“Jordan is a doctor, honey,” Sandy said. “We were worried when you fainted, so we called him. Do you mind if he examines you?” Sandy had a more winning way with her. I had to admit she had a diplomacy that I longed for, but never managed to attain. And it seemed to be growing the longer she took care of Jenna.
Fata blinked, still looking confused. After a moment, she said, “All right. If you think it’s okay.”
“Jordan is a good friend of ours, so you’re in safe hands.” I sat down on the sofa beside her as she swung her feet over to sit up. “We’ll be right here, so there’s no worry.”
She seemed more like her old self as she nodded and smiled. When Fata smiled, she lit up the room. She reminded me of the stars, cold and beautiful and twinkling with an icy chill.
Jordan introduced himself, holding out his hand. “Hi, I’m Jordan Farrows. If you let me just examine you for a little bit, I promise I won’t do anything that makes you uncomfortable. If you tell me I’m overstepping my boundaries, I’ll stop.” He opened his bag and pulled out a stethoscope and a couple of other medical instruments that I didn’t recognize.
Fata looked puzzled when she saw them, but she just shrugged. “Go ahead.”
He checked her lungs and her heart, and then he had her hold what looked like a quartz crystal ball, though I had a feeling it was more than just a regular crystal sphere. He was reading some figures off of a tablet as she held it. After a moment, he put away all of his instruments and closed his bag.
“Well, everything checks out. You work with water energy, don’t you?”
Fata nodded. “Since I was a little girl, I was strong with the water element. Just like Maddy and fire, or Cassandra and the air. I think that’s what brought us all together back then. We were at the top of our elements.”
Jordan cleared his throat. “I know that Maddy and Cassandra are experts with their particular elements. But Fata—may I call you Fata?”
She gave him a nod.
“Fata Morgana, you have become so enmeshed with the water element that you have become part elemental. The water has taken over part of your essence. Did you know that?” Jordan was being extremely diplomatic with his tone. That alone told me that he was nervous.
Fata stared at him for a moment, her eyes wide. The crystal blue of her irises clouded over momentarily, and it looked like a storm was gathering in her gaze. And then it cleared again and she shifted, shaking her head as she leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees.
“At times, I know. Then it fades and I seem to forget. And other times, I’m completely part of the Ocean Mother, and I forget my former life. I sleep within her embrace for decades before waking to ride the waves again. But something called me and woke me to my past. I knew Maddy needed help, and so I came.”
She looked first at me, and then Sandy. “The three of us made a pact long ago that we would always be there for each other in darkest need. And even though we ended in an argument, that pact stands. I’m here because when Maddy called to me, I was given a vision, and I knew that she needed me. I came as soon as I could, although it took me a while to find you,” she said, turning to me. “I’ve never been to this land. But I knew I needed to find you and tell you what I was shown while I was dreaming.”
A lump formed in my stomach. I knew I didn’t want to hear what she was about to say.
“The pact,” I whispered. “We made it the day we raided the village. We stood around the fire and pledged blood to blood.”
IT WAS A windy afternoon, and we had been tracking the vampire village for months. And now, we were just a mile away. We were in Romania, having traipsed through Europe staking vampire after vampire. The humans knew who we were, and even though they were afraid of our magic, they welcomed us when they realized we were trying to help protect them.
There had been a particularly bad outbreak of vampirism in Romania and surrounding countries, and so we went where we were needed. I was still enmeshed in the blood thirst to destroy the creatures who had destroyed my sweet Tom, and no number of vampire kills could seem to assuage it.
Sandy and Fata Morgana had been by my side. The villagers called us the Witches Wild, and in truth, we were. Out of control, focused on one goal, we did whatever it took to accomplish our mission. There was always blood on my hands, blood on my skirts, blood on my dagger, blood on my silver stake.
