Shades of Gray: A Jude Magdalyn Novel (17 page)
The candle shot out of his hand across the room. We all turned to follow its progress. The wax cylinder lay where none expected…. At Rian’s feet.
A long, awkward silence ensued as we all tried to decide what to do. Finally, Rian reached down and picked up the blue candle. The moment his fingers closed around the pillar, the wick burst into flame violent enough to make us all jump. He laughed nervously. “I guess there’s been a change in the team line-up.”
Christophe stepped back into the space the Council members occupied, his eyes lowered, but not before I saw the flash of hurt and anger. Rian walked across the room to take Christophe’s place, his fingers clenching and unclenching on the candle. I laid my hand over his and squeezed, letting him know we’d figure out what the change meant later.
There were two candles left unlit, and I turned to my right again to light Gillian’s. She stood straight and proud, as solid as the earth she obviously represented. I wondered if I would have to use the lighter after all, but I took a deep breath and clasped my hands around hers. She arched an eyebrow, as if to ask what I was waiting for, and I snorted out a laugh as the candle flamed to life.
“You over think the simple things sometimes, Jude. One last element. You’ll know how to bring it to us.”
Turning to the center of the circle, I saw Celia holding the purple candle. I flicked my gaze in Elizabeth’s direction, not surprised to find her shaking her head in exasperation. Bending down until we were level, I looked at the film over Celia’s eyes, which might have clouded her vision but not her spirit. After a moment’s thought, I raised my voice to carry. “Elizabeth, would you come here, please?”
“No one can enter the circle once the four elements are cast,” one of the twins informed me, with only the slightest bit of waspishness in their voice. I shook my head and my hair slid across my back.
“Elizabeth, would you come here, please?”
She stepped forward nervously, walking past a few Council members whose names I couldn’t remember. When she reached the second circle, she flicked a glance in Rian’s direction, only moving forward again when he gave her a small nod of encouragement. As she stepped to the etched line of the inner circle, Celia reached out one hand to grab her and pull her in.
“Hurry up, Lizzie. I want to see the sparkles.”
Elizabeth and I shared a confused glance. Wetting my lips, I spoke, “We’re going to blow the flame to life. All of us.” When Elizabeth’s eyes widened, I continued, “It needs all of us.”
Closing her eyes and screwing up her face, Celia began to blow in short, energetic puffs. I watched Elizabeth grip her sister’s hand tighter before closing her eyes and letting out a soft exhale of breath over the candle. Satisfied I wouldn’t have to explain how I knew it would work - I just knew - I leaned forward and let my long exhale mingle with theirs over the wick of the candle.
The room seemed to draw a breath of its own for a long moment. Time froze like it had in the hall with Williams. I looked around the circle and saw only the members of the circle itself were still of the moment, not merely in it. I observed Rian watching Elizabeth, and wondered. I noticed how Guile leaned away from her sister in Christophe’s direction, and how Lies eyed both of them nervously, and wondered. I scrutinized how Gillian scanned the room, always on the lookout for trouble.
Finally, I looked at Theo, his gaze never wavering from me since the beginning. I felt his gaze as hot on me as the fire he represented. My eyes went back to Theo’s, and I wondered if his mouth would be as hot.
Power blew out from the purple candle like a shock wave, sparks rising high into the air.
Time caught back up as the members of the Covenant gasped, cheered and applauded. Elizabeth opened her eyes, letting out a whooshing laugh as Celia clapped and cried, “Again, again!”
A voice boomed out over the celebration, echoing off the walls. Even before the crowd shifted and parted for me to could see clear to the door, I knew the voice belonged to Williams. His warriors knelt on the ground behind him, heads down. He knelt as well, but kept his head up to see me, and allow me to see him.
“Perhaps the Prophecy could take a small breather before more fireworks are set off.”
Someone near the door screamed
, and though it was muffled fairly quickly, the sound served to break whatever spell held the room. After a general shuffling and rearranging, a large clear area spread Williams.
