The ride was bumpy, and Grady clutched the armrests in his fists. I’d never feared flying or of much of anything. The brand on my arm and worry for Camille occupied my thoughts. I needed to stay strong. Grady had indicated the effects of the seal would be magnified the farther I got away from Sardinia, and I hoped my magic wouldn’t be affected.
“So, there’s a way to get this seal off?”
“Yes.” He swallowed hard, explaining that the process resembled an exorcism. Each of the marks of the brand created a tether to my soul. One by one the links had to be extracted. Only a few witches knew the spell, and fewer still were willing to use it to extract Michael’s coven’s brand.
“I thought you said only Michael’s coven had a seal.”
“All the lines have a seal. Only Michael’s coven requires it. Some covens give the option. Others never use it. It’s sort of about freedom of choice.”
“But you know someone who you think would be willing to remove it?” My leg bounced as I contemplated all the unknowns that awaited me.
“For a price.” He shut his eyes as the plane dipped again.
“What kind?”
“You were smart enough not to ask how much.”
“What? Like my first born or something?” Camille’s face popped into my head at the thought of having a child. I squinted my eyes, wondering where the stream of consciousness had come from. I was seventeen for goodness sakes.
“Usually years.”
“Like years of my life?”
“Yes, she is able to transfer your years to herself.”
“If I’m going to live a thousand years, I can probably stand to lose a few. Have you seen it done? How long will it take? Couldn’t I get it removed before we go to Iceland?”
“No, it is at least a ten-day process. They disconnect each tether from your soul by winding it around a stake, making a small quarter turn every hour or so, so the tether doesn’t break. You could picture it as detaching a vein from your heart by drawing it from your wrist.”
I drew in a deep breath. “We can’t afford ten days. We’ll have to speed it up. I want to find Alena and Hunter as soon as possible.”
“How do you propose to do that?”
“We have all the clues from Camille’s visions. She created a document describing all her hallucinations. I memorized it. She saw Alena’s mom, Anne, escort Alena and Hunter to a safe house. If we get to the Anne, she will take us to Alena and Hunter.”
“Why would she trust us?”
“Camille’s visions, they will believe.” They had to accept our story. I would do anything to get them to trust me. It was our only hope.
“Prepare for landing.” The captain announced over the intercom.
“Not sure how that is different from now,” Grady commented as he tightened his seat belt.
The mechanic acted as the co-pilot, and I could see him flipping switches. Then he spoke into a radio in Italian, I assumed getting clearance for landing. The plane dipped and swerved as we dropped altitude. Grady’s complexion turned an ashen green, and I prayed he didn’t puke. Out the window, I watched as we descended through the clouds and the city’s lights appeared below us. I’d always wanted to come to Rome. My fascination with religion and its credibility drew me to the city. All it took for me to believe had been for me to become a mystical being, and I chuckled under my breath at the idea.
“You find my fears funny?” Grady gripped the seat.
“No, sir.” I sat up straight. “Just laughing at myself. I never believed in God or miracles. Now I am supposedly descended from angels and can perform them.”
“You’re only part angel. Don’t let it go to your head.”
The plane jerked as the back wheels hit, and I braced for the complete landing. After another bump, the engines slowed, and we glided to a stop.
“Better now?” I asked as we unbuckled our seatbelts and stood.
“Not until my feet hit the pavement.”
A cab arrived for us within ten minutes, and I climbed in the front while Grady and the pilot took the back seats. The streets grew narrower and transitioned from modern asphalt to cobblestone as we neared the city’s center. I took in building after building, barely believing I was finally in Rome. Passing a statue of an angel, I thought of Camille. I guessed she would love to see the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel. When all this craziness was over, we’d explore the world together.
The cab came to a stop. Before I could reach for the handle, the pilot had a knife at my throat. I knew not to make a move, but in my head, I mentally laughed. As if I couldn’t kill him with a thought.
He spit something at Grady in Italian, and Grady responded in kind. I gave Camille’s father credit for his show of force. Up until that point, I wasn’t sure how much of an ally he would be in a real fight.
“I’ll be five minutes.” He nodded to me. I figured he hadn’t given the cab driver the real address. That would have been stupid.