As we stood above the village of vampires, I realized I was tired. My entire life felt like a river of blood that I continually waded through. I was tired of the coppery scent in my nose. I was tired of the dust that filled the air when the vampires crumbled.
But here, here we could make a major dent. I wasn’t sure how many vampires were down in that village. Possibly a hundred. But I knew one thing for sure—there weren’t any humans. The vampires back then didn’t leave their victims alive. They were waging war on humanity, and we were the only ones standing in the way.
As we stood there, staring down at the village, Fata Morgana held out her hands.
“We have come through heaven and hell together, and we’ve been here for each other throughout these long years. I propose we make a pact, that the Witches Wild will always be here for one another. When any of us are in danger, we have only to call out and the others will come. For once, let the blood we spill be our own and be healing, let it be a force for good.”
Fata was in one of her more coherent modes, and what she said resonated deep within my heart. I took her hand and held out my other to Cassandra.
“Together we stand. Together we fight, together we play, together forever.”
Cassandra took my hand, and then Fata’s, and we formed our circle. “In for now, and for always.”
I let go of both of them and took out my silver dagger. Auntie Berma had given me the pair—the dagger and stake. I held up my left hand and took my dagger, dragging it along my lifeline, cutting a superficial gash, but it was still strong enough to bleed. Fata held out her left hand and I slashed it as well, and then Cassandra’s. I put away the dagger, and then the three of us joined our blood together, meeting our hands in the center of the circle.
Hand to hand, we join our blood,
blood to blood, we join our hearts.
Our powers band, in fire or flood,
the sum of all, stronger than the parts.
Wind, fire, and water make,
a force that cannot break.
Witches Wild, so we three stand,
joined together, upon this land.
Bound together by our sacred oath, we turned to the village waiting in the valley below. I conjured the fire, surrounding the entire village with a row of flames at the top of the hill. Sandy invoked the winds, and Fata Morgana brought the rains to the surrounding areas so that the fire wouldn’t get out of control.
With one last breath, I whispered the spell to send the fires racing down into the village just as the sun began to set. As the vampires came out, shrieking as they met their deaths, I realized this would be my last raid. As the scent of smoke and char began to fill the air, I fell on my knees, wishing the world would burn around me.
In the end, there was only dust left…the dust of vampires scattered to the wind. And in that dust, I left my anger behind. I was so tired of my fury that I could no longer sustain it. We turned and walked away from the remains of the village, and left our vampire hunting days behind.
I SHOOK MYSELF out of my memories. For good or ill, the three of us had bound ourselves together that fateful day, and we were still bound by sacred oath. Fata Morgana might be part water elemental now, but she was still the Fata who had stood by my side, who had run with me through the country, hunting my enemies.
“You said you had a vision?” I took her hand.
She seemed to settle back into herself. With each moment that passed, she felt like the Fata we had known, rather than the wild, hybrid creature who had raged her way to shore in the storms.
“I did.
It was a vision, not a dream. One of the Aunties—I don’t know which one, I don’t even know if I’ve met her—told me. She whispered in my ear while I was being rocked by the Ocean Mother.” She paused, then motioned for Sandy to come sit on her other side.
Giving me a hesitant look, Sandy took her place beside Fata.
Fata let out a long breath. “One of the oldest vampires has been awoken. I don’t know who woke him, or why, but he’s risen to walk the earth again. He’s coming for you, Maddy. Someone, deep within the shadows, is out to end your life. And whoever it is, they’ve summoned Dracula to be their assassin.”
I caught my breath, staring at her.
Dracula?
He was real, that much we knew. The book by Bram Stoker had been a simple retelling of a nasty encounter with him, but unlike the book—or the many movies made—Dracula had not met his end. He had vanished underground, hiding out till people began to question whether he’d ever been real.
Sandy caught my attention. Over Fata’s head, she mouthed, “The Arcānus Nocturni.”
Crap. Of course. If anybody was aligned with them, it would be Dracula. It had to be. He was one of the oldest of the old, as far as we knew. If they could wake him, of course they would. I was a danger because I knew about them.
