Page 15 of Voyage of Magic and Malice (The Vampires of Charleston #3)

FIFTEEN

a means to an end

Cam and Nyssa arrive together several hours after I return with clean clothes for the kids. They look exhausted, and Cam is sporting a few still healing bruises, but they’re here, and I’m grateful.

The kids have been upstairs since Fran held true to her promise of filling their bellies. They’ve been quiet, making me question what’s going on. I’ve tried several times to tune into their conversation telepathically, but I’m either blocked, or they’re sitting in silence.

“Can we officially meet them?” Nyssa asks.

I shrug. “Sure.” Looking upstairs, I call them through my mind. Within seconds, all four are standing at the top of the landing. In any other situation, seeing four immortal children vampires staring over an antique wooden banister would be terrifying. Honestly, it’s a little terrifying right now. I scoff at the thought of being scared of a child. “Can you guys come down here?” In a heartbeat, all four are sitting on the couch, side by side. I take a deep breath, not sure what to say.

“I’m Autumn,” the smallest of the four says. Her beautiful white-blonde hair is styled neatly in perfect braids, hanging down her side. “Mother turned me into a vampire in the 1950s.”

“Mother?” Nyssa asks.

“It’s a long story,” I answer, remembering Patrice and her insanity.

“I can make things move just by thinking about it,” Autumn continues.

“Telekinesis?” Cam asks. A large vase sitting next to him lifts off the table and slowly moves across the room, sitting on a table opposite where it started. “Pfft.” He scoffs. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

The girl on the end waves. “Everly.” Her thick curls are pulled tightly on top of her head in a thick bun. She looks at the other three children. “I guess Brayden and I are the newest. I was turned around twenty years ago.” She wrinkles her tiny forehead. “I think…I’ve lost track of time.”

“Do you have any abilities?” Cam asks.

“Yes and no.” Everly looks at me with a questioning look on her face.

“Everly has the ability to borrow other people’s abilities,” I answer for her.

“Meaning what?” Nyssa asks.

“Meaning, I can borrow Autumn’s ability to move things or Alex’s ability to listen to people’s minds,” she points at Brayden, “or Brayden’s ability to shield energies.”

“Or fly.” I add.

“Or fly.” She giggles, reminding me of the innocent child she should be.

“That’s amazing,” Nyssa answers.

“Hi, I’m Alex,” my favorite says with a coy wave. “I’m the oldest and the first. I was turned around a hundred years ago. Everly already told you my ability, but I can hear people’s thoughts and talk to them in their minds.”

“And, you know me,” Brayden adds. “I’m the newest, and I have no idea what my abilities really are. I know things I shouldn’t. I do things I don’t know how to do.” He shrugs. “I guess I’m a ‘jack of all trades.’” His answer eases the tension in the room.

“I’m Nyssa.” She smiles warmly.

“Cam.” He waves.

“You smell like Topher,” Alex says, directing his attention toward the lycanthrope.

“He’s my brother. But don’t hold that against me.” Cam laughs loudly at his words. All four immortal children stare at him, void of emotion. He clears his throat and looks at the ground. The awkwardness that flows from him makes me smile.

“Why would we hold that against you?” Alex says.

“I…I don’t know. It’s just a saying. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Alex’s smile is infectious. “I’m just messing with you, Cam. We know what it means. I’m sorry.”

Cam’s smile mimics Alex’s. “You had me for a minute.” He runs a hand through his hair. His words and body language don’t match. He’s still uneasy around the kids, making me wonder if it’s a Cam thing or if he senses something I don’t.

Brayden slides forward on the couch. “Nyssa? I’ve been doing a bit of research while we were upstairs, and I hope you don’t mind me bringing up your heritage in front of the others.”

She shakes her head. “Of course not.”

“There isn’t much written on druids other than lore and ideological concepts. Can you tell me how you discovered your heritage?”

Nyssa slides back in her seat, crossing her long legs at the knees. “In my case, I always knew who I was. My mother was the last of her kind, a full-blooded druid, and taught me the truth of who I was from early childhood.”

