’s still fortified. He wastes no time advancing on my carelessness and I cry out from the pain when a powerful wave of his power tears through my skull like a tidal wave, relentless and overpowering. I try to fight him off, but it’s too late, he’s already in. Just as I played him, he was also playing me, waiting for just the right moment to attack. It’s agonizing as I try to fight him off as he sifts through my mind, flipping through my thoughts like one would pages in a book. Using the last of my strength, I’m able to cast a second shield around my thoughts, except for the one. A vivid picture of Angelica that betrays feelings I’ve been keeping locked away and buried in the deepest part of my mind.
“Oh, son, what a fool you are. Feelings are nothing but weakness and have no place in our world. Falling in love is one of the stupidest of things you could have ever done. And to think, you had such great promise, but now, you’re nothing but a disappointment; just like your sister. Mark my words, son, like her, you’re better off dead.”
“You have gone mad. I’m not in love,” I growl through clenched teeth. The pain is too much and I’m barely holding onto consciousness as I drag my body to the door, but I still venomously deny his asinine assumption with everything I have. In a way, I’m just like him. I cannot and will not love anyone. That’s what made the arrangement I had with Violet work out. I knew I’d never care for her and would be marrying her in name only.
“I thought I taught you to lie better than that. Such a failure. You disgrace me,” he tsks. “Coming here was a mistake. Love is a mistake. I can see clearly how low you have fallen and I’m happy to tell you, you won’t live to correct your mistakes,” is all I hear before I black out.
I wake not in my father’s study, but my own bed in my room in the mansion with Saber on guard, pacing in front of my door. I don’t need to ask her what happened. Since I did not use a command spell to keep her in New Orleans, as soon as she sensed my distress through the bond, she materialized here before my father could do anymore harm. Not caring I have a Champion to protect me, the bastard still tried to fucking kill me. He now knows about Angelica, but at least he does not know my true reason for me coming here or he may have been pissed enough and succeeded in killing me. The worst thing besides him trying to kill me is that he found out I hold some feelings for the harlequin. That information is just as damaging since I don’t know what he’ll do with it. He may have failed at killing me, but he could still go after her, if he hasn’t already while I’ve been unconscious.
“How long have I been out?” I ask, rubbing my head. I’ll have one hell of a headache for hours.
“Three hours. After I stopped that vile man from attempting to kill you, I brought you in here. The blonde female mage told me this is your room.”
“My mother was there?” I croak, confused.
“Yes, she got there before I did and was standing over your prone body, holding your father off. If it weren’t for her, I fear I would have been too late.”
“She did what!?” I ask incredulously. For as long as I’ve known her, my mother has never fought for me or my sister against our sick father. She was never a parent to us, leaving us to our own devices so that she could enjoy her pleasures as far away from our father as she could get. I pitied her at first. Being married to such a man had to be hard, but then I started to hate her for leaving us, her own children, to defend ourselves against him on our own. Never in a million years would I have ever thought she’d save me.
“She did. She suffered severe burns but was healed by a healer before you woke. She left a little while ago.”
Wise decision. She’ll have to stay somewhere else while my father cools down and forgets about this little discretion and her defiance. It will be a while until she’ll be welcomed back here, and even then, it would only be for appearance’s sake until Father can think of a sure way to murder her in a way that won’t lead back to him. A plot he has been having in the works for a long time now, if he had no qualms about killing me. Once rid of us both, he’d be free to remarry and produce another heir. Maybe with the conniving cougar who was just here right before I came. He was right about one thing. Coming here was a mistake, but it wasn’t for nothing. I did learn something.
“Are you alright, Master? The healer visited you too, but said no damage was done to your mind and you should be fine.”
“I’m alright,” I grumble, sitting up. It’s dark out, the whole day gone and wasted. I want to know what happened with Angelica, if she was attacked, but I dare not ask here. This may be my room and it’s warded, but this is my father’s home and the walls have ears, literally. I won’t even risk a chat with her mentally, not that I could with my pounding head. I’m still weak from his attack and won’t be able to shield him if he tried again. Saber being by my side lowers the chances of that happening, but you can never be too careful around that man. Look at what just happened.
“We should go. I have one more place I like to go before we return to the academy,” I tell her standing.
“As you wish, Master.”
With Saber holding me up, I leave my father’s home, vowing to kill him the next time we meet.
Chapter 17
Angelica
I wake with a funny feeling fluttering deep in my stomach. Sitting up, I wait for my blurry eyesight to clear before looking around and my gaze lands on Archer standing sentinel by the window.
“Shit, you weren’t a dream. Last night really did happen.”
“It did. How are you feeling?” he asks in his orotund voice.
“Great. I actually feel amazing. Energized. Better than I have ever before in the morning before a cup of coffee. Is that normal? I know you explained last night that I’m feeding you mana for you to exist here, but shouldn’t I feel some kind of drain or at least a bit tired after last night’s fight?”
“It depends on the mage’s strength and as
I’ve told you, you’re quite the powerful mage. Even after a summoning and your fight afterwards, I’m receiving a significant amount of mana from you. I expected you to be a little tired this morning, but I’m glad I was wrong.”
“Powerful, huh?” I tut, not in the least bit convinced. How can I not? “No one has ever said that about me. Besides my father and brother, the rest of my family likes to think of me as weak and treats me accordingly.”
“Then they are fools.”
“Well, we are a family of fools,” I reply, smiling.
“I do not understand.”
“Don’t worry about it. Occupational joke.”
No need for me to get into the vast history of a harlequin. At this point, I’m not even sure I still am one. I was able to summon a Champion, some celestial being without even trying. My wonky powers and the ones that I have yet to discover. I can feel them under my skin, waiting for the right moment to break free. Last night, the others called me a manipulator, but I don’t even know what that is and going by the look on their faces, it’s not something I should ask about all willy nilly. But who can I ask? I need answers, more now than I have ever before. Maybe the library will have something on the subject.
Dressing quickly, I head out that way with Archer following in his invisible form. I know the others let me go, but who knows. They could change their mind and I’ll need Archer to help me fight them and their Champions if I plan on surviving. This is a war after all and Goddess knows Zion is that wishy washy. I can never get a clear handle on him. There’s a lot of rage and hate in him, especially toward me, but when he kissed me… even if he had another agenda behind it, the kiss was true. I’m sure of it. He kissed me like a man on a mission and was just as into it as I was. Of course, my opinion is one-sided, but my gut is telling me I’m not wrong.