Chapter 8
I PUT IN a call to Delia. She answered on the second ring.
“I thought you needed to know this. George Greyhoof was bitten by a vampire. Jordan has taken him to the hospital for a transfusion. We’re not sure if he’s going to make it.”
“Well, shit.” Delia sounded as overjoyed as I felt. “Does he know when it happened or who bit him?”
“He’s conscious but unresponsive. I think he’s in thrall. Ralph was worried about him and came over to ask for my advice. Oh, and Ralph’s roof got smashed by a tree, by the way. He brought George over, and after talking to him, I decided to call Jordan.”
“He was able to get there in this storm? Impressive.”
“He almost didn’t. In order to take George to the hospital, Kelson had to drive them there in my CR-V. Jordan didn’t want to chance going in his car. He said the winds were so bad that he was almost knocked off the road. I hope they make it through all right.”
“Do you know if the vampire forced George to drink from him?”
Delia’s mind was going where mine had.
“We don’t know. I suppose, if George doesn’t make it, we’ll find out.” The thought of the satyr ending up as a vampire hit me in the gut. I might not be the Greyhoof boys’ biggest fan, but I didn’t wish them any ill will like that.
“I wonder why the vampire didn’t just kill George. If it’s the same one that attacked the woman the other night.”
“Maybe George managed to get away. Or maybe somebody interrupted him before he could kill George. If it is a he.” The last vampire I had tangled with in Bedlam had been Aegis’s ex-girlfriend. I had also ended up on the wrong side of a member of the Arcānus Nocturni while on vacation at the beginning of the year.
Delia hesitated for a moment. Finally, she asked, “Do you really believe that Essie is innocent? That she’s telling the truth when she says she doesn’t know who is doing this?”
“Honestly? I can’t be sure, but in my opinion Essie doesn’t want anybody messing up her gig here. If a vampire from her nest went rogue and was running around putting the fang on people, I think she’d stake them without a second thought. Remember, Essie took the throne via assassination. She has no compunction about staking other vamps when her ass is on the line, or when she stands to gain by it. I’ll give her another call when the sun goes down. I’m not going over to her house tonight, not with the storm, but I’ll talk to her.”
“Thanks, Maddy.”
“By the way,” I asked, listening to the squall that was raging outside. “Just how bad is this storm supposed to get, do you know?” Another gust rattled the windows, and I glanced at the sliding glass door nervously.
“Winds are forecast to peak at a steady forty miles an hour, with gusts potentially reaching as high as sixty or seventy on Bedlam. The other islands aren’t getting hit quite as bad. Bedlam always takes a harder hit. But it’s not going to be fun anywhere out in the straits.” She let out a slow breath. “We need to catch this vampire, Maddy, before he—she—it can do any more damage. I’ve managed to keep the news out of the paper so far, but we can’t for long.”
“I’ll call Essie again, I promise.” I knew Delia was leaning on my shoulders because of my background. She knew I had what it took to go out and hunt down vamps. She also knew that I still had my silver stake and dagger from three centuries back. But possessing them was a lot different than using them.
“Thanks. Call me if you need anything before Kelson makes it home. But then, Aegis should be waking up soon, shouldn’t he?”
I glanced at the clock. It was five-fifteen. “Yeah, another hour or so. I’ll let you know what Essie says.” As I set down my phone, a bolt of lightning blazed through the sky, followed by a rumble of thunder. I rolled myself through the kitchen and down the hall to the bathroom.
By the time I got back to the kitchen, the twins were back at the table with Mr. Mosswood, playing pinochle. Crap—dinner! Kelson wasn’t here to get it started. I rolled over to the refrigerator and peeked in. Nothing looked ready except for dessert. Then I remembered the take-and-bake pizzas.
“You guys mind pizza for dinner?”
Henry flashed me a giant smile. “That sounds wonderful.”
The twins nodded, so I peeked in the side-by-side freezer. Bingo. I pulled them out and rolled over to the oven, turning it on to preheat. I slid them onto a baking sheet, then put them into the oven and set the timer for thirty minutes.
