Page 13 of Voyage of Magic and Malice (The Vampires of Charleston #3)

THIRTEEN

the wardrobe

I don’t know how much time passes before I let go of Phyllis’s empty body. She would scold me for waiting so long, telling me that finding the children was more important than holding on.

“I’m sorry,” Cam’s weak voice says from behind. I turn, finding him leaning onto Nyssa as they overlook the woman that was once Phyllis.

“Me, too.” I wipe a stray tear.

“I didn’t know her long, but I don’t think she’d want us standing around feeling sorry for her,” Cam adds.

Nyssa kneels at the elderly witch’s side. She lays a hand on her shoulder. “Elsie, put your hand on her other shoulder.” I do as she asks, not sure what’s about to happen. “Power bound, now unsealed, through blood and will this bond we seal. From death’s embrace to life renewed, let ancient strength find passage true.”

With her words, white light rises from Phyllis’s remains to my hand and into my body. “What just happened?” I ask, pulling away.

“Phyllis doesn’t have anyone. She asked that if something were to happen to her, that you receive her power.”

“She did? Can all witches do that?” I kneel back to my friend.

“Some can, some can’t. Phyllis could.”

“I don’t feel anything,” I admit.

“Her energy is weakened. It will be there when you need it.”

“We need to find the children,” Cam says, calling us back to our mission.

Standing, I pull the map Brayden drew from my pocket. The once full sheet of paper is nothing more than shreds of fiber. “Shit, the map is destroyed from the water.”

Cam turns to where the castle was earlier. “It’s not like it would do any good anyway. There’s nothing out here but rock and grass.”

“They’re here,” I answer, moving to his side. “I can feel Alex.”

“What about the others?” Nyssa asks.

I shake my head. “Just Alex. One of the girls, Everly, has the ability to hide energy. She may be shielding them.”

“It’s not going to take long to look.” Cam stands straight. Nyssa reaches for him, offering strength. “I’m okay. I’m feeling much better.”

“You two might want to find clothes.”

“Clothes are the least of our worries,” Cam answers. “Besides, we just fought a damn leviathan. Who cares what I’m wearing.”

“Phyllis would approve,” I add with a smile. Cam laughs awkwardly.

“Yeah, she would.”

“Do you still feel Alex’s energy?” Nyssa asks.

“Aye. Just as strong as when we got here.”

“Then they’re here. If it was a facade, it would’ve disappeared when Eudora died.” She nods toward me. “Follow your instincts.”

“How the hell do I do that?”

“Stop thinking, and start feeling,” Nyssa answers.

“I’m a fucking vampire. I don’t feel anything.”

“Tell Thorne and Phyllis that,” she retorts.

I wipe a stray tear, acknowledging just how right she is. I close my eyes, pulling on the energy in my core. Feel, don’t think. I repeat the words in my mind several times before opening my eyes. A slight shimmer flashes so quickly I’m not sure it wasn’t my imagination. Staring in the same spot, I wait. I see it again, this time focusing my attention on what I’m seeing.

“Do you see that?” I whisper.

“What do you see?” Nyssa asks.

“Something…sparkled? I’m not sure that’s the right word.” I start walking across the hard rocks, moving toward the invisible shimmer. Nyssa and Cam follow close behind. As we move, Alex’s energy grows slightly. “It’s stronger here.”

“Keep moving toward the energy.”

We walk until we can’t walk any further. The three of us stand on the edge of a cliff overlooking the raging sea below. “You think they’re in the water?” Cam asks.

I send my energy toward the sea below. Instantly, Alex’s energy weakens. “He’s not below us.”

“That makes no sense.” Cam scratches his head before motioning to the endless water in front of us. “They’re not in the water, and there’s no more land.”

Nyssa moves to my side, staring into the open sea. “Eudora was the Goddess of the Sea. She could do anything she wanted.”

Just as Nyssa speaks, the shimmer happens again. This time, lasting a few seconds longer. “Tell me one of you saw that.”

“I did,” Nyssa answers. She moves even closer to the cliff edge.

