Ember's Light: Stryx, page 29
part #1 of Vampires & Strygoi Witches Series
But even when each vampire dropped to a knee and swore to serve him, he still felt nothing.
“Hello, Soră.”
The silver girl frowned. She’d become more solid since the night he’d combined his magic with hers and Selene’s, and able to go anywhere the magic had been renewed.
The phone in Stryx’s pocket vibrated. He reached for it hurriedly, held it with two fingers as sparks poured out of it, and tossed it across the room just before it exploded.
“You never tire of doing that to me, do you?”
“Nope!” Soră smirked.
“My Dragă already thinks I’m a caveman. I might have a better chance of convincing her to stay if I could offer her electricity.”
Soră put her arms out and spun in circles. “I don’t think so. Soră is so mad at you! You were mean to her like you've always been mean to me.”
“I’m hoping she won't hold a grudge for a thousand years like you have.”
Soră had been so excited when Stryx and his twin were born. And looking back at how he’d treated her now that he had emotions, he could see why she’d never forgiven him. Sabien had taken after their mother, so like Selene from the start. Stryx had taken after his father. Riordan’s vampire traits dominant. An emotionless predator. He’d had no time for a pesky little girl who wanted to be loved.
Sabien treated her like a princess, showered her with patience and adoration, and Soră had loved him for it. Even after they'd had to leave Dacia after the massacre and Selene and Soră had been practically comatose for centuries, Sabien spent countless hours in Selene’s tower, doing nothing but offering his love to their mother and the silver girl made of magic. It was all too easy to resent her for taking his brother away after he’d lost his mother and father. Vampires were possessive and Sabien was his twin, not her toy.
Stryx had pushed her away from the start, wanting nothing to do with the needy girl, but Soră had always let him know she was around. His bootlaces tangled, clothes disappeared, books burned, and weapons melted to slag. She’d stopped that last trick after Sabien spoke to her about it, but over the last few centuries, she’d taken to sparking the magic in his blood practically anytime he was near anything with moving parts.
Thus far in their war, neither had given an inch. Stryx was learning about compromise though, and who knew? If Soră forgave him, maybe Ember would too.
Going to one knee, Stryx held out his arms.
Soră stopped twirling and ran two steps toward him, a brilliant smile on her lips. But before she reached him she stopped and eyed him suspiciously.
Stryx laughed. “It’s not a trick.”
“You will hug me?”
The hope in her voice made his newly beating heart hurt. He nodded.
She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck, body trembling as she wept into his chest. “I didn’t want everyone to die.”
He hugged her and patted her back, as unsure of what to do with a crying girl as he had been a crying woman. “I know. I shouldn’t have blamed you. It wasn’t your fault.”
Soră pushed against him and he let her go. Taking a few steps back, she closed her eyes tight and glowed a brighter silver. Shiny black wings sprouted from her back, not as impressive as Ember’s, but the resemblance was clear. A small sword appeared in her hand and she opened her eyes. “I am learning from War to help you fight. We will get Adda back.”
Elation and sadness conflicted inside him. Soră wasn’t really a girl, but seeing her with a sword didn’t feel right. She’d always been about love, and he’d never imagined seeing her armed. If there was a chance to rescue his father after all this time, though, he wouldn’t refuse her help. “Adda is alive?” Hope bloomed inside him.
“Yes. The bond with Selene never broke. Riordan fights every day.”
It was obvious Selene would know if Riordan was dead or alive, but after her centuries-long sleep she’d never spoken of Adda. Dragăs could bring their vampires to them. Everyone knew that. Why wouldn’t the strongest witch in the world bring her vampire to her?
The only reason she wouldn’t was something he refused to give thought to. Stryx hadn’t wanted to hear his father was dead. As long as death wasn’t confirmed, Adda was Not Yet Returned, and Stryx didn’t have to acknowledge the worst.
Guilt ate at him. If he’d asked, could he have rescued his father sooner?
