Callyn
Zeke couldn’t have said it any better. I look to my aunt, who has been surprisingly quiet through all of this, and to Alcina. I have a feeling I know where this is going. But, I need to hear it out loud.
“Lorcan is a relative of mine, isn’t he?”
“Yes,” they both say.
“How exactly is he related?”
“He was the brother to the last Alpha Queen, making him your great-great-uncle.” Aunt Dahlia answers.
“I don’t remember seeing him anywhere in the family tree journal.”
“You wouldn’t have. That journal only followed the Alpha Queen line. Her brother was never going to see the throne. He would have had his own journal made of his lineage. None of the information that was passed down to me mentioned him having any children or even a mate.”
I look back to the journal to see what else was written underneath his name. The more I read the less I liked about him. How he murdered and slaughtered innocent shifters. How he degraded them by hanging them from trees. For what? Power? To rule? All of it was needless. We can only hope that he didn’t procreate. He would have passed down all his hatred and jealousy, and we would have even bigger problems.
“He killed his sister. Didn’t he?” I whispered.
“Fucking hell,” Graydon growls.
“Did you know?” I ask my aunt. “How about you, Alcina? Did you know?” I was practically yelling at this point.
“I didn’t know,” Alcina answers.
“Everyone had their suspicions, but nothing has ever been confirmed. All the records from then were mostly lost. It had to be chaotic when everything happened. There were fires, buildings destroyed. No one would have been worried about saving such things. Getting out alive and keeping their families safe would have been the most important thing. ”
“Well, someone had to know. Why else would it be in here?” My brows furrowed in confusion. I meet my aunt’s eyes. “When you first told me about what was passed down to you from your family, about the night the Alpha Queen died, you said the handmaiden only left with the baby and a sack of coins. Is there more to the story that you didn’t tell me, or that I didn’t read in those journals?”
“Of course, there is more to the story. There is always more to the story. There whole reason we have that journal is because at some point the Alpha Queen slipped it in one of the pockets of her handmaidens dress.”
“Why didn’t you tell me your ancestor found a journal in her pocket? When did she find it?” I hear Graydon scoff beside me. He isn’t any happier about this situation than I am.
“It didn't seem like that information was important, at the time. She found it after the ship had set sail. At least, that’s what has been passed down generation after generation.”
You know, I think we need to start looking for information ourselves. This is bullshit. How does anyone except us to win a war if they aren’t telling us everything?
I look over at Graydon. I understand where he is coming from.
I understand but I don’t know what to do.
We branch out and do this ourselves.
We ask Lucian, we say at the same time. I chuckle.
What are you two doing? I look at Lucian.
Well we were going to ask you later to help us come up with a plan on how we can do this without anyone's help. We both think this whole thing is bullshit.
Not a bad idea. My first bit of advice is to not read any more of that journal until you are alone or when all of us are alone. I don’t trust anyone but us.
Good point. I sigh.
“What did I miss?” Alcina ask.
“They can communicate with each other telepathically.”
“Interesting. And you can do that with all of them?”
“Yes.”
“You are going to be powerful indeed.”
“And right there is the reason why we can’t trust anyone. Are you going to pretend to help us and then when you have the perfect opening screw us over?” Graydon bellows. “What happened to finding the witch that originally put the spells on the journals? Where is she? Why are you the one that is here?”
“The original witch died, a long time ago. Witches do have an extended life span, like most supernaturals, but we don’t live forever. You were never going to be able to find her. I’m here because Dahlia asked me to. I’m here to help, whether you believe it or not.”
“Graydon,” he turns his head toward my aunt. “I’ve known Alcina a long time, and while we may not be best friends, I do believe she has your best interest at heart.”
“I’ll guess we’ll have to wait and see,” he states.
I wish Cat was here. Maybe if she touched the witch, she could get a reading on her like Kelsey did with you when she touched your necklace.
I look at Zeke. I can message her and see if we could set something up.
It couldn’t hurt to try.
I focus on Max. Hey.
Yes, angel.
Do you want to help me trap the witch so Cat can try to get a read on her?