“I’ll be here.” I hated the feel of the blade on my neck. It reminded me of Camille and the cold weight that pressed on my chest. On the verge of using my magic to shove the blade into his heart, I balled my hands into fists. The cab driver yelled at the pilot, and I wished I’d studied something other than Chinese. The driver ended the rant with the word polizia and reached for his mobile phone.
The pilot turned the knife on the driver. The wide-eyed cabbie jumped from the car and slammed his fists onto the roof. I looked at the pilot, and he aimed the blade at me again. The pilot said something else in Italian, and I assumed it to be a threat of some sort. Again, the word polizia came up, and I guessed he didn’t want police involvement any more than I did.
Seeing Grady approach, I breathed a sigh of relief. My eyes cut to the pilot and back to Grady, praying Grady had enough to satisfy the man. I didn’t want to harm anyone else. The image of the two guards I’d killed rescuing Camille flashed through my mind. Wondering if I could erase memories, I watched as Grady paid the cabbie, opened the back door, and slid in beside the pilot.
Grady laid the packet of money on the seat and slid it to the pilot. The pilot made an exclamation in Italian. Grady reached for the package. Withdrawing the blade from my skin, the pilot pointed it at Grady. Opening the envelope, he laid the bills out one by one.
Knife still in the air, the pilot took the money and stuffed it in his coat. He shoved the door open, jumped out of the vehicle, and ran down the street. The cab driver yelled at his retreating form.
“What now?” My breath formed a cloud in the air.
“Let’s go.” Grady tilted his head to the street.
As we exited the car, the driver turned his attention to us. Bowing in apology, we backed away from him.
I followed Grady up a hill to the corner. Halfway to the next block, he turned down an alley. The brick homes were lined up, one after the other with barely a foot between each. After the third house, we made our way down a flight of steps to a wooden door. Waving his hand in front of the entrance, Grady depressed the lever on the handle and ushered me in.
“It wasn’t locked?” I scanned the room in front of me wondering if we were safe.
“Magic. I spell the house so only I can get in.”
A single bulb hung above a table, and Grady pulled the chain. Light illuminated the room, revealing a stove, cabinet, and small refrigerator on one side and cot on the other.
Grady sat down at the table and pulled a metal box towards him. Stowing it under his arm, he stood. “It’s not much of a place. There’s a shower, and we’ll find you a blanket. You’ll have to sleep on the cot.”
“Better than a tree.” An image of the cell I’d rescued Camille from flashed in front of my eyes.
“We have food.” Grady opened the cupboard to reveal several cans of soups and beans.
“I have some food in my pack. So, we’re safe here?” I spun around, surveying the entry points.
“Magic proof, sound proof.” Grady swirled his index finger in the air.
“Good. Do you want to shower first?”
“No, you go ahead. I’m going to call Tyler and Janine. There’s probably something that will fit good enough up in the bedroom. Tyler’s about your size, so once we get to Iceland we should be able to find you something better to wear.”
“Thanks.” I took the stairs two at a time.
I showered and brushed my teeth with the supplies in the medicine cabinet. I washed out my wet outfit from the castle and hung it over the shower bar. Every single action—the shower, brushing my teeth, cleaning my clothes—had me wondering what Camille was doing. Was she lost in the forest looking for us? Had we fled too soon? Had they locked her up in a cell again? My stomach clenched as I thought about her being captured by Sonia. Forcing my legs to carry me down the stairs, I took a seat beside Grady.
He punched a few keys on a laptop, and depressed the enter button. “We are booked on a flight to Reykjavik first thing tomorrow.” He slid a passport to me. “Good thing you have dark hair like Tyler.”
My heart palpitated, and I rested my hand on my chest, wondering what my body was telling me.
Grady’s eyebrows shot up. “You okay?”
“Yeah, probably need food.” I raised my bag to the table and felt inside for the cured meats and bread I’d packed.
“You have to help me convince Janine and Tyler this threat is real. Janine is very evidence based, so she won’t be easy to persuade.”
I shook my head. He hadn’t given Camille the choice to embrace a magical world, I wouldn’t take away Janine and Tyler’s. “I won’t use mind control on them.”
