Dark Heart of Magic
Page 37
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Blake didn’t respond, although a door slammed somewhere in the distance as though he’d gone back inside the castle.
“You two need to leave,” Deah hissed. “Now.”
Felix held out his hand. “But—”
“No buts. Just go.” Her face softened. “I’ll text you later. Okay?”
He nodded. Deah stepped up, put her arm around her mom’s shoulder, and gently steered her away from me. Still smiling, Seleste looked back over her shoulder and gave me a cheery wave.
“So nice to finally meet you, Lila. I’ll be seeing you again soon,” she called out in that eerie, singsong voice.
Deah tightened her grip on her mom, opened the cemetery gate, and hurried toward the castle. She never looked back.
I waited until they were out of earshot before I looked at Felix. “What was that about? Why does Deah’s mom act like that?”
He sighed and kicked at a tuft of overgrown grass. “Because she has a Talent for sight, specifically for seeing the future. She’s always been like that, for as long as I can remember.”
“Deah’s mom can see the future?” I’d heard of folks having that power, but it was a rare Talent, and I’d never met anyone before with it.
He nodded. “Yeah. She’s always saying strange stuff, calling people by other names, seeing monsters that aren’t there, things like that. And she’s always wandering off. Deah has to watch her all the time to make sure she doesn’t get too far from the house and accidentally hurt herself or get eaten by a monster. Once, Seleste managed to get all the way down to the lochness bridge in town before Deah and the guards caught up with her.”
I winced. That sounded like a rough life for Deah and her mom. “Is Seleste always so . . . out of it?”
Felix shrugged. “It comes and goes. Apparently, she’s pretty clear during the day, but the sight or visions or whatever get worse at night.” He looked at me. “What did she say to you? According to Deah, she’s pretty accurate. The rumor is that’s why Victor married her—for her visions.”
We have to warn the girls about the wolf.... The wolf wants to devour them both, gobble them up until there’s nothing left but bones and blades. . . . No blood, just bones and blades . . . bones and blades . . . bones and blades....
Seleste’s urgent, singsong voice whispered in my mind. This time, I was the one who shuddered. I didn’t know if she could actually see the future or not, but those files and notes in Victor’s office had me worried enough already, without thinking about bones and blades, or whatever her warning really meant.
“Nothing that made sense,” I said, answering Felix’s question. “Deah’s right. We need to leave before one of the guards decides to patrol through here. Let’s go.”
Felix and I left the cemetery and headed through the woods toward the Sinclair mansion. Well, I walked and Felix trudged, banging into more trees and crashing through more bushes than he maneuvered around, since the white mist had now fully engulfed the forest.
“Slow down,” he muttered, after bouncing off yet another tree. “Some of us don’t have magical night vision, remember?”
“Well, then, it’s a good thing you can use your healing Talent to stitch up all those cuts and scrapes you’re getting.”
“You are so not funny,” he groused.
I grinned, even though he couldn’t see me. “I’m a laugh riot and you know it.”
Felix grumbled something under his breath that I was probably better off not hearing.
“Actually, I don’t think that trespassing on Draconi property is really a laughing matter,” a low voice drawled.
My hand dropped to the hilt of my sword, ready to pull it free, while Felix stepped up beside me. But instead of a Draconi guard, Devon stepped out of the trees right in front of us.
“Busted,” Felix muttered.
Devon crossed his arms over his chest, his mouth fixed in a flat line. A black cloak covered his shoulders to help him better blend in with the shadows, and a sword was belted to his waist. Devon rarely carried a weapon, and the sword told me how worried he’d been about us. He was also holding a flashlight, the circular beam shooting off into the trees.
Devon raised his eyebrows. “Care to tell me what the two of you are doing way out here where you shouldn’t be?”
Felix opened his mouth, but for once, words escaped him. He clamped his lips shut and looked at me for help. I shrugged. I didn’t have any lies ready either. There was really no good reason for either one of us to be out here, and all three of us knew it, especially Devon.
“Let me see if I can explain things,” Devon said. “Felix went over to the Draconi compound to see Deah, apologize, and explain to her why Katia was flirting with him at the tournament.”
“Dude!” Felix said. “How do you know about me and Deah?”
Devon gave him a look. “It’s kind of obvious. I’ve known for a couple of weeks now, ever since that dinner for all the Families, when the two of you were staring at each other all night. Besides, every time we run into her on the Midway, you suddenly, mysteriously disappear for a while.”
Devon was smart, able to pick up on subtle things like that, piece them together, and figure out what was really going on. That’s how he’d realized who I really was and that I had transference magic. Just by watching and listening and putting together all the small, inadvertent clues that I hadn’t even realized I’d let slip about my past and my power.
“I was hoping that you would come clean with me, but you didn’t,” Devon continued. “I went to your room, but you weren’t there, so I figured you must have hiked over here. And when Lila wasn’t in her room either, I decided to come look for you both.”
Felix chewed on his lip. “And what do you think about me and Deah? Are you going to tell your mom?”
Claudia wouldn’t like the idea of Felix dating Deah, especially not now, when the Draconis seemed poised to strike out at the other Families. She would order him to break things off with Deah, and he would have to do it. Claudia’s word was law with the Sinclairs, and you either followed it, or you left the Family—for good.
Devon sighed and ran a hand through his hair, the mist turning his dark locks more black than brown. “I don’t have a problem with Deah. She’s always been nice enough to me, given that she’s a Draconi. But she is a Draconi—and not just someone who works for the Family. She’s Victor’s daughter and Blake’s sister. You couldn’t have picked a worse person to sneak around with.”