Like you have to ask. Any time I can cause mayhem, you know I’m down.
I smile and shake my head.
Awe come on. You know I like to help.
I can’t lie. I do.
Max smiles at me, then winks, and pushes his hair behind his ears. Man, do I love my guys.
“So, what’s our next move?” Zeke asks.
I close the journal and cradle it to my chest. “I’m going to take this journal and go through it again now that there is no spell blocking it. Alcina, are there anymore journals in the box that have been altered with magic?”
“Let me check.” We watch as Alcina moves to the box and hovers her hands over it. “No, the rest are clean.”
“Great. Graydon, can you carry the box back up to my room?”
He grumbles but gathers the box and the books. “Lead the way, Callie bear.”
I focus on each of them, Let’s go.
Without question, each of them gets up and start to follow me. I stop at the top of the stairs before turning back. “Thank you Alcina. Is there any way I can get ahold of you if I have any questions?”
“Yes.” With a wave of her hand a piece of paper floats down to me. I catch it. “My phone number. Until next time, my Queen.” With a snap of her fingers Alcina is gone.
“Still a really cool trick.”
“Shut it, Max.”
“What? It is. Even you have to admit that it would come in handy.”
“You only want it, so you can get away faster after you prank someone.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
I just shake my head. “Come on, let’s go do this.”
Lucian
Callie sits in the middle of her bed. Max is lounging back against her headboard, Graydon is sitting on her computer chair, Zeke is sitting on the floor in front of her bed leaning back on it, and I’m perched on the edge of her bed. We’re all listening to her read from the journal.
“June 1st, 1818. There has been whispers around the castle that my brother is planning to overthrow me. He has been gaining followers. The things he is telling them are lies. Why can they not see that? There is another rumor, he has found a witch to make him a talisman. Lorcan wants to gain power and fast. This talisman is said to draw magic inside it. If that is the case, we are all going to be doomed.”
“Do you think the talisman is the one pictured?” Zeke asks.
“Yes. The question is, is it still out there?” I answer.
“If it is, then who would have it?”
“Callie, flip through and see if it says what happened to the necklace.”
It takes her a few minutes. “The last mention of the talisman is from an entry on July 31st, 1818. My end is drawing near. I can feel it. The rumors are true about my brother, about everything. I know he plans to kill me. I’ve stayed hidden in my castle the last few months. My brother and his spies can’t find out my secret. I will do whatever I can to keep my baby safe. I need to find a way to get Lorcan’s talisman and destroy it. I fear that is the only way to save myself, my family, and all of shifter kind.”
“Clearly, she didn’t succeed,” Graydon states.
“Flip to the last entry and read what is says.”
“September 2nd, 1818. No matter what I have tried, I can’t seem to overcome my brother. It’s just a matter of when he is going to attack. We have taken measures to try to ensure our safety, but I fear it may not be enough. He has grown in power, so much so, I believe he is now stronger than my mates and me. We planned an attack on his followers, but no matter how many we seem to get rid of, more appear. I don’t see a way out of this. I have to make sure my baby survives, that she is safe. We built an escape route in our bedroom. My mates wish for me to take our daughter and run, but I can’t. What kind of queen would I be if I didn’t stay and fight? No, I will not run as much as I would like to. I have made my peace that I will not watch my daughter grow up. My only wish now is that when I send her away, she learns of me and her fathers.”
Callie sighs.
“I really hope the other entries in this journal turn out to be more helpful,” Graydon grumbles. We all look at him. “What? Those entries didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know. The Alpha Queen died, the handmaiden escapes with her baby, and that talisman is out there somewhere. How are we going to find that? Because I, for one, don’t want that falling into the wrong hands. Who knows, that vision Cat had, that mysterious voice, he could have it already. Or that damn witch.”
“Shit,” Max whispers.
“I’ll finish reading the journal and let you know if I find anything useful,” Callie says.
“We can always use Alcina.” Everyone looks at me. “I know that you and Max were going to plan something.”
“We would never,” Max scoffs.
“Are you sure you can’t hear us when we talk silently?”