Feeling brave, I stood, leaning on the counter. I was still dizzy but I didn’t think it was quite as bad. I decided to wash the dishes while I was up. I could lean on the counter and get used to having the blood flowing again.
The water was warm, and the soap smelled like lemon. I closed my eyes, my hands soaking in the water, and then slowly began to wash the plates that had been stacked on the counter. Kelson usually rinsed and put dishes into the dishwasher as soon as they were in the kitchen, but today had been an off day, all the way around.
As I finished up the last cup, I realized that I had been standing there for half an hour with no problem. I turned, but too quickly, and teetered, trying to catch my balance. My hands were soapy and as I grabbed the edge of the counter, my fingers slipped and I went careening to the floor. I narrowly missed hitting my head on the arm of the chair, and sprawled out across the tile. As I lay there, cursing, Bubba raced up and, more slowly, Luna. Bubba sniffed my face and I blinked, staring into his brilliant green eyes.
“What are you looking at?” I wrinkled my nose at him. “You could at least help me up.”
He promptly flipped over on his back, spreading his legs. I stared at his massively fuzzy belly.
“Oh no. Nope. Nopety-nope. Not gonna happen.”
“Are you all right?” Henry trotted over and knelt beside me. “Maddy, are you all right?”
I groaned as he helped me sit up. “I got a little too cocky and stood for too long. The vertigo got me. I’ll be all right if I can get into that chair.” I was jarred, and I knew I was developing a few bruises, but they would just add to the mess I had gotten during our night in the water.
Henry helped me roll over onto my hands and knees, and then, using the chair for balance, I was able to pull myself up and slide into it. The room was spinning, though not terribly, but mostly I just felt like an idiot.
“I overdid it. The vertigo is clearing up, but I got overconfident. It’s going to take another day or so, I guess.”
“You shouldn’t have been doing dishes anyway. That’s Kelson’s job,” Franny said, appearing halfway through the counter, which cut her off at the hips. She crossed her arms over her chest, staring down at me with a disapproving frown.
“Yikes, you look like you’ve been sawed in half.”
“Never mind how I look. Maudlin, you know what you were told—” Franny leaned in to scold me. “What were you doing?”
“I wanted to stand up. I’m tired of sitting. My ass hurts.” I snickered as she rolled her eyes. “Seriously, sitting down all day makes my tailbone ache.”
Henry pressed a glass into my hand. It had ice and cold water. I thanked him quietly and sipped the icy liquid, though what I really wanted was a cup of hot cocoa or broth. I was saved from further scolding when the basement door opened and Aegis popped into the room.
“You’re awake!” I started to stand but Henry laid a gentle hand on my shoulder.
Aegis looked at him, then at me, and then at Franny. “Did I miss something?”
“Only Maddy taking a tumble because she stood up too long and got dizzy.” Franny floated out from the counter, into the center of the kitchen. She made a tsking sound.
Henry laughed softly, but said, “Franny, dear, now you shouldn’t scold Maddy. She’s a grown woman and she knows what she’s capable of. She just took a little spill, that’s all.”
I froze. Franny dear? I glanced over at Henry, then at Franny, then at Henry again. Something was clearly going on here and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what.
“I was washing the dishes and stood up too long. I’m all right.”
Aegis had apparently caught Henry’s slip, too, because he was giving them both a close look as well. “Be careful,” he said absently. Then, shaking his head, he gave me a kiss. “I mean it. Be careful. We don’t want you hurting yourself. So, what happened today and—” He paused as another lightning fork split the sky, and the echo of thunder rolled after it. “Who decided we needed another light show?”
“Today’s been—” I paused as my phone rang. I glanced at the Caller ID. Sandy. “Hold on, I should take this.” I punched the talk button. “Hey, woman, how goes it?”
“I need your help.” She sounded frantic.
“What’s going on?” My stomach lurched.
“Jenna’s conjured a giant snake. I’m in her room with her, and the snake has cornered us in the closet. I think it’s venomous, Maddy, and I don’t have any spells that will help. I’m using the force of the storm’s wind to keep the door closed, but the snake is trying to bash it in.”
“Where’s Max?”
