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  “Your loyalty to your friend is very charming,” Rayner said. “I’ll give you that. I always think the blood of charming people tastes better.” He grabbed my wrist.

  “Hell no…” I tried to struggle, only to find all the vampires swarming me and pinning me down while Rayner sniffed my skin.

  This was going to a…place I really didn’t want to go.

  “Last chance,” Rayner said.

  “You won’t kill me.”

  “Of course not,” he said. “Just a taste to frighten and allure you and make you more cooperative.”

  He was certainly honest. I struggled. Maybe I should just write the letter. Maybe they were determined to get their hands on Monty anyway and there was nothing I could do to stop them, so I might as well save myself.

  But that sounded shamefully disloyal. I could never look Alec or Monty’s parents in the eye again if it went down like that.

  So I let the damned vampires bite me. Rayner’s fangs sank into my skin. I had always heard vampire bites didn’t hurt because of their magic, but…that was clearly bullshit. It burned. Maybe he wasn’t using the full force of his magic on me.

  “Silvus, have a taste.” Rayner offered my arm to the dark, quiet vampire standing behind him.

  Silvus wet his lips and then sucked on my wrist where Rayner broke the skin.

  “I think we might as well bite his other wrist and give him a matching pair of nice little tooth marks,” Thom said.

  “Symmetry. I like it,” Rayner said. “Go ahead. You and Jie take the left wrist while we enjoy the right.” He gave me a smirking smile. “You do have very fine blood. Young blood of the most prestigious sources always tastes best. It’s too bad we are so committed to Lisbeth or we might enjoy you in other ways.”

  “I can’t believe Lisbeth loves you that much if this is how you act.” I gritted my teeth. “I feel bad for her if she can’t shake you even in death.”

  “She might take some convincing, but the core of her being belongs to us,” Rayner said, in a tone that chilled me.

  “So where is she now?” I asked. “Why do you need Monty?”

  I could tell this tactic might at least delay my suffering. Silvus stopped drinking my blood with a heavy sigh, like he hadn’t eaten in years. He wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. “Lisbeth is just an ordinary human,” he said. “Usually I find her with my magic, but this time someone is blocking me. I can sense her general location. I need someone who understand the internet to help me narrow down prospects. She would be around eighteen years old, so perhaps we need to look up the students at the high schools and colleges there.”

  “Wait,” I said. “You think Monty can just…look up all the students at high schools because he can use the internet? For one thing, you—seriously—can’t just kidnap a high school student when you’re all hundreds of years old.”

  “We don’t look hundreds of years old,” Silvus said. “Isn’t eighteen considered the proper age nowadays?”

  “Well…” I cringed. “It’s not Medieval times.”

  “We drink blood to survive,” Thom said. “We left the traditional moral code somewhere on the road behind us a long, long time ago…but we changed it out for a new one, and that code is, we protect Lisbeth from anyone who would hurt her. And life is hard. Someone’s always hurting her.”

  “Well, either way, Monty isn’t a hacker.”

  “You can find anyone on the internet,” Rayner said. “That’s what Jie told us.”

  “They say that on TV all the time,” Jie said with a shrug.

  None of them were drinking my blood now, so this was progress. “Immortals,” I muttered. “You guys think you’re so hot but you’re really just old men who don’t understand what’s going on. TV is its own reality. You can’t do half the things on computers that they do on TV.”

  “Do you have a TV and computer to truly know what you’re talking about?” Rayner asked, as Silvus wrapped some bandages around my wrists. “We saw your friend Monty glued to his mobile phone all weekend but you are clearly a traditionalist.”

  “I know enough,” I said. “Trust me. Doesn’t work like that. Monty’s great if you want to look up stupid videos and porn and get some bonus warlock magic in the bargain. He isn’t gonna find you Lisbeth. Maybe you should just let her go be a normal human for once.”

  “Someone is blocking us from her,” Jie said. “What if she’s in the hands of a demon this time?”

  “Is there a demon who knows you’re looking for her?” I asked, arching a brow.

