Dragon Magic, page 6
part #4 of Ever Witch Series
“And if you’re wrong? You think you keep working on your house because you’re bored?”
“How did this get turned around on me?”
“Because you’re hurting, and I can see it. And I don’t want to lie to each other anymore.”
His lips parted, but he bit back whatever he was going to say and merely muttered that he’d see me in the morning.
He shut my door behind him, and I was left staring at it in shock.
What just happened?
Five
Tank
I went to sleep feeling like shit and woke up in a foul mood.
Melody would be laid to rest at midnight. Yesterday, I intended to spend the day by Amelie’s side in case she needed a shoulder to lean on.
As soon as I stepped out of my room, she was in the corridor already. With Peter beside her.
The dragon in me wanted to grab the guy in my claws and throw him through a window. I must’ve growled too loudly because Amelie and Peter glanced back at me.
Peter smiled.
Amelie took a step toward me, but I walked off.
I’d promised Selma I would do whatever I could to help. Since Amelie was in good hands, I would busy myself with seeking out whatever clues were left behind by Melody’s killer.
After I’d left Amelie yesterday, I returned to the place Melody was thrown over the railing. At Selma’s request, the blood had been left alone. She had cast a revealing spell on it, but that had fizzled out.
When I reached the blood today, I frowned, crouching down to touch it.
“Tank?” Selma approached with Lucius in tow. “What is it?”
“What would make the blood turn like that?” I shifted aside so she could see the black ooze left behind. Had it even been Melody’s, to begin with?
Selma gasped. “Dark magic. The blood, it’s of no use to us now.”
Lucius gulped.
“I know you don’t want to hear it, but I’m leaning toward a witch or warlock being the cause of Melody’s death.”
She frowned. “I will not say yes or no until we have more evidence.”
“And if this isn’t the only murder?” I kept my voice low as several witches walked by us, clustered together and whispering. “You said it yourself. This person could be targeting the descendants.”
“I never said it, but the thought is certainly on my mind.”
“I’m going to ask, even though I already know the answer, will you consider going on lockdown?”
“No. The moment we do that, panic will ensue. This castle is filled with magic. The moment it gets out of balance, someone will get hurt.”
“Someone’s already dead,” I pointed out bluntly. Damn, my argument with Amelie last night really put me in a crap mood. “Sorry, that was harsh, but I don’t want anyone else to get hurt. If going on lockdown would ensure us a chance to track down the killer, you should do it.”
I could tell she agreed with the logic of my plan, but her fear over how the witches and warlocks would react won out. “I’m sorry, but I can’t enforce a lockdown. Not yet.”
“Either this was a crime of passion or someone planned to kill her. Who saw her last?”
“Mary, one of the maids. She helped Melody get ready,” Lucius informed us. “But she said after she left and went to take care of her chores, she heard voices coming from Melody’s room.”
“Man or woman?”
“She couldn’t tell, but she said it sounded… off.”
“Where is Mary? Can I speak with her?”
Lucius nodded. “Right this way.”
“I will leave you with him,” Selma told me as we walked toward the stairs. “I must see to Melody’s funeral.”
A solemn look I’d seen too many times filled her eyes.
How many dragons had I laid to rest? Too many. Each one I couldn’t save was another strike against my honor as a defender of my clan. Slade experienced the same guilt before he destroyed Radnak. There was no relief for me, not from these dark thoughts constantly tugging on my mind, dragging me back to those horrible days. The war had ended. I should’ve been happy, but each time I tried, the faces of the dead came back to throw me off course again. I followed Lucius silently, too lost in my mind to pay much attention to those we passed, or where we went.
“Ah, Master Peter,” Lucius said, coming to a stop so suddenly I nearly ran over the small man.
“Lucius. And Tank, lovely. What are you doing?”
“Working on solving a murder,” I replied.
Peter might think he was a big bad warlock, but I stood a good head taller than him. My broad shoulders easily out-massed his pathetic excuse for muscle. I never liked warlocks. Relying on magic was too damned easy. He probably didn’t even know how to use a sword.
“Then, by all means, carry on, Detective Tank,” he said with a mocking bow and wave of his hand. “Don’t let me impede you.”
I growled, and his smirk faltered. Lucius led the way onward, and I fell in step behind him. We traveled down another two flights of stairs, then through a set of double doors with a sign designating the area beyond the doors as living quarters. I assumed for the live-in staff.
“You shouldn’t trouble yourself with him,” Lucius informed me once we were safely through the doors.
“Is he always like that?”
“A stuck-up, spoiled warlock who believes he is the gods’ gift to this world? Yes.” Lucius winked and broke into a grin. “Though I will admit he usually keeps himself in better check than this.”
For the first time since meeting him, I relaxed with the older man. “I like you, Lucius.”
“Thank you. I do my very best.”
“Amelie defended him last night, said he’s just upset about Melody.”
“Ha, that’s amusing.”
“Did he and Melody get along?”
“Oh, they did, but as I’m sure you’ve noticed, he has an eye for only one witch around here.”