“But she wasn’t the last, was she?” he continues.

Nyssa leans forward, making eye contact with the immortal child. “Clearly, she wasn’t. The druid blood runs through your veins.”

“What does it mean for me?” he asks. The two of them stare at each other so intently, it’s as if they’re alone in the room.

“I don’t know what it means for you,” Nyssa says. “Like me, you are the only one of your kind. We are hybrids. Half killer, half harmonizer.”

“Harmonizer?” he repeats, wrinkling his forehead. “I haven’t heard that term before.”

“A druid’s responsibility is to balance the natural world, along with the spiritual realms, and our own powers to maintain harmony in all things. Unlike me, you are eternal. Being a vampire, your life will continue long after mine is over. Your effect on the harmony of the world will be much greater than mine.”

“Wow,” Autumn whispers. “That’s kind of cool.”

“Will you help me? Help me to learn how to harmonize ?” Brayden asks.

“Of course.” Nyssa smiles with her answer. “I’d be honored.”

Several minutes of awkward silence pass before Alex asks the question I’ve been waiting for since returning. “Who’s Serafina?”

I take a deep breath, not sure how to explain everything that’s happened. “Serafina is a powerful witch. She and my brother were friends.”

“You have a brother that’s still alive?” Everly asks. “Is he a vampire?”

“No. He died two hundred and fifty years ago.”

“I’m confused how that works,” Autumn announces, looking around the room.

I huff a laugh. “He was a warlock that lived here, in Charleston, during the early 1700s. Serafina was alive during the same time. She cast a spell that’s kept her alive since then.”

“Spells can do that?”

“That and more,” Nyssa answers.

“Serafina was— is very powerful. Not long after coming to Charleston, she crafted a spell to bind paranormal creatures to her,” I continue. “She recently cast that spell.”

“Paranormal creatures? Like vampires?” Alex asks.

“And lycan and some witches. However, the only ones she’s managed to bind to her so far are vampires who drink human blood and lycan who’ve eaten raw meat recently, although that seems to be changing.”

“Thorne doesn’t drink human blood,” Alex interrupts.

“Normally, no.” I don’t go into detail.

“So, this woman, who was friends with your brother, bound Thorne to her?” Autumn asks. “Why?”

“Control,” Fran answers. “It’s what most people want. It gives them a sense of purpose. A sense of power.”

“Because he was bound to her, Thorne went with Serafina willingly. He took a very important piece of the puzzle with him.” I find a particularly worn area of the floor to focus my attention on. “My brother’s grimoire.”

“What’s a grimoire?” Everly asks.

“A magical book of spells, rituals, and knowledge,” Nyssa answers. “Most witches and warlocks own them. They’re usually passed down through families.”

“She wants the spell your brother crafted to siphon death.” Brayden gets straight to the point.

“Siphon death? Am I the only one who doesn’t know what that means?” Everly asks.

“My brother, Aaron, was an infant when I was taken. He didn’t remember me but knew I was taken by vampires. I don’t know all the details, but I’d imagine after years of stories, he decided to take action. He created a spell that would siphon death from me, making me human again.” The children stare blankly at me, seemingly absorbing my words.

“Could we become human again?” Brayden asks.

“Theoretically, yes. You could be human again.” My voice is no louder than a whisper.

The immortal children become quiet, no doubt having a silent conversation that they’ve managed to exclude the rest of us from.

“The only way to prevent the spell from being cast is to stop Serafina,” Nyssa says, staring at the children. “She’s going to get into that grimoire. When she does, she won’t hesitate to use it.” Nyssa’s words are directed toward the immortal children. Whatever silent conversation they were holding wasn’t as private as they believed.

“You don’t want to be human?” I ask, connecting the dots.

“No,” they answer in unison.

“Even if it means you’ll stay a child for eternity?”

They look at each other before answering. “We won’t be children forever. Celeste is going to help us grow.”

Autumn raises her tiny hand in the air. “Why does Serafina want a spell that will siphon death? If the vampires are already under her control, why would she want to kill them…or unkill them?”