He took the reaction in stride, as if it happened quite often. He stood, arms crossed over his chest. He wore a lot of hardware at a mixer not involving frat boys and kegs. You could never have too much ammo at those parties.
“Not that I don’t find it an entertaining sight, but you can understand the apprehension one would feel when entering a room containing what could only be called magical fireworks.” In other words, the vamps weren’t comfortable being in a room with someone who might accidentally set them on fire. I saw his point of view, but it stung to have my ineptness made so public.
“Right, right, got ya.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “So Gillian, any thoughts on the next best step?”
“Just uncast the circle, girl. And do it quick. I don’t like being in the same room as those bloodsuckers, and I don’t mind saying it.” Only Great-grandmother Lisette would have the balls to make such a statement and get away with it. No one tried to hush her.
Once she said to uncast the circle, a light went on in my head. Working quickly, I released the elements in backward order of how I called them to the circle. The crowd immediately pressed in, only to be stopped short by a raised hand from Gillian.
With Theo on my left, Gillian on my right, and Rian and the others behind me, I crossed the room again, trying not to freak at the hands reaching out to brush me as I walked past. These people were entirely too touchy-feely.
His party having backed out of the room, Williams stood in front of the door. It was an effort, but I kept my gaze on his. I even managed a smirk.
“Jude.”
I could do terse as well as the next person. “Williams.”
“Gillian.”
“Williams.”
“Theo.”
I tried to hold back a giggle and failed. “Ok, seriously, this is like a bad B-movie. Let’s just go upstairs into one of the fifty parlors and talk things over.”
“You only have five parlors, Jude. There’s no need to exaggerate.” Gillian sighed heavily. “However, I see your point. Theo, do you need to see to Lisette or do the twins have her?”
“The twins will be fine with her.” Theo caught the look on my face. “The twins and I are distantly related, but close enough we share some family responsibilities.”
“Well, that’s a definite negative on your side,” I muttered underneath my breath. Williams heard me. I saw his lips quirk before settling back into a stern line. “To the Lab, then.”
I flushed when heads turned curiously in my direction. “I like watching Jimmy Neutron.”
Out of the fifty
- excuse me, five - parlors the Crossroads contained, the smallest one tucked behind the library was my favorite. I’d stumbled on it by sheer dumb luck and immediately claimed the room for my own personal space. The paint and paper were faded and the furniture showed its age. Decades of use softened any sharp edges or rough fabric and made the space more comfortable. As soon as Elizabeth set her down, Celia crawled up in one of the chairs and fell asleep in under two minutes.
When Elizabeth moved to sit on the floor beside the chair, Rian stopped her. He took her hand and led her to one of the loveseats flanking the fireplace. Elizabeth answered the unasked question the frown on my face indicated.
“Wily’s family is somewhat old-fashioned. Anyone without power sits below those with power.”
“Which usually means on the floor.” Theo shook his head, clearly embarrassed at his relatives. He flushed at the look of disgust on my face. “Some traditions die hard, Jude.”
“We’ve come to give the Covenant an update. We’d like to make it brief, so we can continue our work.” Williams shifted, clearly in a hurry.
I collapsed into the loveseat opposite Elizabeth. “Please, be my guest.” I aimed for flippant, but apparently hit closer to sarcasm, since Gillian came to stand behind me and twisted my ear.
“Ow, ow, ow. Geez, what is it with you people and trying to break off body parts?”
“You’d compare Gillian to the likes of Hart and his cronies?” Father O’Brien’s outrage rang clear in his words. I rolled my eyes, not surprised when Gillian smacked the back of my head, even though I knew she couldn’t have seen me. The punishment relaxed Elizabeth’s mouth a hint of a smile and made the head bop worth it.
“I’ve been abused more by more magical people of every variety than by anyone on the street. I feel like I should be carrying around a really big stick or something.”
