Page 78 of Transfiguration
“It was business as usual when I had Forrest pull the books,” Page said. “Everyone acting as if nothing happened. Though there was some noise about Hart missing. Either most of them aren’t involved, or the organization is full of really talented actors. His floor was off limits. He banished most of them days ago when he was struggling to control the darkness. And from below, the damage to the windows doesn’t appear, which might be part of his suppression spells. There was more concern over Blake’s death than anything else, since he was one of them.”
“Blake?” Con blinked, thinking back to their driver and how he’d been missing the last time Con had gone out.
“He was murdered the night Luca began to transition,” Sam said. “After he dropped us off. The SUV never even left the lot. You didn’t see it on the news?”
“Been a little busy,” Con said. “Why was Blake murdered? How does that fit?”
“His purpose was to keep Luca hidden,” Page said. “He had a fantastic shadow and illusion skill set. Could throw anyone off a trail. Hart kept Luca out of the media and played off that he was pretty ordinary, so no one would think Luca had power.”
“Luca didn’t even know he had power,” Sam said. “Beyond his dhampir stuff.”
“But even dhampirs don’t have that strength, speed, or longevity. Usually, they are human. Sometimes they will have small things like better eyesight or hearing, but never the extent Luca had,” Page said, digging through another pile of books and pulling out a record. “Of course, we only have vague references recorded.”
Con sighed, hating this game ofwho-knew-what. Blake had been a good guy. Con had even more respect for him now that he knew Blake had been protecting Luca. But the pieces that were coming together in his head were not looking good. “They killed Blake to get to Luca.”
Sam blinked, looking his way as though he hadn’t thought of that, but Seiran nodded, and said, “I think so too.”
“What the fuck? Why are they after Luca?” Sam demanded.
“Because they couldn’t control Hart,” Con answered. “I bet they got pretty close to controlling Matthew. New vampire with a lot of power, or old and super powerful vampire with a lot of power. Who do you think would be easier for them to manipulate?” Con dug through the stacks of books, surprised to find he’d already read a lot of them. “What if they need Matthew intact, mostly… to transfer all the power they’d given him to another they hope to control?” Which meant Luca. Con glanced upward toward the arboretum. Would more wards help? Would it matter that he hadn’t risen yet?
“Why Luca and not me?” Sam asked.
“He’s a Weaver,” Seiran answered. “It means he can spin energy into any form of magic, no matter the element.” He shrugged. “Or that’s the idea. He won’t rise with the skill to do it, but it’s likely he’ll have the ability. Like all witches, he’ll need training. I wonder if they plan to force the revenant up, which would give them more control.”
“And what about Bella?” Sam asked. “Why do they need her?”
“To find the rest of Matthew’s body,” Con said, furious now that everything was coming together. “She could talk to the soul, but he was broken, even in the urn. Because his body was so shattered? The question I have is why did they break him so badly to begin with?”
“Control,” Page said. “All of their torture was about control.” He turned away, looking haunted. “I’m uncertain they realized they would need him in one piece to use him. Even a transfer of power requires the body and soul together. Not unlike the inheritance ceremony, a will from the giver to the receiver. Control the soul and you control the body.”
“I’m not letting them torture Luca,” Con said.
“There’s been a change since the fire, too,” Page said, his gaze finding Seiran. “They lost lots of the previous leaders when they attacked Gabe. I thought they might have scattered, but maybe the groups are breaking off and doing things on their own now?”
“You’re saying whatever their original goal was, might not be the same one they have now?” Sam asked.
“If their original leader is dead, that would make sense,” Gabe pointed out. “Cut off the head and the rest disbands.”
“Maybe. Perhaps the original group needed Matthew broken to create portals? And now the new spin-off ones want something else? Him whole to house magic? It would be strange for a null, but not impossible. And since he didn’t actually have magic, they’d be able to control him using his revenant instead of his soul,” Page said, “since null magic is very physical.”
“I have small parts of Matthew we dug up. Some teeth, part of a hand.” Con said.
“Is there a way to tell if there is more?” Sam asked.
Page’s gaze fell on Gabe. “A necromancer might scry for it. If they were powerful enough.”
“If I have pieces, yes,” Gabe agreed. “But we can assume they have at least one necromancer in their group. Perhaps a summoner like Page. Ability level is suspect. If there were other necromancers or summoners among the vampires, I’d have heard about it. Which means they are witch, and likely very young. The Dominion has never been kind to witches with dark magic.”
“And maybe not strong enough to have found the smallest pieces? Do you think they have all the rest of the pieces and are looking for the ones I have?” Con asked. He wondered if there were more wards he needed to put over the spelled bag to keep it hidden.
“The pieces and for Luca,” Gabe said. “If they know Luca is a vessel with weaving power, that would overrule whatever they needed Matthew for. If they are using his body, whatever is left of it, for a demon, it would limit its power because of the destruction of his physical body. Luca, fresh from the grave, with untold weaver magic, would be a pretty big draw for someone wanting power.”
“Which means we have to protect Luca,” Sam said, looking toward the arboretum.
“I’ve got the whole place warded in a dozen ways,” Seiran said.
“It’s okay. I’m leaving anyway,” Con said. “And taking the parts with me. If there is anything I’m good at, it’s following the pieces. If they need Matthew’s body to transfer power, they’ll follow me, right?” He had a spell that could trace a single page back to the book in which it belonged. He might have to tweak it to find a body, but he was already working that out in his head. “You guys keep Luca safe. I’ll get the body, the urn, and Bella back.”