“On that business trip I told you he was taking.”
“Hang on. We’re on the way.” I hung up and turned to Aegis. “We have to get over to Sandy’s. I’ll explain on the way. There isn’t a lot of time, so help me out to your car.”
“In this weather? We should take yours.”
“Kelson has mine and I’ll explain that, too. Now carry me out to the ‘Vette and let’s move.”
I told Henry to take the pizzas out when the timer sounded and, with that, Aegis swept me up and headed for the door, not even stopping for a jacket.
AEGIS WAS A good driver, but even he was having trouble in the storm. We wavered all over the road, the winds were roaring, and the Corvette wasn’t that heavy a car. We were swept from side to side, but luckily there were few people on the road. We had to take an alternative route since Ralph’s tree was still across the road. All the way over to Sandy’s, we dodged flying boughs and downed wires.
A good share of the island had been plunged into darkness, but somehow we managed to find our way through and pulled into Sandy’s driveway. She still had a couple guards from the goon squad that Max had hired from Rocco, a self-proclaimed weretiger vigilante who was intent on taking out the Pretcom mafia.
They recognized the car and came running over to help us out. Aegis strode around the back, tossed me over his shoulder, and raced to the door, where Alex quickly ushered us in.
“They’re locked in Jenna’s room,” he said, as we hustled down the hallway. “I’d go in, but I’d just be in the way or get myself hurt. But whatever you need me to do, just ask.”
“Do you know what the hell brought this on?”
“I can tell you right now that the snake is the same type that killed Jenna’s mother. It’s just about ten times bigger.”
We stopped at the door of Jenna’s room. Aegis carefully set me down.
“Do you have anything that can work against the snake?”
I ran through my repertoire of spells, then shook my head. “Nothing that won’t set the room on fire.”
“I can go in there without getting hurt. There’s not much a snake can do to me, venomous or otherwise.” Aegis stripped off his leather jacket. “I don’t want it getting its fangs in my new jacket,” he said.
“Well, you know your priorities,” Alex said with a laugh. Then he sobered again. “I haven’t heard anything for a little while. I hope to hell that snake hasn’t managed to break through the closet door, where Sandy and Jenna are still hiding.”
Aegis motioned for me to stand back, then turned Alex. “Get her a chair. She’s unsteady on her feet.” He waited until Alex ran into the other room and returned with one of the dining room chairs.
I sat down and nodded to Aegis. “All right, I’m going to prep a fire spell just in case. Hopefully, I won’t have to use it.”
“For luck,” Aegis said, then planted a quick kiss on my lips.
“You’ve been watching Star Wars again, haven’t you?” I patted him on the arm. “Go get the snake.”
Aegis tried the doorknob. It wasn’t locked, and he stood back as he flung open the door. From where I was sitting I could see a massive coastal taipan. It was a sleek, smooth snake, with reddish-brown scales, lighter on its sides than its belly. It was rearing up, coiling to strike with large, gleaming fangs. But I noticed something different about it.
There was a glow about it that wasn’t natural. Obviously, Jenna had conjured it so it was a summoned creature, but there was more to it than that. It wasn’t just a giant snake. I could feel the energy emanating off of it. It felt hot, prickly with frustration and irritation. And then, I knew.
I opened my eyes just in time to see Aegis throw himself on the giant snake, straddling it as best he could to hold it down. It swiped at him, but he managed to catch hold of its neck and, with his incredible strength, pressed its head to the floor, holding it down.
“That’s a fire elemental.” Cautiously, I stood. Alex was beside me, and he took hold of my elbow, steadying me. “You aren’t going to be able to kill it. But since I work with fire, I can dispel it.”
“Whatever you do, you’d better do it quick, because I can’t hold it for long. The creature’s incredibly strong,” Aegis said, struggling to hang onto it.
I held out my hands, turning to look at Alex. “I need you to steady me. This spell will pack a punch and I don’t know if I can stand through it without help.”
“Whatever you need,” Alex said, swinging around behind me to hold my waist with firm hands. I noticed he smelled like gardenia and vanilla, an odd combination. But the thought quickly vanished from my mind as I focused on what I needed to do.