I grunted in reply.
He sighed. “Yes, I figured as much.”
“He seems fake.”
“When they were younger, he wasn’t so full of himself. I guess that is the polite way to say it.” He motioned at the break in the hall, and we veered right. “Then he rose in the ranks, and ever since, he’s seen himself on par with those who run the coven.”
“But he’s not a leader, not even close.”
“Not yet. It’s no secret he feels he alone should run the coven and that the other five, now four, descendants should be his subordinates. Ah, here we are.”
We stopped outside a large room. Several women were inside talking with each other and laughing with steaming mugs of coffee in their hands.
Lucius cleared his throat. “Mary? A word if you have a moment.”
A woman younger than Amelie poked her head up. “Did I do something wrong?” She tugged nervously on her hair when she reached us. “Lucius?”
“No. Nothing wrong. This is Tank. He wanted to hear what you remembered about yesterday when you passed by Melody’s room.”
Her eyes widened, and she seemed unable to form words.
“You said you heard a voice speaking with her,” I said, hoping to get her going. “Can you tell me what was said? What the voice sounded like? Were they arguing?”
“I—uh, I think so,” she whispered so quietly I almost couldn’t hear.
“Do you remember anything at all about what was said?”
Her fearful gaze flickered to Lucius then to the floor.
“You aren’t in trouble,” he assured her. “We just want to find who killed her.”
“I’m sorry. I just… all I remember was yelling. The doors are thick. It’s hard to make out too much. The only reason I heard anything was Melody was shouting. She was furious. Then a voice answered, but it was quiet and muffled.” Her face screwed up, and she held up her hand. “Although it sounded like it came from far away, but was inside the room. It was odd.”
“Was it coming from a cell phone? Someone on speaker maybe?”
She tilted her head back and forth at my question. “I don’t know… but it was cold.”
“What was cold?”
“When I walked by her room, a shiver came over me. Then again, the castle is old and drafty. Could be nothing.”
“Could be. Thanks, Mary.”
Lucius waved her away.
We walked down the hall a bit then came to a stop.
“Well?”
“I’m not sure,” I murmured. “Was there anyone missing from the festivities?”
“I guess it’s possible. I was out there. I only remember Melody’s chair being vacant. If anyone else was missing, there’s honestly no way to tell.”
“Damn. And you don’t know of anyone she’d been fighting with?”
“I know many things,” he said, tapping the side of his nose with a wink, “but if she was upset with anyone, it missed my ears. I’m sorry.”
“We’ll just have to keep looking for clues.”
“Would you like to see her room? Selma told me I was to let you in, should you request it.”
Without any way to see who was missing from the opening ceremony, checking out her room was the next best thing.
I told Lucius to lead the way.
I had all day to try and get some solid answers. I might be annoyed with Amelie, but no way was I going to not be by her side for Melody’s funeral.
Correction. No way was I going to let Peter be the only one comforting her.
At midnight exactly, the decorated pyre beneath Melody’s body was lit using Amelie’s and Selma’s magic. Since all of Melody’s family was all gone, in their absence, the sad duty of saying goodbye fell to the two witches she was closest to. Troy was meant to help, but the poor guy was a wreck. I’d seen true love only a few times, and the way he wept for her, it had been true. Hearing him cry now was reminiscent of watching Slade lose it when Everest nearly died.
My chest clenched as delicate flames lifted from Amelie’s palms, reflecting in her eyes as she walked around the pyre with Selma. If anything happened to her, I couldn’t live with myself. Bad enough I lived all that time with the knowledge she was with Jared. Now, despite what Selma believed, there was a very real chance this killer was not finished.
Whoever the villain might be, he’d regret it if he laid a hand on her.
The fire consumed the pyre in minutes. When the flames reached Melody’s wrapped body, Troy yelled her name. It took Grant and Victor holding him back to stop him from throwing himself on her. The magical fire wrapped around her body like a cocoon.
A bright flash of green and white light shot into the sky.
I watched, awestruck as the witch’s soul moved on to the next life.
Selma placed her palm to Troy’s forehead, and he passed out. Together, Grant and Victor carried him inside the castle.
The crowd slowly dispersed, many walking around the grounds, too restless to turn in.
Amelie’s eyes found mine. Peter stood beside her, talking.
Then she said something to him, and she walked toward me.
He clenched his jaw glaring at me.
I almost smirked, almost.
He shook his head and stormed toward the castle.
Amelie stood before me. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I repeated. “I’m sure you’re tired of me asking, but you alright?”
“I will be, but Troy, I’m not sure he’s going to recover from this.” She rubbed her hands up her arms against the chill of the night. She wore a black dress with very thin sleeves. Now was probably not the time to scold her for not wearing anything warmer.
I shrugged out of my flannel, the cold not bothering me at all, and handed it to her.
“No, you’ll get cold.”
“Really? I’m a dragon. Internal fire and all that. Take the damned shirt.”
She gave in after I draped it over her head. She laughed, muttering about dragons and our stubbornness. She was right about that at least. We were all damned stubborn. She should know after dating Jared.