  “Mm…you’re a fast talker, aren’t you?” Rayner asked. “I’m starting to wish we could just kill you before you make any trouble.”

  “I was just curious because we happen to be dealing with one of the most meddlesome high demons ourselves.”

  “Who is that?” Thom asked, in a tone that seemed to usurp Rayner all of a sudden. I got the sense that Rayner was usually the leader.

  “The Withered Lord,” I said, as all their faces turned even more pale than normal.

  I was both surprised and not surprised that this gambit worked. High demons were sort of like volcanos. Usually they seemed dormant, but once in a while one would become active, and start making trouble for everyone. It was like they just got a taste for torment.

  “Ah…so we have a common enemy,” I said. “Maybe fate has brought us together for a different reason.”

  Rayner looked briefly annoyed and confused that I had somehow turned his kidnapping around. “Fate didn’t bring us together! I kidnapped you.”

  “There is a girl at Merlin College whose mother has been tempted into the service of the Withered Lord,” I continued, ignoring him while I had their attention. “Could Lisbeth have suffered a similar fate? Meanwhile, the parents of my fiancee—the heir to the great diviner—were killed by the Withered Lord as well. So we all have some reason to go after him. And we all have some considerable talents.”

  “Are you suggesting an alliance? I don’t want an alliance with some spawn of vampire hunters and a prominent witch who will draw too much attention to our methods.”

  “Keep your enemies close. You know I have plenty to bring to the table. I have access to the great Hapsburg treasures and Daisy can see all.”

  “What about the girl at Merlin College? Is she useful?”

  I thought about Charlotte and her damn adorable smile and ponytail and untrained magic. Useful? I had a deep down resistance to saying Charlotte wasn’t useful. I had seen the innate power and strength inside her, but at the same time…she could be a bumbling idiot, and she needed protection.

  “No,” I said. “Release Monty from his bond to you, and Daisy and I will help you deal with the Withered Lord.”

  “Can you speak for the diviner?”

  “Believe me,” I said. “If there’s one thing Daisy wants, it’s help taking on the Withered Lord. Forget the other one.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Charlotte

  The Southern Ladies’ Finishing College of Magic was inside of an imposing and grand building with two towers. It looked like if a hotel was trying to become a fortified palace. I think this building also existed in the real world, and was a museum or something, but in this reality it was surrounded by these huge iron gates.

  They were open, so that was something.

  I came alone, because this was my task, and plus Montague warned me that I would never get in if I came accompanied by a boy.

  “Usually parents send their reluctant daughters there to shape up,” he told me. “So act like you really crave the disciplined study offered by the college. Mrs. Tyler will eat that shit up.”

  All righty then. I took a deep breath. I am ready to dish out some shit.

  As I walked through the gates, I crossed a huge empty lawn with some palm trees, and then entered into a courtyard garden. The garden was quite beautiful, with lush palms and flowers and a waterway threading around the courtyard, with butterflies dancing around. A maid was sweeping some
leaves off the path. I knew she was a maid because she was wearing a black dress with a ruffled apron. I have to admit, a part of me kind of wanted that outfit. Not to clean, just for—uh—role playing. She looked up.

  I tipped my sunglasses down. “It’s pretty here,” I said. “Hi. Is Mrs. Tyler here?”

  “Who are you?”

  “I’m Charlotte Byrne. I’m here to inquire about attending this establishment. I’m really yearning for some structure.”

  The girl gave me a look that was basically the look you would get if you searched for “GIF save yourself”. She slowly put down the broom and straightened her apron. “This…way.”

  She led me to an elevator, which she operated herself, as it was a very old elevator. “So are you also a student here, or just on the staff?” I asked.

  “I am a student,” she said.

  “I hear it’s a tough school,” I said.

  She nodded and I found myself looking at her arms to see if they were bruised because by now I was getting a ‘tell someone you trust’ vibe. The door opened into a room that was just as grand, tall ceilings, white marble, and this huge, intense clock with a beautiful lady running from the Grim Reaper molded in gold on the case.

