Page 14 of Voyage of Magic and Malice (The Vampires of Charleston #3)

FOURTEEN

escape

“Brayden?” Alex asks. “Is that really you?”

“It’s me.” Brayden smiles warmly. “We’re here to get you off the island.” I stare at the immortal child, unsure how he plans to accomplish his task. Hell, I don’t even know how he got here.

“Who’s we?” Autumn asks.

“Elsie, Cam, Nyssa, and Fran.” Brayden waits for the information to sink in. “We need your help.”

“Is that the only reason you came?” Everly asks.

“No,” I interrupt. “We’ve been looking for you since the moment she took you. I’ve wanted nothing more than to find the three of you.”

The children stare at me, making me uneasy. I’m not sure if they want to hug me or kill me. “Hug,” Alex’s voice says. “We want to hug you.” His voice has returned to the kid who opened up to me, telling me the horrors of his life as he sat so small in a bathtub for the first time.

“I’d like that,” I whisper and move in front of him.

“Elsie,” Cam warns through the doors.

“He won’t hurt me.” I step into the child, wrapping my arms around his narrow waist and lifting him to me. Alex copies my movement as tiny arms close around my shoulders, and silent sobs begin.

“Thank you.” A heartbeat later, two more sets of arms join the hug, wrapping around my thighs and hips. I can’t control the tears that fall. I have no idea what they’ve been through, but from this moment on, I will protect them with my life.

“We have to go,” Brayden says, interrupting the hugs. “Our window of time is about to pass.”

“Meaning what?” Cam asks.

“Meaning high tide is fading. The island will disappear into another realm until the next tide. However, with Eudora gone, I’m not sure it will be able to return.”

Brayden’s words light a proverbial fire under my feet. I pull away, touching each child’s cheeks. “You’re safe. I promise. For now, we have to go. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” they answer in unison.

“How are we leaving?” Nyssa asks.

“After we dropped you off, the jet landed on a nearby island. Fran chartered a local fisherman to bring us here.”

“By chartered, you mean glamoured?” I interrupt.

“Same thing.” He laughs. “Fran stayed with the boat to make sure he stayed ‘glamoured.’”

I usher the immortal children through the destroyed doors of the wardrobe, through the cabin, and out into the night.

“It’s over there,” Brayden points to the edge of a cliff.

“We have to jump?” Cam asks, noticing the high edge. “That looks a little sketchy.”

“It was the only place safe enough from the rocks for the boat.”

The vampires arrive at the cliff before Nyssa and Cam. He was right. This jump would be sudden death for a human. Thankfully, we’re not human. “Will you two be okay?” I ask, turning toward the lycan.

Nyssa raises her hands above her head and begins her now familiar dance. Under her command, the wind begins to blow, lifting her body from the terrain. “Hold on to me,” she orders, reaching her hand toward Cam. He latches his hand through hers, and the two of them begin lowering gently to the awaiting boat.

“What is she?” Autumn asks, sniffing the air once more.

“That’s another long story.” I turn toward Brayden. “We’re going to have to jump.”

Everly lifts off the ground. “I’m going to fly.”

I laugh awkwardly. “I forgot you borrowed that power from Kragen.”

She offers her hands to the other children. “Anyone want to come with me?” Brayden and Autumn accept her invitation, and the three of them lift off the ground, following Nyssa and Cam down the cliffside.

“I can’t fly,” I remind Alex. “I mean, I can, but I don’t know how to control it, and I’d probably crash us into the side of the cliff.”

Alex latches his fingers through mine, and the two of us jump, feet first, toward the raging water below. “We’re going to be okay,” he says just as my feet hit liquid. “Don’t let go.”

My body is thrown around, slamming into rocks larger than a truck as I hold onto the small hand attached to mine. “Alex, are you okay?”

“I’m good. Swim toward the surface.”

I kick, pulling the boy along with me. Just as we breach the water, a hand reaches down, grabbing the back of my shirt and pulling us to the side of a boat. “There you two are,” Cam’s deep voice says.

Turning sideways, I swing Alex’s small body around, throwing him into the boat before I climb inside. He’s on his feet, wringing water from the rags he’s wearing a heartbeat later.

“Thank goodness.” Fran grabs all three immortal children in her arms, hugging them tightly. “I was so worried.”

“We’re okay,” Everly answers.

“Good. Let’s go home.” Fran turns toward the boat captain, whose eyes are dilated abnormally large. “Take us back to the jet.” The captain repeats her words before slowly backing away from the rocks.

The moon is still high and full as it shines on the island that once belonged to the Goddess of the Sea. “It’s beautiful,” Alex murmurs, leaning his entire weight on my side. “It didn’t look like that where we were.”