“Unless you can fly, Nyssa, which I wouldn’t put past you, don’t get too close,” Cam warns.

Nyssa scoffs as her toes reach the ledge. She raises her hands high above her head, seemingly reaching toward the moon. “My energy is weakened. Elsie, lend me your power.”

I move close to her side, placing an arm around her waist. Closing my eyes, I pull through my core once more.

“Holy shit,” Cam whispers.

I open my eyes as an illusion continues to dissolve. The endless sea and towering cliff face shimmer and ripple like a mirage in the heat. What emerges in their place is a small sea-weathered cottage, sitting as though it has been there the entire time, waiting to be found. “Holy shit,” I echo.

“The children have to be inside.” Cam steps forward. “I’m going first.”

“Alex?” I call through my mind once more.

“Elsie?” his weak voice answers.

“We’re coming!”

“Alex just answered me!” I shout to my friends. “He’s weak.”

Cam doesn’t wait for more words. He steps onto the magical pathway with Nyssa and me on his heels. “Cam, be careful. I doubt they’ll be sitting in the living room, watching television,” Nyssa warns.

“They’ve likely been starved,” I add. “You two might be more tempting than you realize.”

“They’re just kids,” Cam says, showing his naivety about immortal children.

I pull him to a stop. “Cam. They may look and sound like children, but they’re vampires who have most likely been starved for a while. Even weakened by hunger, they’re going to be stronger than any vampire you’ve come in contact with before.”

“Understood,” he answers.

I step in front of him, leading the rest of the way to the cottage. To my surprise, the knob turns easily, and the door creaks open. Stepping into the cottage feels like stepping into another world. The air is warm, smelling like a mixture of sea salt and dried herbs. The interior is small but cozy, every detail crafted with enchantment.

On the far wall is a fireplace with a hearth that spans the entire width of the cottage. A fire cracks softly, casting shadows on the stone walls.

“Why does this place feel like Santa is going to come walking around the corner at any minute?” Cam whispers. “It even smells good in here.”

“Alex? We’re in the house. Where are you?”

“Elsie? Are you really here?” He sounds confused.

“Yes. We’re here. Where are you?”

“It’s dark…”

“Alex says it’s dark where he is,” I announce to Nyssa and Cam.

We split up, moving around the house, looking for a dark space large enough to hold three children. Within minutes, we’ve checked everywhere.

“What about this?” Nyssa says, standing in front of a ceiling-height wardrobe. She pulls at the locked door.

Cam steps in front of her, pulling on the door with no luck. “It’s being held by something other than strength,” he announces, stepping back.

“A spell,” Nyssa says, moving in front of the wardrobe.

“How do we open it?” I ask.

“It depends on what spell she used.”

“The goddess wouldn’t use a spell to lock these doors. She has her own magic.” I step away from the wardrobe. “It’s made of wood.”

Nyssa smiles, realizing what I’m saying. “Yes.”

“What do you think…Oh, shit. Elsie, what if you hurt the kids?”

“They’re vampires. They’ll heal.” I focus my attention on the wooden wardrobe and pull on my energy. “Burn,” I whisper. Nothing happens. “Burn,” I say again and again—nothing happens.

Nyssa puts her hand on my shoulder, reversing our earlier event. Energy floods me, filling me with power. “Again,” she says.

I focus my attention on the large wardrobe. “Burn,” I whisper. Flames begin immediately, lighting the top of the wardrobe on fire. “Burn,” I repeat.

The wardrobe is fully engulfed minutes later, filling the cabin with smoke. Cam steps up, kicking the side of the large piece of furniture, knocking it on its back and to the floor. “That’s enough,” he says, coughing from the smoke.

Nyssa raises her hands, and a large gush of water diminishes the flames. I move to the doors and rip them off the hinges. The space is larger than the wardrobe should allow. The wooden panels inside are smooth and polished like glass. The air coming from inside is thick and musty smelling.