“That’s not what I mean. I’ll need you to show off your magic. I don’t seem to have mine back yet.”
“You got in this place.”
“It’s more of a magic print than a spell.”
“Well, I can do some tricks then.” A yawn escaped my lips.
Grady rose and retrieved two blankets from under the counter. Taking them, I tossed them onto the cot.
“Okay, well, I’ll see you bright and early.” Grady pulled the cord, turning off the bulb, and took the stairs two at a time.
Lying on my back, I let the heaviness of the last two days sink in. I’d lost Camille. I rubbed my arm where she’d made me cut it the first time and huffed. Not one to be emotional about much, I wondered at how she’d worked herself into my heart, or more like how I’d pulled her into mine. Remember, Jude, she wanted nothing to do with you. She thought I was a spy out to kidnap her. Camille had finally realized I wasn’t, told me she loved me, and I abandoned her. I didn’t deserve her love. I should have stayed with her. Even if she hated me for it, I should have gotten her out, right then, without her dad. Tears formed in my eyes. No. I swiped them away. If there was one thing I knew about Camille, she was a survivor.
I told myself this over and over as my body pricked with the strain of the past forty-eight hours. Vacillating between cycles of berating myself and thinking about what state Camille might be in, I finally succumbed to my exhaustion.
The alarm sounded at five. Through the bathroom window, I noted a heavy bank of clouds. Slapping my cheeks after a shave, I forced thoughts of Camille out of my brain. I’d go crazy if I allowed myself to imagine what she might be going through. Downstairs, I stuffed a couple of the sandwiches I’d stolen from the castle in my bag. I followed Grady to the street where he had a cab waiting. My passport indicated I was a US Citizen named Thomas Smith. It held stamps for Iceland, Italy, France, England, and Spain. Grady also had US driver’s licenses and credit cards to match the passports. I guessed he was a pro at aliases and wondered how much the documents cost him. Then, I realized magic could get you anything.
At the airport, with no luggage to check, we went straight to the security line. I slapped my leg, waiting to show my identification. When my turn came, I handed the guard my passport and ticket. He looked at me, then down at the document and returned it. Breathing a sigh of relief, I followed Grady to the gate.
When the airplane took off, it entered the cloud bank before we got high enough to see Sardinia. Part of me had wanted to see the island, hang on to the connection of at least being in the same country as Camille. The other part of me pushed thoughts of my betrayal away. How could I be abandoning her like this? I’d told her I would stay with her, we’d figure things out together.
Grady grabbed my arm. “There’s no other way. Give your knuckles a rest.”
I turned my fingers over, realizing they were nearly raw from rubbing them on the armrest.
As the minutes and then hours ticked on, my chest grew tighter and tighter, my breathing more labored. My arms developed chill bumps, and I stuffed my fingers in my armpits to keep them warm.
“Just a day in Reykjavik and then we’ll be back,” Grady assured me as he handed over a second cup of hot tea brought by the flight attendant.
“I’ll be fine.” I sipped the tea, forcing calming breaths in and out of my lungs.
Landing in Iceland, we waited in the security line. My vision had grown hazy, and I struggled to keep upright. When we made it to the front, the guard took our documents. His eyes cut from the pages to me.
“You okay there?”
Grady wound an arm around my shoulder. “He has asthma. Dry air on the plane is never good for him. We forgot his medication. But he’ll be good as new once we get him to a pharmacy.”
“I see.” The man stamped our passports and handed them to Grady.
“How much wimpier could you have made me look?” I asked as we walked to the exit.
“He doesn’t care.”
“I do.” I coughed as the cold air hit my lungs.
“You’re not looking so good, but I’m surprised you made it this far,” Grady said as we took seats on the shuttle bus.
I sucked in another breath. “How do the coven members live with this burden? I mean if they can’t travel freely, they’re basically prisoners.”
“Ah, that is the catch. The leader of the coven, Thanatos, dictates your status and thus your freedom. I am guessing you were given a very short leash. They probably assume you’re already dead. I’m surprised you’re not.”
