Nightwish (An Echoes of Eternity Novel Book 1) Page 14

  It made me wonder whether I could trust Darius.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Although I wanted to rush into the secret chamber and start inspecting the glowing item inside the glass case, I didn’t want to give away knowledge of its presence. I had to trust Grams’s judgment in not sharing it with anyone.

  I stared at Darius. “We can’t give them something we don’t have.”

  “Did Lorraine release the grimoire to your protection?”

  “Yes.”

  “But she didn’t tell you where to find it?” He looked skeptical. “Then why relinquish it to you?” He studied my face, eager to extrapolate any details I hadn’t unveiled.

  “I don’t know.” His solemn expression sent a sliver of creepiness up my spine. He looked like a drug addict dealing with the early stages of withdrawal. Unnerved, I redirected the conversation. “If we’re going to deal with my family, I need to know what special powers they have.”

  His anxiety departed quickly, perhaps too quickly, as though attempting to hide his impatience. “Delphine has the ability to alter the structure of molecules around her.” He looked to Brandon and Kendall. “That explains how she made you burn and freeze externally.”

  Brandon looked appalled. “You mean, she could have frozen us internally as well?”

  “Yes.”

  “How far can she manipulate molecules around her?” Kendall asked.

  “Sixteen feet or so. You see, every witch, depending on her gifts, can control her powers within a circumference of three times her height.”

  “Zephora,” I said, “was obsessed with the number three.”

  “Wait a second,” I said to Darius. “If this whole three-times-your-height-circumference-thing is true, how could Zephora keep supernatural creatures within Chicago?”

  “I don’t know. She limited all future witches with this power, but she was not bound by that same spell. She’d want to ensure that no witch had more magical influence than her.”

  Then how could anyone defeat Zephora? That’s when I realized that either Grams, or her ancestors, had done it three times in the past. But how?

  “Other than Delphine’s ability to commune with the dead,” Darius said, “she’s resistant to illness or fatigue. Your sister can invoke ice, sleet, hail, and frigid temperatures. Besides her telepathic ability, she can move objects with her mind. Celestina obviously portends future events and can reincarnate the dead, but she can also mimic any person’s form simply by touching them.”

  “She’s a shapeshifter?” I asked. “Is there a way for me to identify her if she’s someone other than herself?”

  “Only birthmarks, freckles, scars and the like identify any given shapeshifter.”

  “So if she had a birth mark on her face, it would remain in place no matter whose form she replicated?”

  “Precisely.”

  That explanation blew me away. But knowing that Celestina could impersonate others comforted me. In the instance, if her mother or grandmother mistreated her, my niece could shapeshift to avoid punishment, since she didn’t have any distinguishing marks on her face, and they wouldn’t know it. But all told, I didn’t want to contemplate battling my mother and sister. I could use martial arts in close proximity to Alexis, but what good would that do…if she could toss a semi-truck at me with a mere thought?

  “If you haven’t spent any time with them,” I said, “how do you know all this?”

  “Your grandmother. In the past day, while Zephora had locked her out of her body, Lorraine communicated with Celestina, who imparted that knowledge. I sense you’ve discovered your second ability.”

  “She can create fire,” Kendall said, “and throw it at hot guys.”

  “You have pyrokinetic abilities?” he asked. “As a twin, both you and your sister split your mother’s ability to distort molecules.”

  “Is that abnormal?” I asked.

  “Ordinarily, each witch is born with one gift that is similar to her mother’s abilities. For instance, Alexis’s telepathic ability passed to her daughter in the form of second sight. The same would hold true if you had a daughter, although the strength of her abilities would match yours. From what I’ve learned and understood about your family history, a witch doesn’t need to concentrate in order to allow her abilities to take hold. She does, however, need to learn how to control such proclivities. For example, to call upon fire, you’d just need to think about it in the palm of your hand, and it will appear.”

  “That’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard.”

  “It’s more preposterous than my being vampiric?”

  He had me there.

  Brandon yawned. “That would be the most kick-ass thing on stage. Can you image? You start throwing fireballs around? The crowd would go nuts. Damn, I’m exhausted. What time is it?” He glanced at his watch. “Holy shit, it’s four in the morning!”

  Kendall said, “Serena, you can crash at our apartment tonight. I don’t want you going back home…in case your mother or sister come looking for you.”

  “Okay, thanks,” I said through a yawn of my own. “What if it happens on accident again…or if I’m spacing out and I just light someone on fire?”

  “Does that happen often?” Darius asked. “The desire to burn someone alive?”

  “No,” I said, practically laughing.

  “Then it won’t occur.”

  Brandon clapped, drawing our attention. “What kind of crowd do we draw at bars? Twenty-people max? It’s depressing! This will give us a following.”

  Kendall said, “That’s because we didn’t have a guitarist. We’ve been incredibly lucky to have people show up at any of our gigs. We needed a power instrument. We’re a metal band without a guitarist. It’s unheard of. It’s ludicrous. It’s—”

  “A failure,” I said. “My throwing fireballs around on stage might get people to see us, but it’s fake because we wouldn’t have earned their attention. My magic is a birthright. When it comes to our music, it’s all of us working together as a band. We all play a part. I won’t pretend otherwise.”