The smoke clears, giving me a glimpse of what’s inside. At first glance, the realm inside seems like a vast ethereal forest that stretches endlessly in every direction. Massive trees rise up, their trunks wrapped in thick vines.

“What is that?” Cam asks.

“Another world,” Nyssa answers.

“Alex?” I call. “Everly? Autumn? It’s Elsie! Where are you?” My voice echoes off the tall trees.

“We can’t just wander through all of that,” Cam announces the obvious. “They could be anywhere in that world.”

“Alex!” I shout once again. “If you can hear me, come to my voice.”

“It’s dark,” Alex’s voice repeats.

“He says it’s dark. That forest is not dark. Could they be somewhere else?” I ask.

“Not in the house.” Nyssa climbs into the wardrobe. “Maybe this will work.” Picking up a thick piece of bark, she slices it across the palm of her hand hard enough to break the skin and draw blood to the surface. Lifting her hand in the air, she chants a few words, and the wind picks up, blowing her hair and the surrounding trees. Cam and I flank her, ready for whatever is going to happen.

“That’s brilliant. They’ll smell you.”

“Alex? Can you smell blood?”

“Yessss,” he hisses. “It smells delicious.”

“Break free of where you are, and follow the smell.”

“He smells it.” I warn Nyssa. “Be ready for anything.”

I step next to my friend, not sure what’s about to happen. “Something’s coming,” Nyssa whispers. “I feel it.”

“Aye, me, too.” I close my eyes, feeling Alex’s energy growing stronger. Focusing my ears on every sound around me, I dial in on three distinct movements. “Both of you get out of here, now.”

“I’m good,” she argues.

“Now!” I turn, pushing her through the doors and back into the cottage. Cam follows close behind. It’s then that I see them. The children I’ve dreamed of finding every day since they were taken. Everly, Autumn, and Alex stand several feet in front of me. Their once-clean clothes are torn and filthy. The looks on their faces have changed from innocence to killer.

“Elsie?” Autumn wrinkles her forehead.

“It’s me,” I answer, keeping my voice as calm as possible. “I’m here to take you home.”

“We don’t have a home,” Everly answers, sniffing the air. “Where’s the lycanthrope?”

“She’s safe.”

“We’re hungry,” Alex speaks for the first time.

“I know you are. I don’t know how to help you.”

“Let us have them,” he retorts. “I smell two.” For the first time in a long time, Alex scares me.

“I’m sorry it took so long to find you. We’ve been searching since Marnie took you.”

“Marnie’s gone,” Autumn answers. “She went to a different realm.”

I stare at the immortal child. “What? How do you know?”

She smiles, showing a mouth full of perfectly formed teeth. “I just do.”

“Eudora’s dead,” I announce.

The children share a look. “How?” Everly asks.

“It’s a long story that I’m happy to tell you one day. Today is not that day.”

Alex sniffs the air once more. “Brayden?” he asks. “I smell him on you, but he smells—different.”

I sigh, not sure how much to share. “Brayden’s family was in an accident. He was the only one to survive but barely.”

“Celeste turned him into a vampire,” he finishes my sentence. I forgot to shield my thoughts from the mind-reading child.

“Yes,” I answer truthfully. “He helped us find you, find you all. He’s ready to see you.”

“You have no idea how you’re going to get us off this island,” he continues.

“Not yet. We didn’t have much of a plan.” I laugh, hoping to ease the tension.

“Who’s Serafina?”

“She’s a witch who has Thorne.” I look into the eyes of the three children. “I promise to tell you everything once you’ve been fed and are stable. Now is not that time.”

On cue, three bottles of blood are thrown through the doors, landing in front of me. The children have the bottles drained in the blink of an eye.

“More,” Autumn says, and again, three more bottles are thrown inside. They drain them a little slower than the first. “More.”

“That’s enough,” a young voice says from behind me. I turn, finding Brayden. He’s wearing the same clothes as earlier and holding several more bottles of red liquid. “Hi, guys,” he greets the immortal children.

“How?” I ask, not sure how he’s here.

He shrugs. “I’m a good shield.”