“Well, that’s something.” It was a sobering and yet freeing notion. If they assumed I’d died, they would be less likely to expect a rescue attempt. I’d have to use that to my advantage. I wondered if my vampirism helped sustain me.
It was a short ride to Janine and Tyler’s hotel. Grady squeezed and released his fist as we made our way to their room. I speculated as to which of us dreaded this meeting more. Grady had years of lies to make up for, but it was me who’d left her vulnerable.
“Did you tell them about Camille yet?”
“No.” Grady’s brow furrowed.
“Do you know what you’re going to tell them?” I thought Grady would have at least told them I was coming and something about Camille, but I guessed he thought it better to tell them in person.
Grady pushed the button for the elevator. “The truth.”
“Maybe I should start first.” I rested my back against the wall. My feet felt like dead weights, and I couldn’t catch my breath. “It is sort of the beginning of Camille’s story. It might be better than you coming out with ‘I’m a witch.’”
“What line are you?”
Feeling a surge of pride, I broadened my shoulders. “Gabriel’s, I’m a messenger. As you said, a herald.”
“That you are, Jude.” He slapped a hand on my back. “I will use your council in this matter.”
When Grady rapped on the door, Tyler answered. His eyes narrowed as they landed on me. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be with Dr. Antos and Camille in Italy.” He looked to his dad. “Dad, why is he with you? Where’s Camille?”
“Tyler.” Janine appeared behind Tyler, and her eyes bore into mine. “Jude?”
“Can we come in?” Grady took a step forward even though Tyler hadn’t budged from his position in the doorway.
“Grady, Jude, where’s Camille?” Janine’s voice rose an octave as her eyes cut between the two of us.
“We’ll tell you everything inside.” Grady motioned into the space.
I checked the hall behind us and followed Grady into the small room.
“Where’s Camille?” Janine demanded as I propped against the desk.
I looked to Grady, whose eyes were trained on the floor. I would have used my mood control, but didn’t want to waste my energy on little things. “Let’s sit down.” I motioned to the small table and chairs beside the window.
“No.” Janine squared her shoulders.
I drew in a deep breath. “First,” I started, “we believe Camille will not be harmed.”
“What?” Janine turned to Grady.
“Hear him out,” Grady motioned to me.
“Just tell us where she is,” Tyler interjected.
“She’s still in Sardinia.”
“With Dr. Antos?” Janine’s eyes bore into mine.
“Yes, with Dr. Antos.” Pulling the chair from under the desk, I lowered myself to the seat. “This is going to be hard, but I need to start at the beginning.” I told them how I’d had reoccurring hallucinations every couple of years. Looking back, they seemed to form a pattern. Every two to three years, always as my birthday neared, they’d become more intense until they broke into my daily life. Each time, my dad would clear his schedule for a week and we’d move. He’d tell me maybe the change in surroundings would help, and it always seemed to, until the last episode the prior summer.
“That’s why I sought out M…”—I almost said Miguel—“Dr. Antos, and came to the camp here in Iceland.”
“Where you met Camille,” Grady supplied.
“Yes, where I met Camille.” Reviewing how we’d bonded over our similar issues, I told them how I’d rolled the heater towards George with my mind. Glancing between them, I tried to gauge their reactions.
“You mean like with magic?” Tyler asked.
“Yes, I realized I could do things with my mind that others couldn’t.”
“Like the characters in Camille’s visions? You believe you can do magic? What does this have to do with Camille?” Janine threw up her hands.
I held my palm out. “I know this is hard. Camille and I can do magic. Dr. Antos held those camps to find kids with our abilities.”
“This is crazy.” Tyler bolted out of his chair.
Figuring there wasn’t any other way, I twirled a finger in the air calling to the wind to levitate the pillow from the bed. The pillow rose and hovered in front of Tyler, rotating slowly.
Tyler ran his arm under and over the floating sham.
Janine turned to face Grady. “Why are you with Jude?”
“Miguel’s, or Dr. Antos’s, coven—”
“A coven?” Tyler’s voice broke mid-word. “That term rolled off your lips like you’d known it all your life.”
Wiping his face, Grady looked at his son. “I am an archeologist and a witch.”
“You’re a witch?” Janine’s words came out barely a whisper.
