living covenant 03 - eternal covenant Read online

  “How did it happen?”

  “We were all gathered by the back window watching you guys – hoping to catch a glimpse of you through the trees – and … I don’t know … they came in from the back. They had their hands on Kelsey before we realized what was happening.”

  “And then what?” Aric prodded, his patience on display as mine took a back seat to overt rage.

  “There were three of them,” Pemberley supplied. “They were all young. I would say early twenties at the most. The blonde looked to be a teenager if I had to guess. I’m bad with guessing human ages sometimes, though.”

  Aric pressed the heel of his hand against his forehead, risking a glance in my direction before turning back. “Did they hurt her?”

  “They just took her,” Mom said. “The one girl had a knife and she pushed it against Kelsey’s throat. They didn’t threaten us. They just took her.”

  “Which direction did they go?”

  “They disappeared in the woods on the east side of the house,” James answered.

  I strode to the window facing that direction and squinted as I tried to catch a hint of movement. There was nothing.

  “They had to have said something,” Aric pressed. “Maybe they said a warning … or even talked to each other.”

  “They did talk to each other,” Dad said. “They said they had to hurry before the mage got back. They were obviously talking about Zoe.”

  “And knew we were in the woods,” Aric supplied. “They expected us to move. They expected us to leave the house unguarded. I told you this was a mistake.”

  I wanted to lash out, but he was right. Instead I lowered my head and stared at the empty sink. “I know. This is my fault.”

  “No, Zoe, that was a horrible thing to say,” Aric said, moving up behind me. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “It’s the truth, though,” I said. “I was feeling high on life and thought no one could touch me. They couldn’t. What I forgot is they could touch my friends. How could I forget that, given what’s happened before?”

  “Zoe, don’t do this right now,” Aric chided. “I need you at your evil best to figure out how we’re going to get Kelsey back.”

  “My enemies have taken my parents … and you … and Paris … and held you all against me,” I said, lost in thought as I tried to get control of my racing heart and rolling stomach. “They never come after me. They always go through my friends. I should’ve seen this coming.”

  “Well, great! This is exactly what we don’t need,” Aric snapped. “You need to get a grip, Zoe. Feeling sorry for yourself won’t bring Kelsey back. We have a limited timetable to work with here.”

  I didn’t immediately answer him so he heaved a disgusted sigh and turned back to everyone else. “We need to figure out what they’re doing, and we need to do it now.”

  “The only way to do that is to make Zoe use her new gift,” Rafael said, appearing in the hallway. He was careful to stay in the shadows and not risk the sun. “That will help us find Kelsey.”

  “How?” I asked, frustrated. “I don’t have memories of these … witches … to contort. What am I supposed to show them?”

  “Have you learned nothing over the past few days?” Rafael challenged, taking me by surprise with his vehemence.

  “I don’t know what you want me to say,” I said, fighting the urge to cry. “I don’t know how to save her. Short of burning the entire forest down, what can I do?”

  “You managed to suck Aric and yourself into a safe place yesterday,” Rafael reminded me, refusing to adjust his tone despite the eye daggers Aric lobbed in his direction. “You were being bombarded, yet you managed to keep your wits about you and protect yourself. How did you do that?”

  “I didn’t consciously do it,” I hissed. “It just … happened.”

  “I don’t believe that,” Rafael said. “Part of you knew what you were doing. You did the one thing – the only thing – that could save both of you. Then, once inside, you figured out a way to heal yourself.

  “You didn’t do that because you were determined to save yourself, although I’m sure that was a nice byproduct,” he continued. “You did that to save Aric. Now you must do the same to save Kelsey.”

  “But … I don’t know how,” I said, hating how whiny I sounded. “What happened yesterday was a fluke.”

  “You brought Aric back from the dead,” Rafael charged. “Don’t bother arguing. We all know he was dead. He might’ve been dead for only a few seconds, but he still died. You saved him.”

  “Kelsey isn’t dead,” I said, my voice cracking.