One of the first things a witch learns after she discovers her prime element is how to dispel that element. I focused on the snake, on the core of its fire, on its heart, which beat with a molten center. I reached out, whispering an incantation to ensnare the fire elemental.
Flare up, flare down, creature of fire,
Bend to my will, to my own desire,
Hear my call, hear my command,
I bind your strength, I bind your brand.
I speak your heart, I speak your name,
I weave a net around your flame,
I bind your will, I bind your soul,
I bind you under my control.
My voice grew louder, and as I shouted out the last, the fire snake slumped to the ground, waiting for me to command it. I turned to Alex.
“Help me get closer. It won’t hurt you as long as I’m in control.” I was shivering. The force exerted by the elemental was incredibly strong, and I felt it struggling against my will. I motioned for Aegis to get off of its back. He quickly stepped away.
As I neared its side, I knelt, laying both of my hands on the smooth, warm scales. It was beautiful, really. Incredibly powerful and strong, the fire snake hadn’t asked to be here. I was just going to send it back to its home. Jenna may have conjured it here, but I was far stronger than she was, and it would bend to my will.
Creature of fire thou art,
Summoned here by mistake,
Begone back to your realm,
You fiery snake.
Now hie you hence, begone,
Never more to return.
By my will, so mote it be.
With a soft breath, I blew on the scales and the snake shimmered, then vanished as if it had never been here. I slumped to the floor, shaking. The amount of energy it had taken to send the fire snake away had drained me of almost every reserve I had.
Aegis knelt beside me, softly lifting me up to set me on the bed, as Alex opened the closet. Sandy and Jenna slowly crept out, hugging each other. Sandy looked strained, but Jenna looked absolutely terrified. She surveyed the empty bedroom and burst into tears as she covered her face.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry—I didn’t mean it, really! Aunt Sandy, I could have killed you.” Jenna was having a full-on meltdown, something I hadn’t seen very often. The girl had a steady head on her shoulders and she was incredibly capable under a strain, but apparently this had been one step too far.
“Why did you conjure that thing up?” I leaned forward, balancing myself on the edge of the bed with one hand.
“She didn’t mean to—” Sandy started to say, but I shook my head at her.
“Jenna has to learn responsibility for her magic at some point. You think this would go unnoticed at Neverfall, or that it would be excused away?”
I didn’t want to come down hard on the girl, but as the High Priestess of the Moonrise Coven it was my job to step in when I saw situations like this. Literally, it was written in the Code of Honor that I had pledged to, that if I came across a gross misuse of magic, especially by someone who was attempting to work magic far beyond their means, I needed to step in. I didn’t pay a lot of attention to others, and I didn’t go poking my nose into other people’s activities, but Jenna needed to learn and learn quickly that she couldn’t just go around trying to summon up elementals she didn’t have any control over. If Neverfall caught wind of this, she’d be expelled.
Jenna swallowed hard. She let out a soft sigh. “I know what I did was wrong. I didn’t really mean to. It just kind of…happened.”
“What do you mean, it just happened?”
“I was sitting on my bed, and I was thinking about my mother. She was always running off, leaving me with the servants, or with friends. I’ve always been angry at her for that. But ever since she left me in Aunt Sandy’s care, I’ve felt a lot happier.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Lately, I’ve caught myself wishing my mom would die, or never come back, so I could stay with Aunt Sandy.”
I began to catch the drift of what she was thinking. “And now your mom is dead.”
She nodded, a bubble of spit forming on her lip as she tried to sniff back the tears. “I should be punished. I wished she was dead, and now she is.”
“So you’ve been feeling terribly guilty over what happened, and you somehow conjured the snake? As a punishment to yourself?”
She silently nodded.
I cleared my throat. “Jenna, honey, listen to me. You didn’t cause your mother’s death. If we could cause death with just a thought—with just our anger—there would be a lot fewer people in the world. It’s normal to be angry at people we love when they hurt us. Your mother didn’t hit you, I assume, but she left you on your own a lot, and that’s a form of neglect. Derry was self-centered and she didn’t know how to be a good mother. It’s okay to be angry at her for that, and it’s okay to be angry that she died.”
