CHAPTER 18

 

 

Aisanna made it to her apartment in one piece and locked the door behind her. She’d managed to elude Orestes and Zelda, though she doubted they were far behind. She had minutes at best to grab a bag and get back to the house.

With a literal sigh of relief passing her lips, she hurried into the bedroom and fumbled through her bedside dresser.

She stuffed clothes and random toiletries into a black duffel. Papers and objects with no distinct importance flew over her shoulders and plummeted to the floor. She’d no sooner zipped the bag closed when she heard the sound of a scuffle from the other room. Instantly on guard, Aisanna brought her hands up in the ready position and prepared to call on her magic.

Astix burst through the door in a flurry.

“Thank God! I’d hoped you would be here.” Astix leaned back on the door as though her small might may keep the wood closed for good. A rat’s nest of auburn hair hung around her head, her appearance crazed. “You need to get out. Now.”

She stole a look around the room and locked the door behind her.

“I thought you were going to leave without me.” Aisanna strode forward and wrapped her arms around her sister’s shoulders. “I was coming to find you. I’m sorry.”

“Out, now!”

“It’s nice to see you too.”

“Aisanna, there’s time for apologies later.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The Claddium. Orestes.” Astix grasped her sides, stooping slightly to catch her breath. “They’re looking for you.”

“Yeah, I figured they would be, after what I did.” Aisanna touched the stone at her throat lightly. “I messed up, Astix. I messed up and they’re trying to throw me in the Vault with Zee.”

“They’re what?” The last word ended on a howl.

“I know you said you have a safehouse. How long does it take to get there? And how did you know I would be here?”

“We’ll talk about it later.” Astix swiveled around and pressed her ear against the wood. “You need to get out, right this minute. I stalled them for as long as possible. But we know Orestes’s earth magic is stronger than mine.”

A prickle of fear rose until Aisanna tasted it on her tongue. She pushed it down. Astix moved until she took Aisanna by the elbow and began pulling her forward.

Pounding sounded at the front door and both girls dropped to a crouch instinctively.

Astix drew a hand over Aisanna’s mouth to stem the flow of words bubbling up. “Too late. They’re here,” she whispered.

Malicious delight coursed through her at the thought of going head to head with Orestes and Zelda one more time. Aisanna nearly rose to fight until Astix tightened her hold and jerked her head toward the window.

Her sister’s power had held the Claddium off long enough to give them time to speak. Would it hold once more?

Aisanna did not want to wait to find out. Their only option now was the fire escape.

Astix kept her eyes open and conjured up a beam of diamond from the depths of the earth. When it materialized in her hand, she shoved it through the keyhole, manipulating the qualities of both metal and mineral to keep the door closed.

A boom sounded when the front door exploded inward. Footsteps echoed down the corridor, several people filing into the apartment. Aisanna recognized their voices and the echoes of a scuffle. Whoever came for her threw glass to the floor and let it shatter. They broke furniture and emptied cabinets to destroy her space. Her sanctuary.

They both scrambled across the cold floor until they reached the far wall. She shut her eyes until tears stung her closed lids and her strength was not sufficient to hold them back. Together with Astix, they moved the window up until there was enough space for them to squeeze through.

Astix held a finger to her lips. Using her version of sign language, she gestured toward the fire escape and urged Aisanna to hurry outside first. Aisanna wasted no time. With the influence of Darkness urging her to stay and fight and her limbs only half-cooperating, Aisanna shimmied her body gracelessly through the window, with her sister standing guard.

She was halfway outside when the bedroom door crashed off the hinges and landed halfway across the room.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Aisanna didn’t recognize the voice and did not stop to see if she knew the face it belonged to. Maneuvering quickly, she slid the last few feet with only the smallest help from Astix.

“You are in big trouble, young—”

With her sister right behind her, Aisanna dove into her well of tainted magic and sent a wave back into the bedroom. Screeches rose to staggering decibels when the floor erupted with venomous plants. Astix added her might, and together the two sisters took the rungs of the fire escape ladder in hand.

“Hold on!” Astix urged. She flung the latch, and the metal shot down like a missile.

They slammed into the concrete within seconds and the blast caused both to lose their grip. They tumbled to the ground with the air knocked from their chests, neighborhood trash cans crashing around them.

Aisanna saw stars when her head collided with the pavement. She’d always heard the expression and never once thought it true. Now she knew for certain.

Astix was the first to recover. Aisanna felt a tug on her hand and got to her feet with a dizzy sway.

“Come on!”

She allowed herself to be led with only the slightest off-kilter stumble until they reached the waiting motorcycle.