  “Knock it off, Rafael,” Aric warned, his tone low and threatening. “Don’t push her. You might not like what happens if you do.”

  “I don’t believe for a second that she would hurt me,” Rafael replied calmly. “You don’t believe she could ever hurt you either. I see it. Your parents aren’t so sure. That’s their one worry about building a life with Zoe. They try to hide it from you, but I see it.

  “You’re looking at this the wrong way, Zoe,” he continued. “Don’t look at it as going after the enemy you need to know. That’s a secondary concern. Look at is as going after the friend you do know.”

  Realization washed over me and I finally understood what he was saying. “Oh.”

  “Oh what?” Paris asked. “Did he just explain something? If he did, I don’t get it.”

  “I’m not sure I do either,” Aric admitted, rubbing my back. “What are you saying?”

  “She can get in Kelsey’s mind,” Rafael explained. “She’s already been there. She showed her a memory. That’s a parlor trick. The true trick was getting in Kelsey’s mind at all. She did it with me, too.”

  “But … she has to touch Kelsey to get in her mind,” Aric argued.

  “Does she?” Rafael arched an eyebrow. “I’ve seen nothing to suggest Zoe has to touch anyone to do what she does. Her other magic works remotely. Why can’t this?”

  “I get what you’re saying,” Aric said, his voice rising as excitement overtook him. “Zoe can reach out to Kelsey and find out where she is.”

  “That will level the playing field,” Rafael said. “The witches expect us to come after them. They don’t realize Zoe has the power to lead us straight to them. They’ll try to play games with us in the woods, separate us. That won’t be a problem if Zoe knows where we’re supposed to go before we even set out.”

  “We?” I asked. “You can’t go out in the sun.”

  “I have faith you will get around that particular problem, too,” Rafael said. “I made the mistake of underestimating you numerous times when you were younger. I will not make that mistake again. You can do this. I know you can.”

  “What if she can’t?” Helen asked.

  Rafael ignored her. “Find Kelsey. You’re the only one who can, Zoe.”

  TWENTY minutes later I locked myself in my bedroom. Concentrating with a roomful of people watching you isn’t easy, and after ten minutes of fruitless searching I made my escape. Now I had no excuses.

  I closed my eyes, briefly thinking of Kelsey’s angular features and odd green eyes. I thought of her laughter. I thought of her mischievous smile. Then I found myself floating.

  My mind left the bedroom, flew over the yard, and headed into the trees. I was bodiless but not mindless. It didn’t take long to find Kelsey. She was close to the river, not quite in the spot where the totem had stood but only a mile away along the riverbank. I recognized the spot. I talked to a wolf there a few weeks ago, one I would end up killing to save my parents.

  I saw Kelsey with my mind’s eye before moving into her head. She was terrified, yet she refused to show it to her captors. There were five witches there, all young like Pemberley described. They were feeling pretty good about themselves, too. I took a moment to listen before knocking on Kelsey’s internal door.

  “Did you see the look on the witch’s face? I thought she was going to pass out … or cry. We totally took her by s
urprise.” The speaker was a young brunette, her cheeks round and flushed as she bobbed her head up and down. “We totally beat them.”

  “We haven’t beaten anyone yet,” the lone blonde challenged. “The mage is going to be pissed. She’s going to come looking for her friend. We have to be ready for her.”

  “How do you suggest we do that?” one of the other girls asked. “She’s powerful. She should’ve died last night, yet somehow she saved herself and the wolf. Then she managed to slam some sort of force field over the house. The only reason we got in is because she went out.”

  “Yeah, how did she do that?” one of the other women asked. “That shouldn’t have been possible, should it?”

  “She’s trickier than we thought,” the blonde witch said. “I’ll give her that. We’re in control now, though. She’ll have no choice but to deal if she wants her friend back. I can’t wait to see the look on her face when she realizes what we want.”

  “How are we going to stop her from taking what she wants?” the first girl asked. “She could storm into this clearing and take this one before we get a chance to tell her our demands.”