I must have stung a nerve because Jenna started sobbing.
“She wouldn’t have died if she had stayed home, if she hadn’t wanted to get away from me.” Her face was a mask of pain, and Sandy slowly edged over to her.
“Jenna, can I sit down?” She paused by the side of the bed.
Jenna nodded, furiously wiping her eyes.
“Your mother loved you very much, but she wasn’t cut out to be a mother. Some women aren’t, and they don’t realize it before they have kids.”
“I know that,” Jenna said, but the look on her face told me she didn’t fully understand. And she probably wouldn’t, at least not for a while. Derry’s death must have seemed like the final abandonment. And we couldn’t exactly say it was an accident. Derry knew she shouldn’t have been out where she was. She had ignored the rules and paid for it with her life.
“Your mother made a fatal mistake. But you didn’t have anything to do with her death. Sometimes, things happen. Sometimes, life sucks and we have to just take it in stride.” I knelt beside her and took one hand, while Sandy took her other. “Nobody’s to blame, really. Even Derry. She made a fatal mistake, but she didn’t do it on purpose. Trust me on that.”
After a while, Jenna’s sobs lessened and I handed her a tissue. She blew her nose and turned to Sandy. “I’m sorry. I almost got you killed,” she whispered.
“No harm done. We’re all safe and the snake is gone. You needed to express your anger. But next time, try talking about it, okay? You can always talk to me about whatever you need to.” Sandy brushed a strand of hair back from Jenna’s face and then stroked her cheek and booped her on the nose. “You must be awfully tired.”
Jenna nodded. “I am. I feel all worn out.”
“Jenna, did you know that you summoned a fire snake? A fire elemental?” I had to address it at some point and now seemed like the best time.
Jenna startled, whirling around to stare at me. “What? I kept thinking of the snake that killed Derry and I got madder and madder at her. I was so angry, it felt like I was vibrating. And then, just as Sandy walked in the room, the snake appeared.”
“Your anger must have somehow caught the attention of a wandering fire elemental and it came in the form of the snake that you were focusing on. Sandy and I need to teach you how to harness your energy. Neverfall is a wonderful school, but you seem to have some pretty strong gifts and until you know how to separate your magic from your thoughts and emotions, life is going to be too dangerous for you and those around you. Will you work with us?” She had to want to learn, to want to control herself before we could teach her.
Jenna nodded. “I’m afraid of my own thoughts now. Please, help me.”
“We can,” Sandy said, “but the best way to prevent things like this from happening is to talk them out the minute you start feeling upset.”
I glanced at the calendar. “We’ll start on the next new moon.”
Sandy nodded. “We’ll be there. Jenna, you’re a quick study, so this shouldn’t take long.” She paused, glancing at me. “I suppose we’ll have to plan out a Cord Cutting for Derry. She didn’t belong to any formalized group, but she definitely had a lot of friends around the area.” She glanced at Jenna. “Don’t feel you have to attend. When you’re ready, we can do another ceremony for you privately.”
Jenna bit her lip, then let out a sigh. “I’m not ready. I may have hated her at times, but…”
“She was your mother,” I said. “I understand.”
Jenna started to cry, softly, and Sandy wrapped her arm around the girl. “I’m not going to say it’s all right, because it’s not. But I’m here, and so is Maddy, and we’ll help you through this.”
I motioned to Alex. “I’ll just leave you two here together. I imagine you have some things you need to talk about. Alex, help me out?”
Aegis had already withdrawn, so Alex leaned down for me to wrap my arm around his shoulder and, holding me by the waist, helped me out to the dining room, where Aegis had poured himself a drink. He poured me one too—a snifter of brandy. I usually drank wine, but right now, the sharp heat of the liquor seemed just right.
I eased myself into a chair at the table and cupped the brandy snifter in my hands, warming the drink. “How bad is the storm now?”
“Worse. It’s rattling the island. I don’t know that I trust the ‘Vette to get us home in one piece.” He glanced at the lights as they flickered.