“They’ll come for us,” she tried to warn, her words slurred. Woozy, she gingerly touched the back of her head, surprised when her fingers came back smeared with blood. “Ouch.”

Astix shoved a helmet into her hands and whipped out a second one. “You’re telling me! Now get on and shut up. We’re leaving.”

Despite the fact that she was older by several years, Aisanna let her sister take the lead and gratefully followed. The girls slid onto frozen leather. Astix gunned the engine. They took off out of the back alley, cutting into traffic with only a single honk from an irritated driver, the air filled with the acrid scent of burning rubber.

Aisanna scooted closer until her front melded to her sister’s back. The two leaned into curves as a single unit. She tightened her grip, holding on for her life and ignoring the pain in her head.

“What did you do?” Astix questioned her, raising her voice to be heard. “What the hell did you do to bring them out?”

“I may or may not have attacked Orestes and Zelda in my shop.”

“Zelda Vuur? You’re kidding me. Right?”

“Nope.”

Aisanna did not question where they drove; instead, she relinquished control and hoped her sister had a better plan. After all, without Astix, she would never have been able to get out of the apartment in time. Her brain felt muddled. Going back had been a mistake despite her good intentions.

She fingered the agate amulet around her neck, the one she’d slipped on minutes earlier, and tried not to feel sorry for herself. It was difficult. She felt the pull in her blood, her newfound and constant dark companion. Maybe that was why she couldn’t think straight.

Instead, Aisanna gave in to her own shortcomings and slumped forward, letting her gaze drop to the continuous yellow lines of the highway. Soon she lost all concept of distance.

Astix skillfully took to the backroads. At long last, they pulled to a stop inside a thicket of trees outside a small hayfield. The sudden silence of the motor cutting off held the weight of the world, and Aisanna knew it came down to her.

Her legs wobbled when she rose from the machine and took in her surroundings.

“While I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, really, I do,” she began, “I don’t think freezing to death in a field is my idea of fun.”

Astix removed her helmet and shook out her hair. “Not quite what I had in mind, but great mental image. If you would rather stand here and complain, be my guest. This is my attempt to save our asses.”

Aisanna moved to stand beside her sister and took in the frozen wasteland in front of her. They were outside of the city by more than an hour, she knew. Here, the distance between houses lengthened until there was more land than metropolitan sprawl, more woods than suburbs.

Frost and snow dusted the dead grass in a pristine vision. Trees bare of their leaves shuddered in a slight breeze, ice adorning each branch. In the distance, a small stone cabin belched smoke into the atmosphere with regular gusts.

“What is this place?” Aisanna asked.

“This is asylum. Leo bought it.” Astix dug around in her pocket for a set of keys and gestured toward the house. “It’s off the radar, a small place in the middle of about fifty acres.”

“Fifty acres? Are you kidding me?”

It was a comfortable place on a comfortable amount of land. Defensible and private. It was the perfect stage for whatever it was Astix intended to do next.

She gestured. “Come on. Let’s get inside. I’m freezing my nuts off out here.”

Aisanna followed behind her and made sure to step in each footstep. “You don’t have nuts.”

“That’s because they’re frozen.”

Each step cracked a path along the ground. They cut through the field until the house grew larger. It was quaint enough to resemble a fairy cottage, with the industrial perks a man needed. When Aisanna looked closer she saw the metal glint of a satellite dish and cables running out of the ground and along the stone exterior. Brand new energy-efficient windows reflected back the beautiful landscape and shielded the inside from prying eyes.

Not that there would be any, considering the distance outside of the city.

“Are you sure no one knows about this place?” Aisanna shivered, wrapping her arms around her torso in an attempt to keep the warmth in.

Her sister bent to unlock the front door. “I’m positive. I never joke about staying alive. We’ve got it set up to be completely undetected.” Astix gave a final twist of the knob before pushing the wood open with a slight shuffle. “You’re safe here. Oh, you don’t trust me?” She pointed out into the distance. “You see those?”

Aisanna squinted, making out the long dark shadows of a stone monolith. “I think so, if you would tell me what I’m looking at.”

“You are looking at my own private security systems. With ten of those set around the perimeter and a couple of protection spells, they scatter any energies in the area. We are completely cut off. Think of it like a blank spot.”

“You…are so prepared. How long have you been at this?”

“Too long.” Astix pushed the door open and stood back. “After you.”

Aisanna moved past her into the small wooden entryway. A set of polished oak steps led to a second story, while slate floors completed the cabin look. To the left, a massive stone fireplace dominated the open living room. A modest bedroom sat to the right, and a short hallway led back to the kitchen.