  “Not if we set the wards,” the blonde said. “The wards will stop her. Then we’ll have her exactly where we want her.”

  I’d heard enough, so I tapped on Kelsey’s mind. She widened her eyes when she realized what was happening, and then I stepped inside. It was a surreal experience. That weird clown sat in the corner staring at me – offering me some really goofy waves and tooting one of those handheld horns to get my attention as I worked overtime to avoid eye contact. We were going to have to talk about that clown.

  “I’m coming,” I said. “It won’t be long. I know where this spot is. Don’t worry. Don’t say anything. The wards won’t be a problem. I’ll have help. This will all be over soon.”

  Kelsey didn’t know how to respond without talking out loud, so she mutely nodded.

  “I’ll be here soon,” I said. “I’ll make them pay. Don’t worry. I’m getting married tomorrow. I’m taking care of the rest of this tonight. I don’t care how it happens, but it’s going to happen. Have faith, because I’ll never abandon you.”

  Those were my final words before retreating. It was time to end this.

  24

  Twenty-Four

  “Well?”

  I met Aric’s expectant eyes as I walked out of the bedroom, gracing him with a small smile to reassure him that feeling sorry for myself wasn’t an option. “She’s down by the river,” I said. “She’s not by the totem. She’s farther down, close to the spot where I saw the wolf that day I went for a walk.”

  “Is there a safe way to approach?” James asked.

  “They said they’re putting up wards.”

  “Wait, you heard the witches talking?” Rafael asked. “I thought you were hopping into Kelsey’s mind and then returning?”

  “I did that,” I said. “It was a little different than I initially envisioned. In fact, I kind of know what it feels like to fly now.”

  “Did you hear the Superman theme in your head when you did it?” Paris asked.

  I didn’t want to laugh. Part of me was still angry with her for letting Kelsey get taken. I couldn’t stop myself, though. “You know me too well.”

  “Okay, how are we going to do this?” Aric asked. “If they’re setting wards, I think that means we have to take Paris with us.”

  “We need Rafael, too,” Paris said. “They might fear a vampire. That means we’ll have to wait until dark.”

  “We’re not waiting until dark,” I said.

  “Are you going to fry him alive?” Pemberley asked. “While I wasn’t keen on his appearance when he first showed up, I’ve grown rather fond of him now.” He winked in Rafael’s direction. “I would like to dance with him at the wedding..”

  “That’s not going to happen,” I said. “He’ll be fine.”

  Rafael pursed his lips as we locked gazes. “How are you going to do it, little mage? Are you going to make me dress in a trench coat and hat?”

  “Would that work?”

  “No.”

  “Then I’m not going to do it,” I said. “I’m going to do something else.”

  “I can’t wait to hear this,” Aric said. “Don’t keep us in suspense.”

  “You can go outside as long as it’s not sunny, right?” I asked. “I mean … if it were to storm for a couple of hours you would be able to help as long as there was no chance of the sun coming out, right?”

  Rafael knit his eyebrows. “Are you telling me you can control the weather?”

  I licked my lips, unsure of how I wanted to answer. “You can go outside if it storms, right?”

  “Technically yes,” Rafael answered. “It has to be a storm that lasts for a long time, though. I cannot risk a brief cloudburst.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” I said. “It’ll be a big storm.”

  “Wait a second, Zoe,” Aric cautioned. “How are you going to make it storm? Are you going to cast a spell with Paris?”

  “I guess we could do that,” Paris hedged. “I’m not sure it would work, though, and I would need hours to prepare. I’ve never tried it before. I’ve heard about other witches being able to do it, so it’s feasible.”

  “We’re not casting a spell,” I said. “I’m going to make it storm on my own. If we cast a spell we’d risk the other witches being able to reverse it. Speaking of the other witches, we need to be careful. I didn’t see the three wolves from the ice cream parlor, but I have to believe they’re involved in this somehow.

  “My guess is the witches either charmed or spelled them to do their bidding,” I continued. “I’ll bet they’re in the woods. We need to avoid them until we have Kelsey back. Then all bets are off.”