  “And that’s why we’ll succeed,” said Brandon. “You started this band, and we know you’ll make it happen.” He looked to Kendall, and she nodded in agreement.

  As our bandleader, I appreciated that they believed in me so strongly. It gave me a level of confidence that helped me to push past constantly thinking about losing Grams. Over the past six months, I’d prepared myself mentally and emotionally for such a loss, but knowing I’d never see her again hurt more than I wanted to think about. So I did everything I could not to think about her, which was difficult because that’s all I wanted to think about.

  So I redirected my thoughts to more pressing matters. “If my family gets the grimoire,” I said to Darius, “what can they do with it?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Irritation marked Kendall’s face. “How is that possible? You worked with Grams for one hundred years. And during that entire time, she didn’t tell you anything about it?”

  “No. I’ve never seen The Book of Souls. But even if I had, it would change nothing: only a witch who possesses it can read it.”

  This time, I had no problem cutting to the issue at hand. “Why didn’t she trust you?”

  Darius met my gaze, but he remained silent.

  No matter how long I examined his features, I couldn’t detect even the least bit of emotion within him. I suspected that he refused to answer my question out of shame. It left me more than a bit uneasy. “So you’ve sworn to protect me, but…I can’t trust you. Do you see a conflict of interest there?”

  “Indeed.” But he didn’t expound upon that one word.

  I did my best to control my anger. “So if my mother or sister gets the grimoire, how am I supposed to get it back? They’re unstoppable!”

  “I disagree. What do you know about your sister?”

  “She’s arrogant,” said Brandon. “And she thinks she’s totally hot.” He gave that commen
t some thought. “Well, she is. My God, did you see those—”

  “A blind man could have seen them,” said Kendall, disgusted. “You act like breasts are the rarest things on Earth. Newsflash: half the population has them. They’re not rare.”

  “But they are rare…to a connoisseur.” Brandon shook his head, obviously regarding her comments as ludicrous. “Believe me, there’s a difference. And those…were special.”

  “Sometimes you’re like a fourteen-year-old boy. She’s a witch. Did you ever think that maybe she’s done some kind of spell? That maybe they’re magic boobs?”

  “Who cares? It’s the male version of the saying: ‘every woman wants a man who is young, hung, and oh so fun.’”

  “That’s not a saying. You just made it up.”

  “So what? Is it any less true?”

  I appreciated the break in dealing with more serious issues, but we had to stay on topic. “Focus, guys.”

  Kendall looked frustrated. “It’s hard to think about anything other than you losing Grams, that your mother might want to kill you, and Brandon’s infatuated with a psycho.”

  Amused, Brandon shook his head. “Psycho is a bit judgmental, don’t you think? I prefer the term ‘misunderstood.’”

  “Will you feel the same way when she turns you into a block of ice?”

  I turned to Darius. “You mentioned the strength of my line. How can I tell if it cracks?

  “Strange news stories will appear in the papers, on the nightly news, and on the Internet: bodies drained of blood or clawed to shreds and mauled. Humans killing each other without reason.”

  In other words, no one would at first notice that vampires, werewolves, or demons walked the Earth until the same crimes kept repeating themselves all over Chicago. “Do you think Delphine would set up Celestina to fail?”

  “No. She would need her granddaughter’s strength to ensure that she maintained control over other supernatural creatures.”

  Since my mother seemed intent to lead these creatures, I needed to stop her before they fell under her power. But I wasn’t nearly as powerful or as accomplished as my family members. I had no experience with spells and enchantments, and now I faced an impossible task.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  After a good night of sleep, I left Kendall and Brandon’s apartment in the middle of the afternoon the next day, before either of them had woken up (they had separate bedrooms), and visited Verizon to get a new cell phone. All throughout the process of signing up for a new plan, I thought about the consequences of losing Grams, but pain hit my heart with such undiluted sorrow that I pushed those feelings to the back of my mind. If I intended to prevent Delphine and Alexis from bringing about the end of life, as we knew it, I’d need my heart and mind at full strength. Besides, I might be able to communicate with Grams at some point in the future. Therefore, I didn’t have the time or inclination to grieve for my loss.

  Although Delphine and Alexis might attempt to stop by The Antique Boutique to hunt for The Book of Souls, I finally admitted to myself that they scared me. I didn’t trust their unpredictable nature, and I had no way to determine if Delphine wouldn’t attempt to kill me at first sight. For those reasons, I spent the afternoon and a good portion of the evening running errands: getting my car a tune up, shopping for clothes, picking up numerous cleaning products to disinfect every spot in The Antique Boutique.

  As night fell, I stopped into Subway and ordered a turkey sandwich for dinner. It was only when I saw my image in the circular security mirror above the service desk that I realized how fragile, indecisive, and lonely I looked. Either I was really missing Grams, or I was ashamed of myself for avoiding my new life. In all honesty, they both played a part. So while I ate my turkey sandwich, which tasted as bland as the water I washed it down with, I reflected on the helpless thoughts that buzzed through my mind: how could I defeat Delphine and Alexis? How could I prevent Celestina from fulfilling their warped intentions? How could I avoid drawing Kendall and Brandon into my family drama?