“Yes.” He pointed to the other sham, and it joined the first, hovering a few feet off the floor.
I let mine drop. “Grady was abducted by Dr. Antos’s coven so he wouldn’t be able to rescue Camille. My dad is still held by the coven.”
“In Sardinia?” Janine backed to the bed and sat on the edge. “And they have Camille, that’s what you’re telling me. You got out, but she didn’t.” Her head bobbed up and down, and I worried that she might go into shock.
I knelt in front of her. “Camille is a strong witch. She is special, and they won’t harm her.” I left out that they probably needed her alive. I didn’t want the idea that her life might be in danger sitting in Janine’s mind. It was a heavy enough burden for me, and I wouldn’t impose it on Camille’s mom.
“All these years”—Janine’s eyes traced to Grady—“you kept this from me. That our children could be witches?”
Grady’s eyes dropped to his lap. “That’s why I travel. Witches are cursed. We’re not allowed to live in one place for more than two years. I didn’t want that for Camille and Tyler. If they didn’t join a coven by their eighteenth birthdays, they could live a normal life.”
Putting her hand to her chest, she sucked in a deep breath. “All these years, Camille’s hallucinations, the moves?”
Tyler’s knee bounced and he shot out of the chair, finger aimed at Grady. “What is this? Some extortion plot? Where is Camille?”
Grady’s eyes cut between his son and Janine and then to me.
I pushed off the desk to a standing position. “Camille is in Sardinia, in the compound we went to under the guise of getting extra help with our schizophrenia. Camille went there willingly, knowing she was a witch. She is special because she was born on the summer solstice. She is known as a child of light because she, along with her friends Alena and Hunter, will bring freedom to enslaved beings. She believed they held Grady, and she was right.” I motioned to him. “It’s my fault she is still there. I left her to go free Grady. When I came back, she was gone.” I hung my head to my chest.
Grady held his palms out toward Janine and Tyler. “Our best hope for getting her back is finding Alena and Hunter. They will have the resources to rescue her. We came here to make sure you were safe. It is likely that Michael’s coven will try to take one of you as leverage against Camille.”
Tyler ran his fingers through his hair. “This is seriously freaky. My birthday is the same as Camille’s. Am I like her?”
“You may be a witch and a herald like Jude.” Grady explained my role as herald.
Tyler shook his head at me. “So, you seriously failed Camille then?”
I sat down in the desk chair, drawing in labored breaths. “Yes.” I dropped my head to my hands.
Looking up after some seconds of silence, I noticed Janine’s head continued to move in slow bobs. She jerked it up to face Grady. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she yelled. “I slammed a horse tranquilizer into our daughter’s thigh.” Janine covered her mouth with her hand and ran to the bathroom.
Tyler’s gaze landed on me. “What’s wrong with you?”
Turning over my arm, I explained about the brand. The toilet flushed and Janine returned. “My dad hid that he was a witch from me too,” I told them.
“I’m eighteen already. Does that mean I missed my window?” Tyler walked to the window and back.
“I don’t know.” Grady shook his head.
“Don’t even think about it.” Janine pointed her index finger at Tyler. She turned to face Grady. “So, we find Alena and Hunter and get our daughter back, right?”
“Yes.” Grady nodded, and his shoulders relaxed for the first time since we entered the room.
Tyler spun around. “Wait? So, if Camille’s visions were real, does that mean vampires exist?”
“Yes,” I confirmed.
Tyler’s hands went to each side of his head. “I can’t believe this. Someone wake me up from this crazy dream.”
“Okay, so we’re going to Los Angeles to find Alena and Hunter.” Janine crossed to her suitcase and started tossing things in it.
Grady rung his hands. “It’s not that easy. We need Jude’s mark off first. We’ll go back to Italy, have the brand removed, and then go to LA.”
“Can you go to Italy and we go to LA?” Janine flung clothes into her bag.
“You wouldn’t be safe. I came here to get you, to take you with us, so you and Tyler would be safe. No matter what you think, especially after all this.” Grady waved his hand around the room. “I love you. I always have. And I love Camille and Tyler.” Tears formed in Grady’s eyes.