“We will get Adda back.” Soră spit on her palm and held it out. “Idris told me this is how to seal a deal.”
Stryx shook his head. Idris was definitely going to be a eunuch someday. “Soldiers and vampires use blood oaths.”
Soră scrunched her face as she looked at her palm. “Idris is not funny.”
More common ground. “I’ve been telling him that for a thousand years.”
CHAPTER FORTY NINE
EMBER
Blood flowing hot, Ember laughed as War magic flowed through her. Her body fought without conscious thought, almost like someone else had taken over.
The moves were new to her, but she knew how to do them. It had been awkward at first, getting used to her body moving without her direction, but she’d sparred with Idris. When he couldn’t beat her, he’d brought Jael in. She’d been fighting them at the same time for two hours, neither one of them had touched her, and she felt like she could do this for hours more. But she wanted to spend some time outside before the sun went down.
She blocked Idris’ axe and spun, shoving it away. Continuing her spin, she exploded her wings from her back and flapped, knocking him back as she faced Jael.
Jael and his two swords moved so fast they were blurs. He could stop them before they killed her if she missed blocking them. Probably. Maybe.
But she knew when and how he was swinging them at her. Even when she closed her eyes, they had a presence she could feel, much to his irritation.
He swung one blade low. She flapped, letting her wings take her weight, and lifted her feet off the floor. She leaned back when he swung his other blade high, ending up lying flat parallel to the floor as his blades missed her, sweeping arcs above and below her.
Before she fell, she poofed behind him, and hit him with both feet. She aimed for his back, but kicked him in the side as he spun around to face her.
“I’m on to your tricks, strygoi.”
Ember smirked and made a fist with her free hand. Jael dropped into a defensive stance. She swung, but instead of punching him, she opened her hand and a flash of silver light exploded from her palm.
Jael threw an arm up to protect his eyes.
“Bet you didn't see that coming.” She smirked and touched the point of her blade to his chest.
Fun, Soră! The haunted-house-girl laughed in Ember’s head. Soră had yet to make another appearance, but she made herself known.
Ember flicked her eyes to Selene, but she lay in a trance.
“Enough for now. Before you go, I have a gift for my friend in the dungeon.” Ember crossed the room, picked up the manacles Dmitri had used on her, and handed them to Jael. “They've been enhanced.”
“Nice. I was just about to go visit our guest. Karov wanted me to ask him about some things he found on the electronics we took from the warehouse.”
“Anything about Musette?” She hated how the note of hopefulness that crept into her voice caused Jael to close off. Like he was personally failing her somehow.
“No, I'm sorry. We'll keep trying to get information about what happened to her. Karov set up some cameras so we can see if anyone goes back to the house they were holding Musette in. Maybe we can find someone who knows something that way.”
Ember clenched her fists, fighting her War side back. “I want to kill him. For what he did to me, but more because he hurt Musette.”
“If we kill him, the magic won't die. It’ll go to his acolyte, whoever that is, and we’ll have to search for him all over again. If we keep him locked up, the magic is a prisoner, too. One less mage to worry about in the world. I know how you feel, and I wish I knew of a way to prevent the magic from resurrecting, but I’ve never been able to find a spell that does it. Resurrection is inherent in the magic.”
“He’s driving me crazy,” Ember complained to Selene, clicking to the next photo on her laptop. She leaned back into the sofa cushions in front of the fireplace in Selene’s tower room.
“It will get easier to keep the bond closed the longer you do it,” Selene said. “He is having a worse time of it than you are, if that helps.”
“It would help if he wasn’t so… so… ugh.. so Stryx!”
Selene smiled. “Everything that’s happening to him is just as new as everything that’s happening to you.”
“Yeah…I think I owe him an apology.” Ember closed the lid to her laptop and turned to Selene. “The night I threw him into the wall…I was mostly mad at him for hurting Ciaran. But I think that was me. I accepted the War magic that night, and I thought about killing all the mages and bathing in their blood. If he was feeling everything I was feeling, is it possible that he felt that, too?”