  “Wait here,” she said.

  I was starting to breathe fast and I had to remind myself that I wasn’t actually going here. It was just a ploy to get Master Blair back on board.

  It was extremely quiet. I fidgeted. Then after a bit, I heard footsteps marching toward me from the distance. The rooms were all vast with huge entrances between them. It seemed to take forever, and then a beautiful blonde woman in an elegant gray dress entered and gave me an icy smile.

  Not gonna lie, I expected a wizened old witch, and I didn’t like what I got instead, because it deflated my excitement over my new outfit. I could tell there was nothing I could wear, say, or do that would impress her.

  “Good morning.” She extended a hand to me. “I’m Mrs. Tyler. Miss Byrne. I have heard of you.”

  “Splendid,” I said, for some reason. I had never said the word ‘splendid’ in my life, but I was trying very hard not to just babble out something nervous and that came out instead. “So…I guess you know I was attending Merlin College.”

  “Yes,” she said, with vague judgment. “I do know, although I don’t understand how that could have happened. You are clearly a young lady.”

  Ick. The witches weren’t one bit better than the warlocks. But I nodded. “I don’t know either. I don’t belong. I have grown up without knowing the magical world and I crave the sort of discipline that will mold me into a proper witch.”

  She smiled, if tightly, a bit less judgmental now. “Well, let’s see what you have to offer. Please, show me the best spell you feel comfortable with casting.”

  “My magic was blocked by Master Blair,” I said. “That’s another reason I’m here.”

  She sniffed. “Give me your hand.”

  I offered her my arm and she whisked a small, delicate wand out from between her boobs—her dress was tight and pocketless so I guess that was the best place—and traced a pattern on my wrist, murmuring a spell. My arm briefly glowed as she released it, and warmth spread all over me as I felt my magic flowing again.

  I hadn’t realized how much I missed it.

  “Try it now,” she said.

  Hmm. My best spells were elemental, but I knew those were forbidden for witches, which was part of the reason Master Blair wanted a woman to study warlock magic. I stuck with the safe route. I opened my bag and took out a candle. I had to use a little fire to light the candle, but that was probably acceptable, right? As long as I could control myself.

  “I call upon the ethereal spirits,” I said. “Protect me from evil and the influences of darkness…”

  “You don’t know French or Latin?” Mrs. Tyler interrupted.

  “No.”

  She sighed. “Do you know any other language?”

  “It’s a spell,” I said. “It’s about intent, right?”

  She did a tiny eye roll. “Oh, I suppose. Go on. But we will certainly work on your French first.”

  She had broken my vibe. “Why French, anyway?” I asked. “I mean, they told me it was because the first witches in America were French, but it’s still a little weird. There has to be a better use of my time than learning French now.”

  “French is a more elegant language,” Mrs. Tyler said. “And it is better to cast spells in a language that isn’t your own.”

  “Why?”

  “It just is and everyone knows that,” she said. “Go on. I want to see if you can regain your concentration.”

  Maybe she was just getting under my skin as a test. I gnawed on my lip, glaring at the candle, and took a deep breath. Firian had worked with me a lot on focus and finding inner calm to control my fire magic. “Etherium, bless me, and shield me…let no demon lay a hand upon me…” I waved my hand and a small fireball exploded around the candle wick.

  Mrs. Tyler took a step back, obviously horrified. “Oh no,” she said. “No, no, no. Never do that again.”

  “I’ve gotten a lot better at controlling it!” I said, feeling defensive. “I know women don’t usually cast fire spells, but just to light a candle…”

  “A woman’s talents are best used elsewhere,” she said. “A nice healing spell or even a little enchantment, those are the subtle arts that you should be studying. We have no wish to come blazing in shooting fireballs everywhere.”

  “I have that wish!” I said.