“You two need to leave,” Deah hissed. “Now.”
Felix held out his hand. “But—”
“No buts. Just go.” Her face softened. “I’ll text you later. Okay?”
He nodded. Deah stepped up, put her arm around her mom’s shoulder, and gently steered her away from me. Still smiling, Seleste looked back over her shoulder and gave me a cheery wave.
“So nice to finally meet you, Lila. I’ll be seeing you again soon,” she called out in that eerie, singsong voice.
Deah tightened her grip on her mom, opened the cemetery gate, and hurried toward the castle. She never looked back.
I waited until they were out of earshot before I looked at Felix. “What was that about? Why does Deah’s mom act like that?”
He sighed and kicked at a tuft of overgrown grass. “Because she has a Talent for sight, specifically for seeing the future. She’s always been like that, for as long as I can remember.”
“Deah’s mom can see the future?” I’d heard of folks having that power, but it was a rare Talent, and I’d never met anyone before with it.
He nodded. “Yeah. She’s always saying strange stuff, calling people by other names, seeing monsters that aren’t there, things like that. And she’s always wandering off. Deah has to watch her all the time to make sure she doesn’t get too far from the house and accidentally hurt herself or get eaten by a monster. Once, Seleste managed to get all the way down to the lochness bridge in town before Deah and the guards caught up with her.”
I winced. That sounded like a rough life for Deah and her mom. “Is Seleste always so . . . out of it?”
Felix shrugged. “It comes and goes. Apparently, she’s pretty clear during the day, but the sight or visions or whatever get worse at night.” He looked at me. “What did she say to you? According to Deah, she’s pretty accurate. The rumor is that’s why Victor married her—for her visions.”
We have to warn the girls about the wolf.... The wolf wants to devour them both, gobble them up until there’s nothing left but bones and blades. . . . No blood, just bones and blades . . . bones and blades . . . bones and blades....
Seleste’s urgent, singsong voice whispered in my mind. This time, I was the one who shuddered. I didn’t know if she could actually see the future or not, but those files and notes in Victor’s office had me worried enough already, without thinking about bones and blades, or whatever her warning really meant.
“Nothing that made sense,” I said, answering Felix’s question. “Deah’s right. We need to leave before one of the guards decides to patrol through here. Let’s go.”
Felix and I left the cemetery and headed through the woods toward the Sinclair mansion. Well, I walked and Felix trudged, banging into more trees and crashing through more bushes than he maneuvered around, since the white mist had now fully engulfed the forest.
“Slow down,” he muttered, after bouncing off yet another tree. “Some of us don’t have magical night vision, remember?”
“Well, then, it’s a good thing you can use your healing Talent to stitch up all those cuts and scrapes you’re getting.”
“You are so not funny,” he groused.
I grinned, even though he couldn’t see me. “I’m a laugh riot and you know it.”
Felix grumbled something under his breath that I was probably better off not hearing.
“Actually, I don’t think that trespassing on Draconi property is really a laughing matter,” a low voice drawled.
My hand dropped to the hilt of my sword, ready to pull it free, while Felix stepped up beside me. But instead of a Draconi guard, Devon stepped out of the trees right in front of us.
“Busted,” Felix muttered.
Devon crossed his arms over his chest, his mouth fixed in a flat line. A black cloak covered his shoulders to help him better blend in with the shadows, and a sword was belted to his waist. Devon rarely carried a weapon, and the sword told me how worried he’d been about us. He was also holding a flashlight, the circular beam shooting off into the trees.
Devon raised his eyebrows. “Care to tell me what the two of you are doing way out here where you shouldn’t be?”
Felix opened his mouth, but for once, words escaped him. He clamped his lips shut and looked at me for help. I shrugged. I didn’t have any lies ready either. There was really no good reason for either one of us to be out here, and all three of us knew it, especially Devon.
“Let me see if I can explain things,” Devon said. “Felix went over to the Draconi compound to see Deah, apologize, and explain to her why Katia was flirting with him at the tournament.”
“Dude!” Felix said. “How do you know about me and Deah?”
Devon gave him a look. “It’s kind of obvious. I’ve known for a couple of weeks now, ever since that dinner for all the Families, when the two of you were staring at each other all night. Besides, every time we run into her on the Midway, you suddenly, mysteriously disappear for a while.”
Devon was smart, able to pick up on subtle things like that, piece them together, and figure out what was really going on. That’s how he’d realized who I really was and that I had transference magic. Just by watching and listening and putting together all the small, inadvertent clues that I hadn’t even realized I’d let slip about my past and my power.
“I was hoping that you would come clean with me, but you didn’t,” Devon continued. “I went to your room, but you weren’t there, so I figured you must have hiked over here. And when Lila wasn’t in her room either, I decided to come look for you both.”
Felix chewed on his lip. “And what do you think about me and Deah? Are you going to tell your mom?”
Claudia wouldn’t like the idea of Felix dating Deah, especially not now, when the Draconis seemed poised to strike out at the other Families. She would order him to break things off with Deah, and he would have to do it. Claudia’s word was law with the Sinclairs, and you either followed it, or you left the Family—for good.
Devon sighed and ran a hand through his hair, the mist turning his dark locks more black than brown. “I don’t have a problem with Deah. She’s always been nice enough to me, given that she’s a Draconi. But she is a Draconi—and not just someone who works for the Family. She’s Victor’s daughter and Blake’s sister. You couldn’t have picked a worse person to sneak around with.”
