Page 18 of Voyage of Magic and Malice (The Vampires of Charleston #3)

EIGHTEEN

this sucks…

“What just happened?” Fran asks, looking between the three of us.

“Arina has had a change of attitude,” I answer without truly answering.

“Where is Serafina?” Brayden asks, ignoring the group around us.

Arina sighs. “Where she always is, the——” The vampire’s mouth is open, still trying to speak, while her words are silenced. She tries again, opening her mouth, while what looks like an invisible vice holds her words. “What the hell?” she asks out loud.

“We don’t have time for games, Arina,” I warn.

“I’m not playing any games.” She takes a deep breath. “Serafina is at?——”

“Brayden? It seems it’s bath time.” He nods, understanding my words.

“No! I’m not playing any games. I swear. I’m trying to tell you, but the words won’t come out!” She coughs loudly several times, making more of a scene than before. She takes a deep breath. “Serafina is at?——”

“It’s the binding spell,” Nyssa interrupts. “It’s preventing her from giving away Serafina’s location.”

“I’m not under any spell,” Arina spews.

“How long have you had the moon-shaped mole behind your ear?”

“It’s a goddamn mole. I don’t know…since being human?”

“She’s lying,” Alex announces. “It appeared a few days ago. She showed it to us earlier.”

“Get out of my head, you little freak!”

“When we transition into becoming a vampire, all blemishes, moles, birthmarks, etc., disappear. That would mean the moon wasn’t on you as a human,” Fran interrupts. “You have been placed under her spell. You will do what she tells you to do.”

“Fuck you, vamp.”

“Tell us where she is.” Brayden steps forward. He holds his hand up dramatically. “If I snap, you’re returning. One, two, th…”

“Serafina is at——. Holy fuck!” she shouts.

“Nyssa, is there something we can do that will allow her to speak?” I ask the druid lycanthrope.

“Maybe.” She locks eyes with Connor. “Can you get me a few things?”

“Sure?” the Alpha answers, not sounding convinced. “What do you need?”

“Water, some fresh soil, and salt.”

“I’ll be right back.” Connor leaves the steel cell.

“Can I help?” Brayden asks.

“Normally, I would say no, but I might need your power.”

“Good.” He moves to her side just as Connor hurries back into the room, carrying the items Nyssa requested.

“Tell me what to do with them,” he says, placing them on the concrete floor.

“Thank you, but there’s nothing you can do.”

“What the hell are you doing?” Arina asks. “Get away from me, witch.”

“She’s helping you,” Autumn says. “And you need to learn some manners.” I huff a laugh at the immortal child’s words.

“Brayden, use the soil and make a circle around Arina.” Brayden follows directions, spreading the cup of dirt around the angry vampire. “Now, cover the dirt with the salt and pour the water over her head.”

Brayden moves close with the cup in his hands. “If you pour that on me, I’ll kill you,” Arina warns.

“If you touch one hair on his head, you won’t have the opportunity to live a second longer.” Fran steps forward. “Am I making myself clear?” I’ve never seen Fran in protective mode. She’s terrifying and awe-inspiring at the same time.

Arina hisses in response. Something I’ve only witnessed a handful of vampires do before.

Nyssa turns toward the rest of us. “Everyone except Brayden and Elsie, out.”

“If you for one minute think—” Fran starts.

“Out!” Nyssa shouts. “We’re running out of time.” She turns toward Connor. “Lock us inside.”

“Nyssa?” I question. “Brayden?”

“I’ll be fine,” he reassures me.

Connor herds everyone through the door of the cell and into a protected area of the room. Nyssa waits for the lock to be secured before she takes mine and Brayden’s hands into hers. “Lend me your power.”

I close my eyes, reaching into my core and sending the strength that I used earlier straight into Nyssa. The sense of energy sliding through my body is a new and strange feeling.

“Chains unseen, release thy hold, for truth to burn where lies are cold. By root and claw, by storm and sea, speak now, by my decree.” I open my eyes, seeing the air around us begin to shimmer with what can only be described as power. The air surrounding Arina begins to glow a light shade of green.

“What’s that?” I whisper.

“The binding,” Nyssa answers.

“Where is Serafina?” I ask for the last time.

“She’s in the clouds,” Arina answers. Her body recoils as her head falls backward. The scream that leaves her mouth is something primal. It’s a mixture of pain and anger rolled into one. “It hurts!” she screams. “Make it go away!” Arina collapses to the floor of the cell.