Watching her slip on my flannel shirt and hug it close around her body made a strange, possessiveness come over me.
I took a moment to collect my confusing emotions. Then I motioned toward the grounds. “You want to go inside or take a walk?”
“Walk would be good,” she said, slipping her hand in my elbow. “Not sure I could sleep right now.”
“The ceremony was beautiful.”
“We try to make it as comforting as possible. Hard to do that when you burn your dead.”
“Dragons do the same. Seeing anyone dead is hard enough. No matter how nice the ceremony, the person is still dead.” I hadn’t meant it to come out sounding so bitter, but it did.
Amelie dragged me toward a bench near one of the rose gardens.
“Sorry. Have a lot on my mind lately.”
“I noticed, and I’m not the only one.”
“What do you mean?”
“Everest worries about you all the time. Thinks you’re slipping further away from us all. That you’re losing yourself in the past and that damned house. What happens when you run out of house to fix?”
“Then I guess I’ll start on a shed.”
She gave me a blank look for a solid thirty seconds then we both laughed.
“You can’t keep hiding away. Eventually, you’ll come apart, and I really don’t want that to happen to you. Not if I can help you now.”
“Shouldn’t you be the one we’re talking about?”
“I miss Melody, and her death hurts, but I’m not the one suffering in silence.” She squeezed my hands and leaned in close. “Tank, talk to me, please. I’m here for you.”
Getting up and leaving her there crossed my mind. It would mean I didn’t have to tell her about my past. About every person I lost during the war. I shifted to do just that when she cupped my cheek and forced me to look at her. Those green eyes overflowed with emotions.
Without knowing what I was going to even say, my mouth opened, and I started talking. I started with the warriors we lost in that final battle against Radnak—dragons I trained and sent to their deaths. From there, my mind only grew darker until I was back in the realms controlled by Radnak and his Black Diamonds. Back when my parents were executed in the streets for protecting the Shadowguard heir. Protecting Slade. And my brothers, who were killed only months apart.
“I’d been too late to get to them,” I whispered, my voice rough. “We went in to rescue those I left behind when Jenny and Preston came for me, but we were too late. And my sister, I don’t know if she lives or not.”
“She wasn’t with the other refugees?”
“No, and I looked. Every time we freed a realm from Radnak’s tyranny, I searched for her face, but there was no sign of her. Everyone says she’s dead, but I know she’s not.” I flattened my palm against my chest. “She’s alive. I feel her… I just can’t find her. It’s my fault she’s lost. My fault they’re all dead. If I’d been stronger, faster, maybe they’d be alive.”
I hung my head, not wanting to see the pity in her eyes anymore.
“No, don’t do that,” she urged, kneeling in the grass in front of me. “Tank, you are one of the best warriors I’ve ever seen. And you care so much. Everyone sees that.”
“Not sure what they see.”
“Well, I am. So stop being so hard on yourself. That’s an order.”
My lips twitched. “An order, huh?”
“Yeah, you heard me. You can’t keep blaming yourself for those we lost. It was a war. People die, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.” She kept her hand on my face.
I leaned into her palm. A single tear slipped from my eye.
She wiped it away gently. “Let them go and move forward.”
She made it sound like the simplest action in the world to take. Move on. I wanted to for years, but there were so many voices and faces dragging me back.
“You know what? Come with me?”
“Where are we going?”
She dragged me to my feet, hurrying across the lawns away from the castle.
“Amelie?”
She didn’t stop until we stood on outside a grove of trees. Beyond their trunks was a pool of some kind. The water glowed an iridescent blue.
“Do you trust me?”
“I did a couple of minutes ago.”
“I’m serious. Do you trust me?”
“Yes, now tell me what that is.” I pointed to the pool then frowned when I thought I heard a voice calling my name. A very familiar voice. “Is that… No.”
“That’s a pool of remembrance,” Amelie said quietly. “It’s to help you see into your past and reach out to those you’ve lost. To help you move on once you see they’re at peace. If you step into the pool, you’ll have that chance to see no one blames you. You can forgive yourself.”
“And if they do blame me? If they hate me?” I hesitated on the edge of the trees, more apprehensive about walking in there than I had been when I faced an army of Blood Moon Priests.
“They won’t. Just walk in. I’ll be here for you when you’re finished.”
Turning back now wasn’t an option. Amelie would bring me right back here. That promise was evident enough in her determined face.
Growling under my breath over what I was about to endure, I stepped through the trees and into the grove.
A fluttering started in my stomach that grew worse with each step I took toward the pool. Not wanting to get my boots wet, I stepped out of them, braced myself for whatever was about to happen and walked into the pool.
The glowing water barely rippled. At its center, it came up to my knees.
I stood and waited. When nothing happened, I glanced back at Amelie, but she wasn’t there. The trees were but beyond them was a heavy fog I couldn’t see through.
“Amelie?” Great, something went wrong. It had to have.
“Tank?”
I froze. No, that couldn’t be her voice. It wasn’t possible.
“Tank, turn around.”