There was a good minute of silence, and I looked between Janine, Tyler, and Grady, wishing I hadn’t had to be part of their intimate moment.
Tyler stood. “When do I start training?” He picked a backpack off the floor and started stuffing clothes in it.
“In Rome.” Grady pulled two more passports from his bag. “Here, I already have flights reserved for this evening.”
“You assumed we’d go with you? I have a life, a vet practice.” Janine stopped packing and put her hand to her hip.
He got up and crossed to her, helping her fit shoes into the suitcase. “It won’t help Camille if something happens to you.”
Tyler heaved his backpack onto his shoulders. “You don’t have to tell me twice. Let’s get this show on the road.”
The weight of the mark and lack of food had me wiped out. Not that I would have admitted that weakness to anyone. I ordered a huge plate of sushi at the airport, which stabilized my energy level. Feeling vulnerable had me on edge. It’d never been a comfortable feeling. The more unstable things were at home, the more time I spent in the gym buffing up, or in the library making sure I was faster, stronger, smarter than the next guy. Before the Iceland camp, I’d been a dude wearing a huge ego, a tough-guy persona, harboring an equally large fear of never being enough. The perfect psyche of an addict, I probably would have followed in my mom’s footsteps if not for Dr. Antos’s intervention. At least I had Miguel to thank for that. The camp offered me a chance to shed the chip on my shoulder long enough to bond with someone. Not that I didn’t have friends. I did, lots of them, but none I would have let my guard down with. My grandparents were great, but the whole absent-mother-and-father thing had played a number on me.
Grady sat down beside me as we waited at the gate. “How are you holding up?”
Mentally wincing, I shrugged my shoulders. “Fine.”
“Is that going to be your stock answer?”
“You think I’m going to complain when Ca—” I couldn’t finish the sentence.
“I know. It’s killing me too. But we should focus on the next thing in front of us. You think you can lure some magic out of Tyler fast enough for him to be of use?”
“Depends on the what type of tactics you want to use.”
“What do you mean?” He shot me a sideways look.
“Miguel, or Dr. Antos, used fear and torture to challenge us. I think that’s how he got us ready so fast.”
“These are the details I don’t want to know, right?”
“Yes. I couldn’t believe how well Camille held up. For someone with such an empathetic heart, she was a rock.”
“Thanks for that. Seems that you’re quite impressed with her.” His eyes bore into mine.
I stretched my shoulders and straightened my spine. “I would go to the ends of the earth for her. And not just because I am her herald.”
“I guessed as much. I don’t need to know any of the particulars about that relationship either.”
My face flamed, and I cleared my throat remembering our first kiss. “I wasn’t going to share them.”
“You’re not as ironclad as you seem.” He slapped his leg, stood, and crossed the aisle to sit beside Tyler.
It was a large jet, and our party was seated four in a row. Janine didn’t want to be anywhere near her husband, so I got stuck between her and Tyler. He’d read Camille’s accounts of her visions, and pestered me with questions for the first hour of the flight.
As the span of miles between Sardinia and me shortened, my chest began to lighten. With the strain of labored breathing gone, I relaxed and dozed in my seat. I woke to see the sun rising and marveled at how long it’d been since I’d seen the star. Landing, we sunk below the cloud bank again, and the landscape took on the gray hue I’d grown accustomed to.
Making our way to another of Grady’s safe houses, we settled in our rooms. Grady procured some bread and meat from a market down the street. After the meal, I showered and climbed in bed, exhausted from the three days of travel.
When I woke, it was dark. Hearing an additional voice, I pulled my shirt over my head and made my way downstairs. With a curved spine, hunched shoulders, and gray thinning hair, the woman sitting across from Grady conjured the image of the witch from the tale of Hansel and Gretel. I expected to see a crooked nose and haggled teeth when she turned to face me, but her blue eyes radiated warmth.
“Child.” She started to stand, and I reached out to support her arm. Her skin felt as smooth as silk and thin as a tissue.
“I’m a lot hardier than I look.” Returning to her seat, she motioned for me to sit beside her.
“I’m Helene.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“We were discussing payment.” Grady updated me.