“I know you’re going to accuse me of sounding like Mom, but can you do that thing you do?” Aisanna wiggled her fingers. “I’d feel a lot better.”

“While I’m at it, why don’t I put on my monkey costume and do a little dance for you?” Astix did not stand on ceremony.

She dropped her damp coat to the floor and kicked off her boots before leaving her sister standing in the foyer. Plopping down on the couch, she moved her feet to the armrest and closed her eyes.

“There’s no need, Aisanna. It’s already done. The spells continue twenty-four-seven, attached to me and Leo by blood magic. Just come sit. Like I said, I have it under control. I had a gut feeling things would go south soon, and since I’m not in a position to ignore my gut, I took the necessary precautions. This was my insurance if everything went to shit. I hate knowing I was right.”

Aisanna shot a look over her shoulder as though expecting the cavalry to come riding up at any moment.

“Karsia should be here soon,” Astix continued. “She’s trying to get Mom and Dad to come. You know how stubborn they can be. They think I’m going a little overboard. They…they don’t know what’s going on.”

Aisanna settled herself on the floor between the couch and the fire without bothering to remove her winter wear or shoes. “Thank you. For everything. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Astix leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling. “Yeah, well, try not to think about. Apology accepted.”

“She almost had me. I can’t even tell you what it feels like, when you don’t have control of your body. She made me attack Orestes and Zelda. She made me—” Aisanna trailed a finger along her hand and wondered if it was her imagination when her skin rippled in response. “She made me do it. She’s inside of me and she made me hurt them. They came to my shop asking about my involvement with this fire elemental who shot up a FedEx office.”

Astix bolted upright. “What the what?”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do.” Aisanna rocked as she spoke. “It was the night I couldn’t remember. They told me I whispered in his ear before he… It wasn’t me.”

Astix moved from the couch and crouched beside her sister. “I know it wasn’t you. Not in the least. You have to believe that.”

“I don’t know what to believe anymore. Maybe it could have been, for all I know. I didn’t mean to shoot poisonous thorny vines out of my fingers, but I did. I was there, watching. Maybe there was something I could do to stop her. To stop that man from killing those innocent people.”

“Hey. Look at me. Aisanna, look at me.” Astix leaned in and took her sister by the cheeks. “I refuse to acknowledge you had anything to do with his decision. It was his. Do you understand me?”

Astix considered her sister, vulnerable on the floor. She’d never seen Aisanna like that, with slumped shoulders and grim consequence hanging from her every muscle and cell. Whatever happened to her had been bad enough to set off a chain reaction with the potential to damn them all.

Now they sat facing each other and everything seemed bleaker.

“Look,” Astix put in awkwardly, “let’s table that conversation for another day. After the trouble has passed and we can resume our normal lives. Then we’ll think about right and wrong. Think about our own responsibilities and guilt. Here, in this moment, we focus on staying alive. And we focus on finding the Harbinger witch and sealing the veil. You got me?”

“Yes.”

Astix hated what they had to do. She would rather do anything else. She would give anything to make it go away and return life to the status quo.

She had a sick feeling in her gut that the worst was yet to come.

“Karsia will be here soon,” she repeated, “and we’ll figure out where to go from here. This needs to end.”

“You’re telling me,” Aisanna said solemnly. “What are you planning to do?”

“I don’t know yet. But something is better than nothing.” Astix paused. “Prepare yourself. Whatever we do tonight, we may not come back from. I hope…I hope you made things right. With your human.”

Aisanna took her time before answering, agonized at what she’d had to do to Elon in the name of protection. “I did what I had to do. I’m ready.”

Astix hated to leave the warm confines of her new house. There was something about the property, or perhaps the solitude of it, that put her at ease. She’d fallen in love with it the first time Leo brought her out here. Somehow, he’d known exactly what she needed, what they both needed, and the deed was signed and in her hands before the end of the week. He considered it an early wedding present. Yeah, the man insisted they get married. He was a real monster.

She wrapped herself in the comfortable layers of her coat and contemplated the journey ahead. Their night was only beginning. Already an idea formulated in her head although no one was going to like what she put forth.

“Just stay here,” she warned. “Try to relax.”

“I really do appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

“I know. Most important, don’t contact anyone. Don’t say or do anything that’s going to jeopardize your position here. However you left things with…what’s his face…Elon, leave them be.”

“Do I look stupid to you?” Aisanna asked.

No, Astix thought, she looked like she was in love. And love made fools of everyone.