Selene nodded. “That is the same night he joined his magic to mine and Soră’s for the first time. We renewed the wards on the territory after the mage tried to escape. It bound Stryx to the grounds and the house. I’m afraid he was already feeling a lot as a new experience that night, then you became War, which he felt on top of everything else through the bond. I think it was a lot for him to deal with after feeling nothing for a thousand years.”
“So his beating on Ciaran was my fault. I was so angry with Stryx for doing that, but it was me. I feel horrible.”
“It was unintentional on both your parts. No one foresaw you becoming War, or the affect it would have on Stryx.”
“Ciaran’s already forgiven him.” Idris spoke up from his place at Musette’s side. “Stryx bought him something like fifty sandwiches. They’re all good, so don’t worry.”
“I thought it was rare for a vampire to find his Dragă,” Ember watched Idris as he cradled Musette. He devoted himself to her and rarely left her side.
“It is, but in this case it is only a little surprising. Every vampire here is descended from the vampire that created the first strygoi, either created directly by him or one of his line. They are all capable of love. And strygoi magic runs in maternal bloodlines. Musette isn’t just your sister, she is your twin; if you are strygoi, so is she.”
“She’s always had feelings about things that are going to happen. She couldn’t see the future, but she knew something bad was going to happen to us the day we were kidnapped. She always just knows things. It makes more sense that she’s a witch than I am. I’ve never been unusual.”
“I don’t know about that.” Selene waved a hand at the laptop. “At one time I knew a great deal about sunrises and sunsets. Other photos I’ve seen are not like these. I think there is some magic in yours.”
A particularly strong feeling of longing washed over Ember. She flinched and shut the connection down—again. Stryx was easy to resist when he threw his anger at her, harder when he let his need for her come through.
“He’s very stubborn, isn’t he?” Selene gave her a soft smile.
“Stryx is your son, isn’t he? When I became strygoi I saw you holding two boys, and Idris told me Stryx was born a vampire. I’m guessing that’s only possible between vampire and Dragă-Strygoi parents?”
Selene nodded. “Yes. A vampire can have children with his Dragă. Stryx and his twin brother Sabien are my sons.”
“Why didn’t you tell me he was your son when we met? The things I said about him…”
“Were all true, were they not? I didn’t tell you because I want our relationship, yours and mine, to be independent of whatever you choose to have with Stryx. You are strygoi, and before that you were Dragă. You will always have a place here, and if you want it to be one free of caveman vampires, that is what it will be.”
“Does Sabien live here? I haven’t met him yet.”
“Stryx stays here with me, but Sabien wanders. ”
“I can’t imagine two of Stryx in the world. How has it not self-destructed?”
“They are twins, but Stryx and Sabien are very different. They were just boys when the massacre occurred, but old enough to understand what was happening. Even as powerful as strygoi are, we were still hunted down and killed. It’s not so surprising he would go to extremes to keep you safe.”
“I don’t mind being safe. But I hate the way he just thinks he just owns me.”
“I’m afraid if it means you are safe, he will take your hatred. He is much like his father that way. We had many fights.”
Ember slumped in her chair. “Idris said I’m judging him by human standards and I can see how that’s not fair, but it’s also not fair to expect me to give up everything and become someone I’m not.”
“He has no power over you now, and in spite of how he’s treated you, he’s a smart boy. Help him understand. Teach him what you need him to be. I think you’ll find he can learn.”
Ember sighed. She had a show to get ready, and a sister to awaken. She did not have time for drama from the caveman. “After the show is over and all I have to worry about is Musette, I’ll try.”
SUNDAY,
DECEMBER 8
CHAPTER FIFTY
Ember
Ember climbed the stairs in the southern wing of the mansion. So many rooms, tunnels and passages. If she couldn’t poof to Selene’s tower when she got lost, she’d need a map to find her way around the house, not to mention the miles of grounds.