I smile. “No, I can’t hear Max, and I only hear you when you project to me. But, we all know that you like to help Max with his little pranks.”
“Little,” Max says affronted.
I smile bigger. “Yes, little. You can’t deny it. We know that’s exactly what you would do. But, I have another idea. If there is nothing in there about the whereabouts of the talisman, we ask Alcina if she would use a location spell or something along those lines to find the necklace. There has to be some kind of magic to help with that, right?”
“Let’s hope.”
“Alright guys, it’s getting late. Let us know if you find anything, baby.” I lean over, tug on her hair, and give her a quick kiss. The rest of the guys follow suit.
Graydon waits until everyone is in his truck before he speaks. “Great, instead of getting answers, we got more pieces to this messed up puzzle.”
“We’ll figure this out. We have too.”
Callyn
This journal, while nice to have, hasn’t yielded any significant information so far.. I went back to the last page I was reading, before the guys had me skipping around. I read through more than half of the journal before I found something that could help us. Well, sort of.
July 28th, 1818,
We have come up with a plan. We need to destroy the talisman, then all of my brother’s power will be gone. With no powers, he will lose everything. Lorcan cannot defeat me or my mates. He needs that talisman. One way to know for sure that it gets destroyed is by having a witch use a spell. We don’t know of any other way. It took us some time, but we found someone willing to cast the spell for us. Circe. She should be here in a couple days’ time. Then we can put an end to this once and for all.
Crap. Wasn’t Circe the name of the witch from Cat’s vision? What happened? How is she still alive? I flip to the page and then next. I keep reading until I come across the journal entry that explains what happened.
August 15th, 1818,
We have been betrayed. Circe played us like a fool. She led us to believe that she was on our side, but everything we told her, she went back and told Lorcan. We now have to come up with a completely different plan. I don’t know what we’re going to do. We don’t have time to try to find another witch, and even if we did, there is no way of knowing if they would be on our side. I just don’t understand why Circe didn’t kill us herself? Unless, my brother has truly gained enough power. I shudder at the thought. We did learn that the power he is gathering is coming from around him. Mother Nature. The very thing we all need to survive. We noticed that when we try to draw small amounts of magic, to help with controlling our elements, it’s weak. We are weaker as well. I fear that even if we had a witch on our side it’s too late. I fear Lorcan is too powerful for us, any of us, to defeat. God help the shifter race.
I grabbed my phone and opened the group text.
Me: Guys! I found something.
Lucian: What did you find?
Graydon: And
Zeke: What it is, sweetheart?
Max: Don’t keep us waiting, woman.
Me: First, I need to make sure of something. Lucian, can you tell me the name of the witch from Cat’s vision?
Lucian: Circe.
Me: I thought so. In a journal entry, Camila mentions that they were going to get help from a witch. One guess on who that witch was.
Graydon: Circe.
Me: Ding, ding. The problem is Circe betrayed Camilla. Circe was a spy for Lorcan.
Lucian: Did it say anything else?
Me: Just that he was gathering magic from nature and she knew he was too powerful. Camilla knew she wasn’t going to win that fight.
Zeke: So that talisman is still out there in the hands of someone else. Someone we don’t know.
Lucian: Yes.
Me: That’s not the only problem.
Max: You mean there’s even more bad news? Ugh.
Me: Unfortunately, yes. Circe was alive two hundred years ago. How is she still alive today? And does that mean that Lorcan is still alive as well?
Lucian: Are we sure it’s the same person? Could it be a descendant and she is just named after her?
Me: I don’t know. I think you’re right Lucian, but I think we need to be prepared for anything.
Max: I foresee us speaking to a witch in the near future.
Max: Guys, just so you know you should read that last text in a Zoltar voice. You know the fake fortune teller machine, because that’s totally how I said it in my head as I typed it.
Graydon sends the eye roll emoji, Zeke the face palm emoji, and Lucian just a simple ‘smh’. I laugh because I can picture each of them doing exactly what they texted. Man, I love these boys. We may not have all the answers right now, but we will. We won’t stop until we do, and we win.