“Funny you should mention that—.” Rian broke off as he sat on the loveseat with Elizabeth, his arm casually stretching across the back. Whether from Gillian’s look or Williams’ huff of impatience, Rian smiled. “Some other time, then.”
“I’ll make this brief. Since losing him minutes before sunrise two days ago, we’ve been searching for Hart in all of his usual spots. We haven’t had any luck, missing him by a matter of minutes, which as you all know is essentially the same thing as missing him by hours.” Williams ran a hand through his hair, the movement causing the sword to lift and bump against him. He readjusted it in a routine, almost innate way.
“He’s been staying away from his previous hunting grounds, so we can only assume he’s either found new ones, or has a reserve of sorts somewhere.”
“By reserve, you mean he’s got a dozen or so humans stashed away somewhere like cows.” The thought made me sick to my stomach, and I pressed a hand to my belly. Gillian’s hand on my shoulder and Theo’s presence to my left settled me, but the idea of people being kept caged somewhere waiting to die sickened me.
“To be blunt, yes. We’ve been monitoring the media, and since there’s been no mention of bodies being discovered fully drained, we can also assume Hart and his followers are burning the bodies when they’re finished. The taken are most likely homeless and runaways.”
“Is there any way possible to feel the people being kept hostage? Some magical, or vampire way?” I couldn’t do anything about the people already gone, but I could damn well try and do something about those still alive. My heart pounded hard in my chest. If they told me something could be done at this particular moment, then by God, I was willing to do it.
Maybe my insistence for action or my willingness to act caused the shift. Whatever the reason, one second I sat in my parlor, the next I wasn’t entirely sure where I was, at least at first. I took in the people, crammed and crowded into a tiny space behind a set of crude bars under lock and key. A tray of bread, already starting to mold, sat on the floor and a bucket of water with filth skimming the top occupied one corner.
Most of them sat silently, eyes glazed over with fatigue and fear. Some were already gone. You could tell by the looks on their faces, whatever mind had been there was broken completely. One desperate soul sat in the corner clutching some sort of medallion, rocked back and forth while praying.
He prayed to Saint Jude.
I don’t know why they couldn’t see me, because I existed solidly in their midst. Solid enough to dart across the room and test the lock on the heavy oak door. Solid enough to jimmy open the window set high off the ground. I had to believe these people could squeeze through the average basement window. Murmurs started behind me as the window flew open, and I said my own prayers these people would be quiet long enough to get out.
They might not have seen me, but they believed something lived among them. I could almost smell the hope as it grew, a wild, sweet smell stronger than anything in this horrible room. With another look at the door, I crossed to the cage, my mind working frantically at how to get the lock open.
I almost ignored the tingling in my left hand. Almost. Then inspiration hit, and I gripped the ancient looking padlock in my hand, holding tight. My thoughts focused not on shooting fire but on melting the lock, I bit my lip to keep from letting out a victory shout as I felt the metal heat to burning. One swift jerk and I held the softened clasp in my hand. Pulling the gate open, I moved back, watching the people surge to their feet.
The young helped the old. The men helped the women and the few teenagers there. Those who’d seen too much to be whole again were taken care of, instead of left behind. Sometimes tragedy makes animals of us. And sometimes it makes us more human than anybody could believe possible.
No sooner had the last person been hoisted from the room than I drew a breath, and found myself back in the parlor. The exhale whistled through my teeth and I bent forward to put my head down, hoping the dizziness would pass. The only sound in the room the crackle of the fireplace. Straightening up, I met Williams’ eyes.
Opening my hand, I let the melted lock drop to the floor.
“You just upped your chocolate bar to dinner and drinks.” Theo bent down, picking the lock up and turning the melted mass over in his hands. His look - causal, interested. “All of them?”
“A few dozen.” My voice came out as causal and calm as his. Like we were discussing the latest movie, and not whatever hiccup in time had just occurred. “Looked like the room service sucked.”