  “You’re making a lot of plans,” Aric said. “I like that. When you’re proactive things tend to work out. You still haven’t told me how you plan to control the weather. I’ve never seen you do that.”

  “Technically you have,” I countered. “I just had … help.”

  Aric frowned as he racked his brain. It took him a moment, but when he realized what I was talking about his tense smile slipped. “You didn’t control the weather that day,” he argued. “You touched The Archimage and the skies opened up with lightning. It only lasted as long as you touched the book.”

  “Did she actually make it storm?” Rafael asked, intrigued.

  “Yes, but … not really,” Aric replied.

  “I will really turn into a big pile of ash if the sun comes out,” Rafael said. “What makes you think you can control the weather?”

  “It happened when I touched the book,” I said, licking my lips. “Now that I’ve absorbed the book, I should be able to do it for a longer period of time.”

  “But you don’t know that you can,” Paris pressed.

  “Not yet,” I said. “I haven’t tried yet. Don’t say that I’m going to fail until I try. If I can’t do it, we’ll leave Rafael behind.”

  “I don’t like that,” Aric said. “That leaves me the only one to protect Paris and you. There are five witches out there, and I somehow have to protect Kelsey when we get there. I don’t like those odds. Rafael evens things up, although it makes me sick to my stomach to say it.”

  “I can do it,” I said. “I know I can.”

  “But … .”

  “You told me you had faith I could do anything,” I said. “You didn’t believe I could save you when we were trapped in your old apartment, but I did. Why don’t you believe I can do this?”

  “It’s just so … out there,” Aric replied. “You’ve never done it before. You’ve been hiding your magic for years. Then you let it out to play and it grew exponentially because of the book. The last time you really let go … .” He left the end of the statement hanging.

  “My eyes turned black and I almost wiped out an entire compound,” I finished. “I remember. I also remember that you didn’t run away. You believed I wouldn’t hurt yo
u. I need you to believe in me now.”

  “I will always believe in you,” Aric said. “I just … .” He shook his head and squared his shoulders. “I promised I wouldn’t doubt you ever again. If you say you can do this, I believe you.”

  “I’m still on the fence,” Rafael said dryly. “However, I think if anyone can do this, it’s definitely you. It’s up to you, Zoe. Make it storm.”

  I scratched the side of my nose as my gaze bounced from one expectant set of eyes to another. “Are you going to watch me do it?”

  “Yes,” Rafael said. “I need to know you can control what’s about to happen.”

  “Okay,” I said, letting out a shaky breath. “I guess now I know what it’s like to have performance anxiety, huh? This must be how Aric felt this morning after becoming a virgin again.”

  “What?” James asked, screwing up his face. “What are you talking about?”

  “That was private, Zoe,” Aric hissed.

  For some reason his feigned anger relaxed me. No matter how things changed in our world, some things never would. “I’ve got this under control,” I said, pushing myself to my feet. “I love thunderstorms. Now I’m going to create one.”

  Aric ran his hand down the back of my head and pressed a soft kiss to my temple. “I love you dearly and I know you can do this,” he said, his voice low. “I’m going to spank the crap out of you later for telling people that virgin stuff, though. That was just between us.”

  “I’m looking forward to it,” I said, walking to the window.

  I reached out and pressed my hands to the glass, internally tugging on the energy I found pooling in my chest. If I didn’t know better, I would think the magic was excited. It didn’t have form or feeling, but there was exuberance. I simply had to release it. So that’s what I did.

  The magic rushed out, flying through the window and hitting the sky. The moment it did the sky opened, a torrent of rain falling as lightning crackled and thunder roared. My smile was triumphant when I turned back around. “See.”

  “Very impressive,” Rafael said. “It’s still sunny out.”

  “Give it a second,” I said, smirking as I saw the light in the window fading. It took only two seconds to turn completely gray outside, not even a hint of light peeked through the clouds. I crossed my arms over my chest. “You can all start applauding now.”