“Maybe she just doesn’t like vampires,” Cam answers.

“We don’t know,” I answer truthfully. “One thing I’ve learned throughout my life is that it’s not always our time to discover why. To the world, her reasoning may be something unimportant. To her, it may be everything. Our role is to prevent Serafina from casting the spell.”

“Where do we start?” Brayden asks.

“That’s an excellent question,” I answer. “We have no way of knowing where they’ve gone.”

“Can’t you track Thorne?” Everly asks.

“No. We don’t share blood. I can hear him telepathically and feel his energy when we’re near each other, but I’ve never been able to track him. He’s bound to Serafina. He’s not going to answer, even if he’s next door.”

“I was able to track him in New Orleans,” Alex interrupts.

“Aye, you were, but this is different. He’s…he’s different now.” I don’t go into detail.

“What about a spell? Could a spell find him?” Alex directs his question toward Nyssa.

She stands, walking across the large room. “A location spell works in the human world or even on a lycanthrope. But a vampire is different. Warm blood doesn’t flow through his body.” She looks down before continuing. “His soul is…cold.” I’ve never heard a vampire described that way. Is my soul cold? Do vampires have a soul?

“What about the grimoire?” Everly asks. “If it belonged to Elsie’s brother, could it emanate an energy that only Elsie could pick up on?”

“Holy shit, Everly. Why didn’t I think of that?” Nyssa turns toward me. “The grimoire was tuned to your energy. That’s how you were able to open it in the first place. That means it will still be tuned to your energy.”

“Okay. Tell me what that means.”

“It means Everly is right. You can find the grimoire, which will lead us to Serafina…”

“And Thorne,” I interrupt.

“And Thorne,” she confirms.

“It’s not going to be that easy,” Fran says. “I’m sorry to be the party pooper, but Serafina is smart. You don’t think she would’ve already planned for that? Yes, Elsie is connected to the grimoire, but couldn’t Serafina just cast a spell to prevent the energy from finding its way back here?”

“A druid could find them,” Brayden says quietly.

“I appreciate the ego boost, but I’m no stronger than my spells,” Nyssa counters.

“What I witnessed you do on Eudora’s island was no spell. You transformed into a whale. The ocean waves and moon danced to your will. That was all you, Nyssa. That was raw unfiltered power.” I stare at my new friend. “Brayden’s right. You can find them.”

She sighs, clearly exasperated by our suggestion. “I’ve spent my entire life hiding that part of me. If I’m honest, I don’t know how I did what I did back there. It just happened. Even if I do manage to find them, I’m not strong enough to fight them. I’m no match for Serafina’s power, and from what I felt flow into Thorne during the ceremony, he’s…” She stops, staring into my eyes.

“He’s what?” I ask, not sure how to interpret her words.

“He’s like me.” She nods at Brayden. “Like him.”

“Thorne is a druid?” Brayden asks.

Nyssa nods. “I think so. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

I stare at Nyssa, not sure if I understood her words correctly. “You think Thorne has druid blood?”

“Yes.”

“What about Serafina?” Cam asks. “If they share the same father, wouldn’t they share the same bloodline?”

“No,” Nyssa answers. “Druid abilities are traditionally passed through the matriarchal line. Thorne received his druid abilities from his mother. Serafina most likely inherited her magical abilities from her mother, meaning they don’t share the same magical abilities.”

Cam looks around the room. “Is anyone else wondering what the hell was wrong with their dad? He had a type, didn’t he?”

“Apparently,” Autumn answers, making me smile.

“If Thorne has druid blood, we should be able to find him.” Brayden stands, moving closer to Nyssa. “His ancestry will call to ours.”

“What makes you say that?” Nyssa asks. “I sensed the power inside you, but it didn’t call to me.”

His tiny shoulders rise. “I just know.”

“Then it’s settled. While you two figure out how to locate Thorne, the rest of us will figure out how to kill Serafina.” I stand, leaving the group in the room.