“You should have woken me.” I turned to face the woman, wondering if I should share my name or not.
“It’s okay, son. I understand you don’t know who to trust.”
Had she read my mind? “What do you want?”
“One year?” Grady asked.
“Ten years.” Her eyes cut to me.
Remembering what Grady told me I matched her stare. “How are the years taken?”
“Much in the same way I remove the marks.”
“I want two tethers removed a day. And I’ll pay you whatever you want.”
“You won’t survive.” She shook her head.
“I will survive. I don’t have time to spend ten days here. Either five days or we’ll find someone else.” I figured she valued her time alive above anything else. Why else would she ask for that payment? If I were going to live nine hundred years, what were ten to me? Perhaps I wouldn’t feel that way when I neared a millennia, but I prayed a life well lived meant I would be content.
“I’m guessing Grady knows several healers capable of the task.” She stared past me, and I waited. Finally, her mouth moved. “I will do it.”
“So, you can start now?” It’d been eighty hours since I’d left Camille, and I didn’t want any time wasted. I wouldn’t rest, not well, until she was safe.
“I can’t make it up the stairs. You’ll have to bring a cot down here.”
Grady called over his shoulder. “Tyler, help Jude bring a bed down.”
Tyler followed me upstairs, where we surveyed the choices. We picked the lightest one and carried it into the kitchen as Helene instructed, dodging the corners as we went. Janine found sheets and blankets. I lay down on the bed, unsure of what was to come next. Sitting beside me, Helene opened her bag and covered the stool in front of her with a cloth. Then she laid out various instruments. One looked like a small hook, another formed the shape of a cross, and another resembled an empty spool of string. Last, she took out a metal box etched with symbols like the ones branded on my arm.
When she turned to me, I took a deep breath.
“Are you ready?” she asked.
“Yes,” I told her with all the resolve I could muster. Glancing at Janine, Tyler, and Grady gathered in the adjoining space, I focused on Helene.
She explained the process, and I nodded at the appropriate places, praying she knew what she was doing. Tapping on one of the symbols of the box, the symbol popped up from the surface. Pulling it from the container, she pressed it to the matching symbol on my arm. Ice-cold, the metal seared my skin, and I clenched my jaw to keep from yelling. Tugging the symbol from my wrist, she lifted it away from my arm. Stuck to the metal, the skin stretched. As my skin snapped away from the metal face, a beam of blue light appeared between the tool and my arm.
“It’s working. I have hold of the first tether. Brace yourself.”
Clenching the edge of the bed, I waited for the next step of the process. As she put more distance between the metal anchor and my wrist, the blue beam stretched into a blue strand of light. My amazement was only rivaled by the shock that shot up my arm to my chest. You would have thought someone had a rope around my heart and was ripping it from between my ribs. Sweat formed on my skin, and the immediate cooling made me shiver.
“Keep him dry and warm,” Helene ordered. Janine wiped my brow and chest and covered me with a heavy quilt.
Next, Helene used the hook to snag the blue-stranded tether. She picked up the spool, fed the strand into the middle, and started to wind part of it around the base. All the while, my chest cavity heaved with waves of pain. Spots of light formed in my vision, and the room dimmed around me. A ringing sound grew in my ears.
“Okay.” Helene stopped pulling and tied the tether around the cross-like tool and laid it atop the brand. “That’s enough for now.”
As the room brightened, I lifted my head to object. Helene pushed my shoulder to the mattress. “Rest for a bit, and we’ll start again.” She stood and turned to Janine. “Get him some broth.”
Janine scooped some liquid from a large pan on the stove into a bowl and crossed to me. Fitting another pillow under my head, she lifted a spoon of the hot mixture to my mouth.
“Don’t worry. Nothing processed.”
“Thank you.” My throat felt raw and dry, and the words were barely audible.
The warm liquid soothed my vocal chords and warmed my body. After I’d ingested half the contents of the bowl, I motioned to Helene. “I’m ready.”
“You are a stubborn child,” she said. But she hobbled back to my side and returned to the task of pulling the tether from my body.
And so, the hours passed through the night, with me on the edge of consciousness and Janine hydrating and nourishing me. I woke to see light gray clouds in the sky beyond the window.