“One second you were asking what could be done and the next you froze. You stopped breathing. The next breath you took, the lock was there, in your hand.” Elizabeth didn’t sound freaked out at all, something definitely in her favor. If she was going to be my personal assistant, I had a feeling she’d be seeing things like this more often than taking memos.
“Time stopped here, so you could take care of what needed to be done elsewhere.” Gillian’s hand rubbed at the tension knot at the base of my neck, the movement just shy of heavenly. “Again, your powers are growing at an astonishing rate. There can be no doubt among the members of the Covenant you are truly the Prophecy once news of this is heard.”
“I don’t think we should tell anybody.” Gillian’s hand paused for a moment in working at the knot, and I wet my lips nervously. “Just not right now. In a little bit, maybe.” Especially because I didn’t have a clue if I could do it on command.
“I agree with Jude.” Williams’ voice dropped into the silence of the room, and I studied his face. I couldn’t see any signs of sarcasm, but I already knew he could do blank face like nobody’s business. “Her feelings for the most part have been accurate. I see no purpose to begin ignoring them at this time.”
“Well, that’s great.” I didn’t realize I’d taken his hand at some point until I felt Theo squeeze my fingers. I thought about releasing the comforting grip because of Williams’ presence, but dismissed the thought just as quickly. He’d said there were no obligations, no strings on him, so as far as it concerned Theo the same applied to me - whether Williams liked it or not. “Not that being able to do whatever the heck it was I did—.”
“Astral projection, most likely.” Elizabeth’s face flushed when we all turned to stare at her. “I have to read a lot with Celia. I’m good at remembering things.”
“I’ll keep your skill in mind the next time I need random bits of information. Seriously. But like I was trying to say, it might be a good idea to know exactly how I did what I did, so I can do it again in the future.”
“That’s amazing.” I turned to look at Theo. The knot at the base of my neck a vague memory now thanks to Gillian’s nimble fingers. “Not only did I follow everything you said, it made absolute sense.”
“We’ll continue tracking Hart, as best as we can. I’d advise all members of the Covenant, not just the Council or Jude, to be extremely careful.” Williams crossed his arms over his chest, looking like a Civil War vet and Goth club bouncer hybrid. “Hart will be furious at his loss and will automatically assume you are responsible.”
“So Hart knows more about the possibility of my powers than I do?” I shook my head, disgusted at the whole situation. “So are there any more surprises I should be on the lookout for?”
“You should have discovered by now everything is a surprise as far as you’re concerned, Jude.” With that, Williams gave a short bow from the waist, his gaze sliding over mine and Theo’s joined hands. Turning on his heel, he strode from the room, gone almost before his leaving fully registered.
“I can see being your personal assistant will be highly entertaining.” Elizabeth drew her legs up so she hugged her knees. Her hair, a darker, richer blonde than Celia’s, almost honey colored, reflected the firelight in such a way her features seem a little older, but in a good way.
It explained why Rian couldn’t seem to look anywhere else for longer than two seconds.
“Normally the show comes with dinner, but things are a little out of order tonight.” Standing, I stretched my arms high, wincing only slightly at the burn in my muscles. I’d been hurting earlier, but it seemed the more I stayed up and moving - and the more power I used - the better I felt. One more thing to tuck into crowded my mind and think on later.
“And speaking of dinner, I believe I owe you one.” Theo pushed off the loveseat, and I became aware again of how similar in height we were. There’s some comfort in being able to look someone directly in the eye, especially when those eyes are such a lovely shade of brown. “Although at this hour, I’m not sure what’s open and decent.”
“Clover Grill.” Rian’s fingers just barely touched the edges of Elizabeth’s hair where it lay on the back of the couch, in a seemingly casual gesture. I wagered he knew exactly where his fingers were. “Clover Grill is way better than decent.”
Theo raised his eyebrows in question. “Up for burgers and drag queens?”
I smiled, the last of my tension melting away. “Is there any better combo?”