“What’s happening to it?” Everly points at the rocks as they begin to disappear into the sea.

“The tide is receding, and the island is moving to another realm,” Brayden answers.

“Thank you, Brayden. We couldn’t have done this without you.” I ruffle his now messy hair.

Turning toward the hybrid and lycanthrope in the back of the boat, I say, “I don’t know how to thank either of you.”

“You don’t have to thank us,” Nyssa answers for both of them.

The rest of the boat and plane ride are quiet. Other than a few soft whispers from the children, everyone spreads throughout the jet, focused on the trauma we’ve just experienced. Leaving Phyllis’s body wasn’t a choice I wanted to make, but there was no other option. My thoughts flash to her power moving into me after she passed. I don’t even know what to do with my own power, let alone adding someone else’s.

……

“Elsie?” Fran interrupts the silence of the plane ride. I raise my eyebrows in response. “Amelia says she’s trying to text you.”

I dig into my pocket, finding my phone. The screen is black and cracked, telling me it didn’t survive the water. “It’s dead.” I wiggle the phone in the air.

“I don’t really feel like talking. Can you take a message?”

“Clearly, you don’t know Amelia very well.” Fran stands, bringing her phone to me. “She wants to talk to you, not me. She’s on the line.”

Slowly, I put the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“Fran tells me you have the kids.”

“Yeah,” I sigh with my words.

“That’s awesome.”

“Yeah. I’m sorry, Amelia. Is there something specific you want? I’m hungry, wet, and don’t feel much like talking.”

“You can’t come back to New Orleans.”

Shit. This again. “Then we’ll go to Charleston.”

“No. You can’t go to Charleston either.”

“Then where the hell can we land?” Alex glances my way. “We’re all hungry, and the kids need stability. We can’t stay in the air the entire time.”

“The trance has gotten worse. More people are affected, including a few of Topher’s strongest lycan.”

“You said only the lycan who’d eaten raw meat recently were affected.” I remind her of her words.

“That was the case. It’s gotten worse. We can’t find any similarities between the victims other than they’re from the paranormal community.”

“What about the vampires? Are the only ones affected the ones who drink human blood?”

“So far, yes.”

“It’s Serafina,” I admit. “She bound them to her.”

“What the hell are you talking about, and who is Serafina?”

“Serafina is Thorne’s half-sister, and she’s a powerful witch. To be honest, that’s an understatement. She’s more than a witch.”

“How is that even possible?” Amelia asks.

“A spell. A very powerful one.”

“Fuck.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” I pause, letting the information sink in. “She has Thorne.”

“What do you mean, has him?”

“He’s with her. She bound him to her.” I fight the tears forming in my eyes.

“How? He doesn’t drink human…”

“He did,” I interrupt. The silence on the other end is deafening.

“I’m sorry, Elsie.”

“Yeah, me, too.”

“It’s not safe to land.” She reminds me.

I sigh. “No one on board this plane has had human blood. The kids have been starved, only drinking the bottles of goat’s blood Brayden brought them. The lycan haven’t eaten anything except soup in a day, and everyone is exhausted. I’m going to have to override you and land this damn plane. The only way to stop her is to confront her. Running isn’t going to help any of us or the ones she’s bound.”

The pause on the other end of the line is deafening. I get the feeling it’s been a while since anyone has disagreed with anything Amelia says. “Okay,” she answers finally. “I understand. I’ll tell the pilot to land in New Orleans.”

“No.” I retort. “We’re going home. Thorne was last seen in Charleston. That’s where we’re going.”

“Okay.” Her voice is heavy with concern. “Elsie?”

“Aye?”

“Be smart.”

I take a deep breath before answering. I glance at the four immortal children who seem to be conversing telepathically. All four of them are killing machines, but right now, at this moment, they’re nothing more than children . “I’ll try.”

“You made the right decision,” Fran says, reaching for her phone. “Amelia doesn’t see the whole picture. Serafina is the key.”

“What about the grimoire?” Nyssa asks, moving closer.

“What grimoire?” Fran asks, looking between the two of us.

I close my eyes, not sure how to explain everything without a detailed flowchart, PowerPoint, and colored pencils. “My youngest brother, Aaron Abernathy, was a powerful warlock in Charleston. He left his grimoire for me.”

Fran stares at me blankly. “Your youngest brother was a warlock and left you his grimoire?”

I nod. “Thorne gave the grimoire to Serafina.”

“He did that because of being bound?” She fits the pieces of the puzzle together.

“We believe the reason Serafina performed the binding spell was to get to Aaron’s grimoire,” Nyssa adds.