“Is it ever sunny here?” I looked around the room to see if anyone was awake.
At the table, Helene looked to the window and chuckled. “Wait till February, maybe March.”
I held my wrist up, examining it. “Did it work? Is that one out?” The mark she’d started with was no longer black but looked like a scar on my skin.
“It did. But I should warn you. The first one is the easiest, they get harder and harder to extract.”
“And I’ll get tougher and tougher. Start on the next one.” I held my wrist out to her as she rose from her chair.
Shuffling to my side, Helene sat down beside me and spread her tools as she’d done the day before. I steeled myself for the anchor’s singe and the ripping of the tether from my heart muscle. She repeated the same steps, and I closed my eyes and pictured a sunny beach, vacant save for Camille and me. After a while I heard commotion and lifted my head to see Janine, Grady, and Tyler sitting at the table. As the fever ratcheted up, Janine took up her post as nurse, while Grady worked at awakening Tyler’s magic.
My body heated and cooled with each tug on the tether. My brain swam in the delirium of pain, sometimes conscious, sometimes not. The faces swirled around me as Helene pulled on the anchor and Janine placed cool cloths on my head. Grady’s and Tyler’s forms hung in the periphery of my vision, offering me sparks of amusement from time to time.
The third evening, as Helene connected with the fifth tether, I balled my fist as the cold shot through me like a dagger. She pulled the tether and hooked it around the spool as she’d done with the previous four while I gritted my teeth in agony. As Tyler’s image drifted in and out of my consciousness, I realized he’d been staring at the same bowl for hours. Sending a blast of energy his way, I knocked the chair from under him.
“What was that?” Tyler jumped to his feet.
Grady offered him a steadying hand, and as Helene tugged at the tether, I repeated the action.
Tyler’s legs flew up, and he landed on his butt again. Quicker than a wink Tyler was up and charging towards me. “What is your problem?”
“Stand down.” Grady inserted his arm between Tyler and me.
“Jude?” Janine’s eyes landed on mine.
Even through the haze of the pain, I remembered my goal. Camille was the only thing that mattered. “We don’t have time to coddle him. He either can help or he can’t.”
Grady let his arm drop. “You said your mentor had a different approach to training.”
“Yes, an effective one.” I gripped my side as Helene stretched the cord of light from my wrist.
Grady shook his head. “That’s not how it’s supposed to be. He may not even have the ability.”
“I can help as a regular human. I’m strong,” Tyler insisted.
“But you could help more if you were a witch.” I sent a surge to Grady, who flailed backwards, catching himself with the kitchen table.
Janine scrambled to Grady’s side. “Jude, stop.”
Even though I knew Camille wouldn’t approve either, I didn’t stop my ambush. As soon as Grady was up, I hit him again, time after time. I guessed he must have been on board with my approach because he didn’t fight back. Tyler’s face grew more tense with each assault, and his hands formed fists at his side.
Minutes turned to hours, and I grew weak. I rested longer between hits on Grady. As the timing of the blasts grew more erratic, Tyler’s face grew redder and redder with rage. With nothing else to do, he paced and sat and stood and paced again.
Just on the edge of unconsciousness, I saw Grady stand and walk to me. Summoning every bit of power I had left, I sent a pulse of energy towards him, pinning him to the wall across the room.
“Why are you still doing this? Witchcraft is about balance and healing,” Grady belted at me.
“He’s your child. Help him awaken his magic.” I’d grown more and more frustrated as Grady set small challenge after small challenge in front of his son.
“I don’t know how.” Grady wiggled his fingers, trying to loosen the hold of my magic on his body.
“At least fight me. You need to be strengthening your magic too.”
“I’m from the house of Raphael. We are healers. I only started hunting relics to help Camille.”
“That’s bullshit. Camille could do every challenge they put in front of her.”
“She is a child of light.”
“I’m not buying it. You had to have had a mentor.”
Grady’s face contorted, and his eyes panned to the ceiling.
Movement from the side of the room caught my eye, and Tyler’s face appeared in front of me. “That’s enough!” he bellowed. The force of his words and the wave of magic that emanated with them struck me, and the room went dark.