The Arcānus Nocturni were the ancestors of the vampires. They were so ancient that nobody knew when they had been turned. And they had the ability to walk in sunlight, like the living, which made them a deadly menace. Few knew about them, and it was a good thing for vampires the world over, because if humans discovered that even a fraction of them didn’t require downtime—didn’t necessarily have the vulnerabilities that everybody thought they did—the entire vampire race would be wearing bull’s-eyes on their hearts.
Thanks to Essie, I had managed to catch a glimpse of an illustration of the Queen Mother of all vampires. I had also learned that said queen was bored. She wanted all vampires to be able to walk abroad at all times. Luckily, Essie didn’t share the ancient queen’s desire. Even though I didn’t trust Essie, I could take this information to her and she would help. She didn’t play well with other vamps, and bristled when she thought her territory was being challenged. Dracula would present that challenge.
Fata glanced at Sandy, then at me. “What? What are you two thinking about?”
I hesitated. Something was holding me back from mentioning Essie. Scrambling for something to say, I shook my head. “I was just thinking about how different Aegis is from Dracula.” Crap. The words had just tumbled out of my mouth.
She froze. “Aegis? Who is Aegis?”
I bit my lip. “He’s my boyfriend, Fata. We met when I bought this house.”
The look on her face was unreadable. After a moment, she said, “Is he a witch, too? Or did you end up with a shifter?”
Once again, I hesitated. Finally, I decided that she’d find out sooner or later. I couldn’t keep my relationship a secret from her forever. And with Jordan around, if she blew up, he might actually have something in that bag of his to knock her out.
“Aegis is a vampire.” I wanted to add, “He’s one of the good ones,” or some such qualifier, but it wouldn’t serve any real purpose.
Fata stiffened. She glanced at Sandy, who shifted a little away from her. Then, her voice so soft that it terrified me, Fata asked, “You’re dating a vampire?”
I nodded. “Yes, I am, and I’m in love with him. Vampires aren’t like they used to be—the majority of them. Modern vampires have taken their place in the world and adapted to the times. They have become part of society.”
“You expect me to believe that? You, who drove Cassandra and me across Europe, seeking the monsters who destroyed my cousin and your true love? You expect us to believe that everything is lovely with this vampire. You’re fucking him? Sleeping with him? He’s dead, Maddy—he’s worse than dead. He’s a mockery of whoever he was before he was turned. How can you do this? Mad Maudlin is sleeping with the enemy and protecting him?”
She pushed herself to her feet. Outside, the skies darkened. A low rumble of thunder echoed in the distance. I motioned to Sandy. We needed to calm her down. Jordan reached for his bag and unobtrusively stepped to the side table, where he began hunting through it.
“Listen to me. Times have changed. I’m the last person who expected to ever get involved with a vampire, but here we are. Aegis was a servant of Apollo. He angered the god and was thrown out after Apollo turned him into one of the Fallen. He’s a good man, though.”
Sandy tried to jump in and help me. “He is a good man. He’s helped us all, more than once. And he treats Maddy like a queen.”
“You say that now, but what about when he decides he wants to turn you? What will you do then? What will you do when his thirst drives him to feed off you? You know how vampires are around witches’ blood. We’re a gourmet feast to them!” Fata was flailing her arms. She whirled to Jordan, who had pulled out a syringe. “Put that away, healer. You think I don’t know what you plan on doing with that?” Her voice had turned to ice.
I glanced at the clock. It was noon. Thank gods Aegis wasn’t awake yet, but I was afraid to let Fata find out he was staying in the house. She might take it into her head to hunt him down and stake him.
“Fata, stop. Come back to yourself.” It dawned on me that when she faded out like this—when the ice and chill took over—the water elemental part of her was rearing its emotional head. And since Fata was already prone to volatile outbursts, the water was amplifying her anger.