Fran shakes her head. “If this woman is Thorne’s half-sister, that would mean…”

“She’s nearly three hundred years old.” Cam fills in the blank, joining our group. “I don’t get it either.”

“Why didn’t she take the grimoire while you were…”

“Aaron placed a spell on the book to only open under my hand. Blood of my blood, etc.” I shrug, not sure I’m even saying it correctly.

“It was being guarded by our coven,” Nyssa adds. “She tried to find it during the three hundred years without luck.”

“What does she want with it?” Fran asks, looking between the three of us.

I look at my hands, remembering Phyllis’s frail body I held hours earlier. “Aaron may have been working on a spell to siphon death.”

Fran’s forehead wrinkles. “Siphon death? Like zombies?”

Cam laughs. “Thank you. I had the same question.” He runs a hand through his messy hair.

“A spell to siphon death from vampires. A spell to renew the life that was taken.” I stare at Fran, waiting for her to fully grasp the insanity of my words.

“Holy shit,” she whispers. “He wanted to use it on you.”

“I think so.”

“You believe Serafina is after this spell?”

Nyssa shrugs. “We don’t know. Honestly, we don’t know if he ever completed the spell.”

“Serafina thinks he did,” I answer.

“What is the purpose?” Fran asks. “What would be her reason for using the spell? A spell that would take immortality away, returning someone to human.” She sighs.

“That is yet to be discovered.”

“There have been times in my life that I would’ve given anything to be human again.” Fran loses herself in thought. “Those times are gone. I would never wish this life on anyone, but at this point in my journey, I don’t want to be human again.”

“What about them?” Nyssa asks, nodding toward the kids.

“When Celeste sought spells to help her body to grow, she sacrificed her immortality yet still remains a vampire. If Aaron’s spell can siphon death, they could live a normal human life.” Fran’s words are barely audible. Even as quiet as she was, I know each of the immortal children heard, although none respond.

“What are the chances that Serafina will be able to get into the grimoire and to Aaron’s spell?” Fran asks.

“My guess is she’s already trying. A spell, cast correctly, could get her inside.” Nyssa wrings her hands as she speaks.

“Then it’s only a matter of time.” Fran adds.

“Aye.”

“I’m in.” Fran slides into the deep leather seat. “It’s been a few months since I’ve experienced any real excitement.”

“Us, too,” Brayden says, standing from his seat.

“We need you,” I answer, looking around the plane. “We need everyone.”

“Then it’s settled,” Fran answers.

Several hours pass before we’re on the ground in Charleston. To be honest, I have no clue where we were or how far of a flight it was. My mind has been reeling over possible scenarios and motives that Serafina might have for wanting Aaron’s spell. I can’t think of a single reason. She already has control of a huge majority of the paranormal community. What would be the purpose behind returning life to the vampires?

“I’ll meet you back at the house,” Cam says, interrupting my thought train.

“Me, too. I need a shower and some clothes that aren’t someone else’s.” Nyssa motions down her body, showing the white bathrobe she discovered in the restroom of the plane.

“Understandable. We’ll be there.” I watch as the lycan hail a cab and disappear into the rising sun. The children and Fran follow me, walking at human speed until blending into the shadows. Once free of onlookers, we move faster than human eyes can track, stopping at the front door of the house Thorne and I rented together. His scent fills my nose, reminding me of what needs to be done.

“Fran, would you mind helping the children get cleaned up? I’m going to make a run to the store. They need clothes that will help them blend in.”

“Sure.” She smiles before turning to the quartet. “Let’s go, everyone. It’s time to wash the stink off and fill up your bellies.”

“That’s the best thing I’ve heard in a while,” Alex says. He turns toward me as the rest of them move up the stairs. “Elsie?”

“Aye?”

“Thank you.” Tears fill his small eyes. “I…I didn’t think anyone would come.”

I’m in front of him a heartbeat later. “I’m so sorry, Alex. I tried. We tried.” I pull away, keeping my hands on his shoulders. “I never ever would’ve stopped until I found you.”

“It was Brayden, wasn’t it?”

“Aye. He knew how to find you.”

Alex sniffs the air in front of me. “You smell different.”

“You’re not the only one who could use a shower.” I laugh.

“No, you smell different.” He sniffs once more. “You smell like—magic.”

I stare, not sure how to respond. “Go get cleaned up. I’ll be back soon.” I watch the immortal child slowly work his way upstairs. Other than Thorne, Alex is the only person I’ve loved since becoming what I am. I fight to keep the tears from falling as the emotions overwhelm me.

“I love you, too,” he says through my mind.