She passed Norrix’s library, resisting the urge to ask him if he’d found anything to help Musette. Everyone was doing their best to help her twin, and the guilty looks every vampire wore when they had to say they had nothing new made her feel guilty for asking.
A wooden staircase at the end of the corridor led upward, and at the top, she opened the door to the sun. A balcony stretched a hundred feet in front of her, the black, wrought-iron, waist-high railing on one side protecting her from a fall hundreds of feel to the rocks below. Patio furniture arranged in separate seating areas once she’d shoved to the side. This was her place to fly.
Wings out, she sprinted, flapping as hard as she could. She could fly short distances, but not high or for long yet. One day, she wanted to fly like the crow in her visions. Not likely, but a lofty goal.
At the far end of the balcony, she repeated her drill back to her starting point. Letting muscle memory take over, Ember slipped into her Dragă space. It was highly inconvenient to pass out each time for the duration she wanted to go there.
This way Ember had to stay awake and try to occupy two places at once. She didn’t like leaving her sister alone for too long. Her twin put on a brave face. But how many days could even Musette sit around and do nothing except eat brain-freeze-free ice cream?
That’s what she found Musette doing, though.
“Do you at least change the flavor?” Ember asked as she took her place at the kitchen island.
Musette wore a pink sundress, she’d painted her nails in shades of purple, and her golden-blonde hair formed an elaborate arrangement of braids and twists around her head, so she’d figured out how to do that much. “Why mess with perfection?”
Ember much preferred this pink and purple version of her sister to the grey one she’d found at first, but would never admit it.
“Hey. I’ve been thinking.” Musette hopped off her stool and held out her hand.
“That explains everything!” Ember smacked her forehead. “No wonder you can’t wake up. Your poor little Goldilocks brain is tired.”
“Ha, ha, Gingerbread Head.” Musette thrust her hand at Ember again. “Come sit with me in the living room. I want to see if you can show me what you saw in your vision so I can see our sister. And our mother. We never even had a picture of her, since everything burned in the fire when we were little.” She frowned. “What if that part isn’t true, either? Maybe if I see what you saw, it will give me one of my feelings.”
Ember stood, linked hands with her twin, and followed her into the living room.
One wall was all red brick. A mantle ran the length of the room and held photos and knickknacks. A flat screen TV hung above a row of enormous stockings over the fireplace. Musette’s love of holidays had covered the room in Christmas. A huge, pink, fake tree stood in one corner, because Ember’s soft-hearted twin couldn’t stand to see a live tree die.
Silver and gold garlands hung everywhere, adorned with candy canes and ornaments. Brightly wrapped presents spilled from under the tree across the oak flooring all the way to the matching, low coffee table, that was the perfect height for propping socked feet on as they sprawled on the comfy, overstuffed couch.
As soon as Christmas ended, Musette would start decorating for Valentine’s Day. In January, she celebrated Sleep Day, Chocolate-Covered Cherry Day, Bird Day, but only for owls, Bubble Bath Day, Kiss a Ginger Day, much to Ember’s disgust, Rubber Ducky Day, Hugging Day, Blonde Brownie Day, Pie Day, Chocolate Cake Day, Hot Chocolate Day, and of course, Peanut Butter Day, but none of those required extensive decorations.
They settled onto the couch. Could their aunt have lied about everything? “I only saw our sister as a baby. I imagine she looks like we do grown up, only with black hair. I tried to call Aunt Bridget, but you know how she is. We might not hear from her for weeks. I’ve left her messages.”
“I wonder if our mother is still alive. What about our Dad? Do you think they knew about mages and magic and vampires? Why couldn’t she keep us together?”
“They must have thought there was some danger, or maybe three of us were too hard to protect at the same time.”
Ember focused and tried to share her vision, but only part of it would come.
Their mother cradled her triplets and kissed Ember’s head. “You will be the spark that starts it all.” She kissed the dark-haired baby’s head next. “You will be the one who ends it.” She kissed Musette’s head. “And you will see what needs to happen.”