  “You certainly are in need of this school,” Mrs. Tyler said. “We must tame these brash impulses. But…I have heard things about you, Miss Byrne. Oh yes. I have heard that you have been sighted strolling about this town with your familiar. I unblocked your magic, but I can’t have you being a bad influence on the other girls. I will admit you to this school if you agree to have your familiar blocked.”

  I broke into a cold sweat. I realized now that I should never have let Firian walk into St. Augustine. “You mean…he couldn’t come to this world? Ever? I thought familiars were important for casting spells.”

  “An instructor will unblock you when necessary,” she said, waving her wand along my shoulder down my arm and then tapping my breastbone with the tip. “But you are at the age where you must learn to survive without him.”

  “I never learned to survive with him!” I protested. “We just met last summer!”

  “That doesn’t matter. It’s unacceptable. We will not have any rumors flying around about students and familiars. You asked for discipline, Miss Byrne. You will get it here.”

  “Okay…um…I do want discipline. I want to learn to be a witch. So…when does the year start?”

  I heard some slower footsteps behind Mrs. Tyler, and old Madame Solano appeared in the wide doorway.

  “We begin now,” she said.

  I threw up my hands and took a big step back. “Wait, wait. What’s going on? I’m not ready yet.”

  “I’m so glad you came to us so things didn’t have to become unpleasant,” Madame Solano said. “You must be separated from your familiar. We have already spoken to the witches’ council. You will be blocked from the familiar for a trial period and if you cannot behave you will be severed. I am not sure what was going on over there with you at Merlin College, but it was clearly inappropriate. Perhaps they are too lenient there, but here in St. Augustine, we know all too well the danger to the stability of society when familiars masquerade as humans!” She started getting very huffy at the end. This seemed personal. Then she walked up to me. “Hold out your hand.”

  I shook my head and edged back a few more steps. “No. You have it wrong! He’s—he’s not masquerading, he’s just—” A lump rose in my throat as I wondered how to defend Firian. This felt so wrong. He wasn’t ‘masquerading’. He was being himself.

  Madame Solano grabbed me. Her skin was burning hot. “La terre, l’air, le feu, l’eau…”

  As she spoke, I felt this compulsion
rising in me to blurt out, I had sex with him. I lost my virginity to my familiar! She was using magic on me to make me confess the truth.

  That would be bad.

  Really bad.

  “No…,” I gasped. I wanted to call Firian to help me, but I had to handle this on my own.

  I knew I had to stay calm and tap into my inner power. I took a deep breath, hardly knowing what spell I could cast. I need help, I thought. Samuel Caruthers…are you out there? Do I have your magic? Can you help me? When am I going to start figuring all of this out? “I invoke you, Samuel Caruthers!”

  I thought you’d never ask, said a voice in my head.

  “Oh, is that all I had to do? You know, Obi-Wan showed up on his own!” I was getting a little snippy with the voice in my head because I was panicked.

  “Who is she garbling about?” Madame Solano said.

  “She’s talking to someone,” Mrs. Tyler said.

  That isn’t how it works here. Spirits require an invocation. Keep calling, Char. Call help to your side. Call the spirits. Use the magic I have given to you.

  I tried to push through my focus a little more. Come to me, I thought. Come to me, helpful spirits…

  I had this funny feeling like the world had shifted slightly. Sort of like I was in a dream. I got the sense that I was tapping into some space between worlds. Behind the veil, I sensed all sorts of energy and I almost thought I heard whispering.

  Call the good. Only the good.

  I wasn’t really sure if Samuel was still talking, or if I was pleading to myself not to accidentally summon any more demons. I understood that I had to get this right. The world of the dead was full of malevolent things. I had to keep a razor focus on good energy and bring out spirits that would help me.

  A swirl of sparkly shadow came out of my arm and spiraled toward Madame Solano, pushing her back toward Mrs. Tyler. The shadows seemed to take shape as they moved, forming into three shadowy women who surrounded Madame Solano and Mrs. Tyler, creating a barrier of smoky hair and clothes, translucent arms and legs of purplish magic that waved around and seemed to terrify the two other witches.