Page 75 of Chasing Stripes (Enchanted Falls #3)
SEVENTY-FIVE
“T haddeus Dartmouth is simply my most recent identity,” Elias explained, his glamour shifting briefly to reveal the businessman’s familiar features before returning to his true appearance. “One identity in a long line of personas I’ve adopted over years. The perfect cover—a supposedly human businessman interested in local history and antiquities. No one questions when such a man shows interest in old buildings or family heirlooms.”
He gestured toward their glowing string with undisguised envy. “That connection—the one your family cultivated so carefully through selective breeding with shifter lines—it was meant to manifest in every generation. Yet when it appeared in my great-grandmother, your family broke the bond by force because her chosen mate was ‘impure.’“
His face contorted with ancient rage. “They severed a connection rather than allow vampire blood to strengthen the Blu line.”
Rust took a cautious step forward, his diplomatic mayor’s instincts temporarily overriding his lion aggression. “Whatever happened to your ancestors doesn’t justify terrorizing innocent people today.”
“Innocent?” Elias laughed, the sound echoing unnaturally throughout the chamber. “The founding families of Enchanted Falls built their power on magical theft and selective bloodlines. There’s nothing innocent about any of you.”
As he spoke, Artemis noticed movement in the shadows behind him—cages containing huddled figures. Her heart sank as she realized these must be the captives Alaric had mentioned.
“Your cousin,” she said, addressing Elias directly. “Viridian Nightbourne. Is he here too?”
Something flickered across The Collector’s glamoured face—surprise, perhaps, that she knew that name.
“My dear little baker,” he replied with mocking sweetness, “I’ve collected many magical specimens over the years. Vampire, shifter, fae—all provide unique energies for my work.”
He gestured toward a large apparatus positioned above the ritual circle—a complex arrangement of crystals, metals, and what appeared to be magical focusing lenses, all aligned with disturbing precision.
“But none of them compare to what you and your tiger offer,” he continued. “A fully manifested soul-tether, strengthened by genuine emotion, connecting bloodlines with centuries of magical potential.” His mismatched eyes gleamed with covetous intensity. “The power contained in your bond could fuel magical workings beyond anything this town has ever seen.”
Artemis felt her fae magic rising in response to the threat, golden light swirling around her hands. Beside her, Bartek let out a low growl, his form shimmering as his tiger nature fought to emerge.
“We’ll free those captives,” she stated firmly, “and you’ll answer for what you’ve done.”
Elias smiled, appearing genuinely amused. “Such confidence. Such naive heroism.” He snapped his fingers, activating something hidden within the ritual circle.
Instantly, magical barriers sprang up from the floor, separating Artemis and Bartek from the rest of their friends. Thora slammed against the invisible wall, her sabertooth claws extended, but the barrier held firm. Rust and Artair immediately tried different approaches—magical dissolution for Rust, brute strength for Artair—with equally unsuccessful results.
“Your friends can’t help you now,” Elias said calmly. “And in precisely twenty-seven minutes, the eclipse will reach totality. Perfect timing.”
Trapped within the innermost magical barrier with Bartek, Artemis frantically assessed their options. Whatever Elias had planned, they still had each other—and that connection had already proven more powerful than anyone expected.
Then she spotted something on a pedestal near Elias—her family’s stolen recipe book, its pages open to diagrams she’d never seen before. Additional pages had been inserted, covered with forbidden spells written in a spidery hand that made her feel ill just looking at them.
“You altered my family’s book,” she accused, understanding dawning. “Added soul-severing spells of your own creation.”
“Merely completing what your ancestors began,” Elias replied with a dismissive wave. “They studied soul-tethers extensively, including how to break them when politically inconvenient. I simply refined their research to allow the harvesting of the released energy.”
He approached the barrier separating them, studying their golden connection with scientific detachment. “Fascinating. Your bond has developed exceptional resilience. Breaking it will produce even more power than I calculated.”
Bartek moved protectively closer to Artemis, his eyes now glowing tiger-amber. “You won’t touch her,” he growled, his voice deepening.
“I don’t need to touch her,” Elias responded calmly. “The extraction apparatus works remotely.” He gestured toward the cages in the shadows. “But I do need uninterrupted concentration for the ritual. Which brings me to my proposition.”