She paused, slowly—visibly—reining herself in. “I need to go walk on the shore. I suppose you want me to meet him? This vampire of yours?”
I wanted to just skip the whole idea and say no, but we had no clue how long she was staying, and at some point, surely she would come in contact with him. “I wish you would, if only to realize you’re jumping to conclusions. But only if you make me an oath-bound promise that you won’t hurt him.”
She simmered, but finally gave me a curt nod. “Very well. I won’t hurt him as long as he doesn’t try to hurt you or Cassandra.” Turning to Sandy, she said, “Guide me to the shoreline. I can feel the water surging from here, and I need to sit beside the waves for a while.”
Looking frightened, Sandy cleared her throat. “All right. You’ll have to ride in what we call a car.”
Fata shrugged. “A cart? I have no need. Just take me out and point me in the direction.”
Still stuttering, Sandy led her to the front door. As I glanced out the window, I saw Sandy pointing in the general direction of the western shore, and then, in a whirl of sudden rain, Fata dissolved into vapor, and was gone.
Chapter 11
SANDY RETURNED AS soon as Fata vanished, an ashen look on her face. I turned to Jordan, who had quietly watched the entire affair.
“We have a problem.” I slumped back into a chair. “You say she’s part water elemental? I don’t think she started out that way, though I didn’t meet her until…it was 1659. Fata was twenty-seven and I was thirty. But now that I think about it, the first time I saw her, she came riding in on the ocean waves. When she hopped off of the wave, she danced around me on the shore, laughing. I wasn’t afraid of her, not then. She told me her family had cast her out when she was thirteen. Her powers hit at puberty, and it scared even her parents.”
Jordan pulled out his tablet. “I saved the readings on her. She has an immense amount of power, but it’s all concentrated in one direction. Water, be it snow, rain, or ocean. She can do little else on a magical level, I’d wager. The element flows in her aura like blood in her veins. I doubt if she even needs to breathe when she’s underwater. She’s one of the Ocean Mother’s chosen.”
“Did you find out anything else?” Sandy asked. “We need every scrap of information we can gather on her in order to know how to proceed.”
“I suppose she’s vulnerable—every creature or force has its vulnerability. But be cautious. At this point, s
he could swamp the island with a small hurricane, I’m betting.” He paused. “Let me call my girlfriend. I told her I’d be late and I know she worries.”
As he moved to the side, Sandy turned to me. “So, not only is Dracula on the island and after you, but we have to keep Fata contained. I think we’d better ask Auntie Tautau for advice.”
“I think you’re right.” I chewed on my lip. “I feel like we’ve got hold of a rattlesnake. Right now, it’s biding its time, but at any moment, it could turn and bite us.”
“I don’t want Fata over at my house, and I don’t want her knowing about Jenna. I’m responsible for her safety and frankly, yeah, the snake is in the henhouse, so to speak.” Sandy gave me a pained smile, then sat down, staring glumly at the coffee table. “Should we dissolve the pact? We might be able to do it, the two of us.”
I thought about it for a moment. If we were able to dissolve the oath we had made, would Fata feel it vanish? Then she’d have no reason to hold herself back if she got angry with us. On the other hand, we couldn’t do anything to her while the oath held.
“We’re in a tight place right now. I’m not sure which is the safest course of action.”
“Let’s talk to Auntie Tautau, then. I’ll get my jacket, if you want to drive us over there.” I turned to Jordan, who was once again listening to our conversation. “You aren’t under any sort of oath like we are. Will you look for a way to neutralize Fata? What about your stasis chamber? It’s magic-proof.”
He thought about it for a moment. “I think that might hold her, but I can’t be entirely certain. Meanwhile, I’ll work on some ideas. Don’t tell her. I won’t endanger my lab or the medics who work there with me.” He gave me a stern look. “Understand?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I do. Thanks, Jordan. Enjoy your afternoon.”