  When I finished my sandwich, I didn’t have any answers to these questions. But if Grams saw me at this moment, she would utter the following remark, as she had done countless times before: Change your mind, change your life!

  That phrase, along with numerous other words of wisdom Grams had imparted throughout the years, calmed and comforted me. They also made me feel closer to her. She may have passed away, but her guidance and insight would always stay at the forefront of my mind.

  Moisture filled my eyes, and try though I might, this time I couldn’t blink away the tears. I stared at my blurry appearance in the mirror as tears slipped down my cheeks. It became difficult to breathe, difficult to think of anything but losing Grams.

  But it also became easier to see myself: finally freeing those tears, rather than locking them deep inside, released some of the anger I’d felt toward Grams. I couldn’t blame her for keeping secrets from me: she wanted to protect me from the power struggles and paranoia that seemed to grip the rest of my family. And did any of them have a normal childhood? I’d wager otherwise.

  At that moment, I realized the main reason why Grams hadn’t told me about my heritage: I might never have as much magical power as my family, but I would always be stronger mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. That had to count for something!

  Given that knowledge, I was frustrated that I’d let insecurity claw its way into my psyche. I’d never lived life worried and afraid. I’d always navigated life with a clear mind just as my martial arts training had taught me. And even if I didn’t yet have a strategy to deal with the obstacles facing me, I wouldn’t cower in the corner and allow fear to mow me down. So when I finished my sandwich, I jumped up from the table, strode out of the shop, and headed over to The Antique Boutique, determined to face whatever life threw at me.

  A short time later, I stepped inside my new shop and was relieved to find it empty. I considered entering the secret chamber, but I knew that whatever I found would play havoc on my emotions, and I needed a rational demeanor to deal with non-magical responsibilities. I turned around and set my gaze on the cash register and the computer next to it. If Grams had indeed granted me her home and business, I’d need to handle all the bills associated with those properties.

  After further investigation throughout the afternoon, I discovered that Grams had paid off her home mortgage and owned the land upon which the shop stood. With regard to home utilities, she had set up automatic payments, but I couldn’t find any utility bills for the shop. The same went for a lease, renter’s insurance, or any other documentation that indicated Grams operated the shop. When I found a document on her computer that listed her usernames and passwords, I found her banking account information. I logged in and, when I caught sight of her account balance, I did a double take to ensure that I hadn’t exaggerated the staggering amount listed: $1.2 million dollars.

  As I sat behind the counter, staring at that figure, the landline rang, startling me. I picked up the phone. “Hello?”

  “I’d like to speak with Serena Sykes, please.”

  “Speaking.”

  “Hi, Serena, my name is Michael St. Claire. I’m calling from First American Bank. I’m in charge of your grandmother’s estate. She specified that I contact you upon her passing.”

  I didn’t say a word. How had this man discovered that Grams had passed? Only a handful of people knew about her death. “I’m not sure what you mean, Mr. St. Claire.”

  “Oh, right. Your grandmother told me that you’d be a little…distrustful of my rather immediate contact, given her circumstances. But let me assure you, she had prepared for this moment…over three years ago.”

  “But how did you know she…passed away?”

  The other side of the phone remained silent for over five seconds.

  “Hello?” I asked, eager to hear St. Claire explain himself. “Are you still there?”

  “Yes, Ms. Sykes. It may sound strange, but a month ago, your g
randmother visited our branch and told me that she’d soon be passing away. She followed that up by giving me all of the credentials needed to pass the assets of her estate along to you. She was very prepared, to say the least.”

  “But how did you know she passed?”

  He stayed quiet for a few seconds. “She told me that she’d contact me in…an unexpected way, a method that I’d originally find circumspect, but which I couldn’t otherwise explain.”

  “Her spirit appeared to you,” I said.

  “Well, yes,” he said in a lighter tone, giving the impression that he spoke confidentially. “You see, this type of arrangement is far from ordinary. In fact, I…sort of…well, your grandmother…how can I say this? I don’t feel comfortable going any further without some verification as to your identity. This was far from an ordinary business transaction, but she convinced me to follow through with her wishes by promising me special accommodations.”

  Which meant Granny had paid off St. Claire to overlook regular probate practices in order to convince him to follow her instructions.

  “Your grandmother gave me some pertinent details about your life and recommended that I question you about the circumstances surrounding her death.”

  Over the next few minutes, I answered a handful of questions about my life as well as the time I’d spent with Grams. All of those memories were difficult to face, but I realized that you couldn’t gain strength from pushing those feelings aside. You only grew stronger by acknowledging them, confronting them, and moving on. So that’s what I intended to do.

  After answering all of those questions, I said, “If you’d prefer, I can always visit you, Mr. St. Claire, to verify my identity.”

  “No,” he said a little too quickly. “No, you’ve answered as your grandmother said you would. I don’t want to spend any longer on this account than necessary.”

  Translation: he was probably spooked that Grams had visited him, followed by the fact that he’d certainly taken a bribe to speed up the proceedings in order to close out Grams’s account.