Page 83 of Transfiguration
Luca took a careful step forward, worried his ghost-like presence would mean he was stuck in place, but he moved toward the door, floating, like he was in one of Con’s first player video games. It was concerning the lack of physical being he was used to having. But he clung to the hope of his guys being in Rou’s house and maybe having answers? He couldn’t recall why he’d be without them at all. The muddle of his memories feeling like someone had taken anything recent and threw it in a blender.
He reached the door and paused, a strange barrier enfolding the only way in or out. A pale weave of colored lines stretched across the door. Luca studied it with fascination, recognizing the colors and elements without really thinking about it: earth, water, and wind. He reached out to touch it, forgetting for a few seconds he didn’t have physical form, but his hand actually appeared outlined, semi-transparent, when he touched the barrier, a glow of power catching on his fingers like a spider web might. It didn’t feel as gross, but he still jerked his hand back, the barrier coming with him, tearing apart without trouble and looping around his hand like taffy.
Luca stared at the mess of colors, uncertain what to do with them. Con often had balls of string left over from projects, unwound bobbins, or long trails of bits remaining from his quality time with “jack the seam ripper.” Luca sometimes balled them up in his fingers while watching his lover work. These strands felt similar, like string, laced with power. He could still see his fingers outlined from the glow of the broken pieces and rubbed his hands together to ball them up. A mix of rainbow swirled together.
Pretty, Luca thought. Con would have creative things to do with it. Luca shook the ball, trying to drop it, but it didn’t let go. He frowned at it, rolling it in his hands. It moved without trouble but remained stuck to him like a magnet. He closed his fist and felt the power snuff free of the strands sinking into him with a pleasant buzz. Okay then.
He had to peel away more of the barrier to get through. The small pieces racing over him like a lightning charge of energy. He hoped Sam and Con were close. The house itself was quiet. The kitchen was dark and no movement came from anywhere, which was unusual as there were always fae surrounding the estate. Where were they?
Luca headed upstairs to the room they normally shared, surprised by the open doors and darkness. Even the kids’ rooms were empty. What the hell? Was he stuck in some alternate world? Unable to interact with the living? Was he dead?
He gasped as brief flashes of pain echoed through his mind. Daggers piercing him. Bella’s screams. Then nothing but pain. He trembled at the intensity of it. The mash of his memories trying to find a foothold to reform the broken puzzle of how he got there.
He counted carefully, the same way he did when he had trouble sleeping because he was worried about one of his guys. It was calming, familiar, and gave him focus.
Luca found his way downstairs, searching for signs of life but drawn toward the front door. Something was coming. A beacon calling to him. He stared at the door and the weave of strands thick like a wall. Were these wards? He wondered if he should have studied magic. He’d never seen them before. Why now? He couldn’t go through the tapestry of power but he tugged at it, absorbing it? The power sinking into him and making him feel more solid, even as he squeezed through the tiny opening to find the glowing beacon beyond.
Someone parked a van in the drive, the man who stood near it familiar. One of those blinking snapshots of faces that Luca worked hard to place. His head hurt just trying to force those pieces of the puzzle together. Was it possible for his head to hurt if he didn’t have a head?
Dozens of other cars filled the area, people getting out, dressed in strange robes, faces covered in masks painted like animal faces, outlined in gold, silver, and coloring that didn’t appear in nature. Luca gasped at how creepy they looked. A cult of some sort filling the space. He knew they weren’t friends of Rou as he wasn’t the type to be part of a cult of furry wannabes.
“Put up a barrier,” the blond man said. “We’re about to bring back a god.”
Bella stood a few feet away, her gaze meeting Luca’s unflinching. Could she see him? Did that mean he really was a ghost? Holy fuck!
She put her finger to her lips, glancing back at the man who pulled an urn out of the van, and an enormous book. Wasn’t that the book Con was looking for? Luca moved closer. The man slid open the side door and there was a woman in the back, tied up, gagged, and not moving more than the barest of breaths. Luca gaped. What the hell was going on? Was this some sort of human sacrifice? And why at Rou’s house, of all places?
The cult members scattered, sliding into the darkness around the property like ooze staining the land. Were they going to attack? What about all the wards on the house? Had Luca broken them by accident? And where were the fae that normally guarded the space?
Several of the cars had logos painted on the side for Humans First. The anti-magic cult was going to bring back a god? Luca frowned. Understanding crazy people wasn’t his strength.
The man muttered something Luca couldn’t make out, and a pop sizzled along his senses, veil opening and Kaine appeared in his fae form, not the little boy Luca was used to, but the ethereal prince with scary levels of magic. A swirl of red energy twirled around him angrily, making Luca long to reach out and touch it. He somehow knew he could pull it away and ball it up like all the rest.
What the hell was Kaine doing here? And why did it look like he was bound in some sort of chains?
Kaine’s gaze landed on Luca, sadness heavy in his eyes, but he cast a look at Bella before focusing on the blond man again.
“Time to pay dear old dad a visit, eh?” the man said, stalking across the distance, dragging the woman behind him. The man walked through Luca as if he didn’t see or sense him at all, and the memory hit Luca hard. Slamming him down into the vision of the door in the loft buzzing, his body aching as he lay in bed wishing he’d begged Con to stay.
His transition was coming, and Luca hoped Sam would be home before it happened. Would he die in his sleep? He knew vampires usually took three days to a week to rise after death. And his body ached. Joints filled with glass, breath stuttering. He wished for death. But he was alone with Bella and Con didn’t know yet. He had to wait. He’d fallen asleep, uncertain if he’d get a choice, but woken to the annoying buzzer.
Someone was at the door, at the actual door, which was rare since the building didn’t allow people to wander the halls. Maybe Con or Sam had forgotten their keys? It hadn’t happened before, but there was a first time for everything.
Luca pulled himself out of bed, struggling to make his way down the spiral staircase, cursing the design he’d once loved as he almost fell twice. Fuck, what a dumb idea that had been. Bella’s door was firmly closed, but someone still buzzed the call button every few seconds. Annoying. The sound grated at his skull. He got to the door and wondered for the first time why they didn’t have a peephole. He vaguely recalled something about Sam saying he’d seen in a movie that they had killed a person with a slim sword through the peephole, but suspected it was more to do with them never having visitors unannounced by the downstairs desk first.
He unlocked the door, feeling the resistance of the wards, and put his hand on the edge of the door. The touch of magic faint, but recognizing him instantly, it calmed, shutting down as if he’d uttered a spell. Handy. He knew he’d have to put them back up the same way and hoped it worked as easily since witch powers were Con’s thing, not his.
Luca opened the door expecting one of his guys, and frowning at the familiar man who stood outside, arms full of boxes and files. “Hey, Nate,” Luca said, surprised to see him.
“I have a bunch of stuff to drop off for Con. Sorry it’s so late. It’s urgent, for the case he’s working on.”
“Oh,” Luca took a step back, holding the door open. “Come in. I’ll make a spot for it. I hope he’s okay?”
“He’s fine,” Nate agreed, entering the loft with his stack. “You doing okay? You look a little pale. Hope I didn’t rough you up too much in the ring.”
Luca gave him a tight smile. “I’m alright. Why don’t you set everything on the counter?”
“Sure thing,” Nate said, walking past to put his giant stack of stuff on the counter. He sorted through it, papers on one side, box on the other.