Alex crossed to the massive double-sided fireplace that divided the dining room from a parlor. He struck a long match and then held the flame to an already prepared stack of wood and kindling. The fire caught, and blazed to life. Then, taking a long lighter, he swiftly began lighting candles around the room. He moved quickly, but not quite quick enough to beat the lights flickering one last time before they died. But we had the firelight to see by, and Alex finished lighting the rest of the candles.
As I was sitting there, Mr. Peabody waddled over and rubbed against me. I leaned down and caught the skunk up in my arms, cradling him as I stroked the soft fur.
“How are you feeling, Mr. Peabody? Is life treating you good?” I scratched him under the chin, just where he liked it, and he squirmed a little, letting out a squeak of joy. After a moment, I set him back down and he hustled over to Aegis for more attention.
A few minutes later, Sandy appeared, carrying a flashlight. “Jenna’s taking a nap. I got her calmed down. I don’t think we’ll have any more unexpected reptilian guests, but we really need to teach her how to master her emotions.”
I sipped my cognac. The heat burned a trail down my throat, warming me from the inside out. “I agree. She’s extremely talented. I don’t think Neverfall has quite caught on to just how much power she has. Probably because she didn’t present favoring any particular element to begin with.”
Sandy motioned for Alex to pour her a drink and sat beside me. “I’m starting to think she may be a shadow witch.”
“You know, you might have something there.” Shadow witches worked on the astral, more than working with any particular element. They were often more powerful than other witches, and they were definitely a rare breed. “You can ask Neverfall to test her. It’s not a routine test at the school. The tests aren’t easy, I gather.”
“They aren’t. I’ll call the headmaster tomorrow and set something up for next month. I think she needs time to process Derry’s death first.”
We sat in silence, listening to the crackle of the flames, sipping our drinks. Alex brought over a plate of fruit and cheese, and Sandy motioned for him to sit with us. Outside, the wind howled a frightful row. I shuddered, closing my eyes. The storm was alive; there was a sentience to it that I could feel, even inside the house. It was searching for something, or someone, and it wasn’t going to rest till it found them.
“Ralph had to take George to the hospital,” I said, remembering that Sandy didn’t know about what had happened. “George was nearly drained by a vampire.”
At that, the wind raised another row, rattling the windows.
Sandy asked Alex to close the storm shutters. Then she turned to me. “This series of storms the past few nights—you know they aren’t natural. You know somebody’s behind them and you know who.”
I had been trying my best not to think about it, but at her words, I broke down and let the possibility come flooding into my mind. I fished in my pocket for the bronze pentacle, and sat it in front of me, on the table. “Yeah, I know. But the question is, when will she arrive? And what will she be like? And the most important question—why has she returned?”
“I suppose we’ll find out when we find out. Unless you want to ask Auntie Tautau if she knows anything about it.” Sandy caught my gaze, holding it steady. She was as worried as I was.
I thought about it. Auntie Tautau might know something, but whether she would give us any useful information was definitely up for debate. But then, something clicked. A memory. I closed my eyes as the words replayed themselves over and over again.
Auntie Tautau had provided me with a means to procure an herb that had saved Sandy’s life. I had asked her, “Is there a price?” Because I knew full well that when you dealt with the Aunties, their help was never free.
She had said to me, “There’s always a price. You have already paid it, though you don’t realize it yet. You’ll know, when the time comes, what that price has set into motion.”
“I know why. I don’t know the reasoning behind it, but I know why she’s returning.”
Aegis and Sandy leaned in, staring at me.
“It was back when Garret was helping me find the thistlestar.” I told them about going to Auntie Tautau and what she had said. “She told me I’d know what the price was, when it was set into motion. This is it. In the depths of my gut, I know. What I did somehow wove Fata Morgana back into our lives.”
Sandy let out a long breath. “We both set it into motion. You wouldn’t have been looking for the herb if you hadn’t been trying to save me. Well, then. I guess…now…we just wait.”
And with that thought, we fell silent again, listening to the wild keening of the wind as it rolled and rattled and tore through the island, toppling trees and shaking down rooftops and sweeping up trash bins to scatter them through the streets.