“Is she dead?” Brayden asks.

“No. Her body is still here.”

Several minutes pass with no one speaking. “She knows…” Arina whispers.

“Who knows?” I ask.

“Serafina!” Arina screams in pain again as her body lifts from the cement floor. The green aura that surrounded her moments earlier returns, darker in color as her body contorts. Her bound arms lift high above her head, cracking her bones in the process. Long legs pull forward, wrapping around her distorted body.

“Elsie,” Fran warns from the other side of the cell.

“I know.” Wrapping my arms around Brayden, I pull him toward the door at vampire speed. Behind us, Arina continues to scream, her body being broken beyond repair.

“What’s happening to her?” Everly asks.

“Serafina knows we broke through,” Nyssa answers. “My spell is wearing off, and the binding spell is returning.”

“Elsie? We can’t leave her like that,” Alex says, moving to my side. “She’s in pain.”

“Kill me!” Arina screams from inside the cell.

“Holy shit,” Connor exclaims. “What kind of magic is this?”

“Ancient,” Nyssa answers. She turns toward me. “Serafina will continue to torture her for eternity. Because she’s a vampire, she’ll never die. She’ll be in eternal pain.”

Moments of life with Kragen flash to mind. A life the two of us have in common. If it were me in her situation, what would I want? I close my eyes, knowing the answer.

“I can help.” Brayden steps in front of me.

“No.” Glancing at Fran and Nyssa, I nod toward the door that leads back into the lycan bar. Both nod, understanding my intention.

Seconds later, Arina and I are the only people in the room. She continues to writhe in pain and scream as her body shifts into positions a body shouldn’t. Stepping back into her cell, I move in front of the once beautiful woman.

“Do it,” she whispers. “I’m begging you.”

“I’m sorry, Arina.”

“I’m not.” She pants. “It’s time.” An ear-piercing scream follows her words as her torso is turned backward, nearly splitting her body in half. Bruises cover her skin, and several ribs are visible to the outside.

The only way to permanently kill a vampire is with a stake through the heart or decapitation and burning the body. I pull on the power of my ancestry, bringing the power to the surface.

“Do it!” A large knife slides across the floor behind me, landing at my feet. I turn, finding Cam standing on the other side of the bars. I don’t know when he came back in the room, but I don’t question it. He nods, and I slowly pick up the weapon.

“It’s silver,” he answers my unspoken question.

I lift the knife and, without thought, slice through Arina’s tortured body, sending her head to the concrete below. “Burn,” I whisper. In an instant, her head and body are engulfed in flames.

My legs collapse beneath me, lowering me to the concrete next to her. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper.

“You didn’t kill her. Serafina did.” Cam moves to my side, wrapping an arm around my shoulders, and ushers me through the cell door. I’ve never been an overly emotional person, but at this moment, I need physical touch. I turn, wrapping my arms around his strong torso. He keeps his arms around my back until the tears stop falling.

“I’ve never felt like this after killing,” I admit.

“Maybe it’s because you shared the same maker.”

I pull back, putting space between the two of us. “Thank you, Cam.”

He smiles, reminding me of his older brother. “Think of me as an emotional support puppy.” His words bring a well-needed smile to my face.

“Don’t let them know I was weak.”

“Elsie, you were anything but weak. What you just did was the most humane act I’ve witnessed from a vampire…ever. Truth be told, I don’t know if I could’ve done the same.”

I wipe the tear stains from my face and nod as he opens the door. “It’s done,” I announce to the awaiting crowd. Nyssa, Connor, and Fran have a laptop in front of them while the children are sitting against the wall in silence. There’s no doubt they heard everything that happened in the room.

“I’m sorry, Elsie,” Alex’s voice says through my mind.

“Me, too.” Everly and Autumn add in unison.

“Thank you. I’m sorry you had to hear that.”

“Elsie, we don’t have a clue what Arina meant about Serafina’s home being in the clouds,” Fran announces.

“Google isn’t going to have the answer. How the hell are we going to find somewhere that’s hidden in the clouds? What does that even mean? A floating city?” I lower my head into my hands. “Thorne is there, being held by this woman. What if when we find him, he ends up like Arina? What if…”

“He won’t be,” Fran answers, moving to my side. “Thorne is strong.”

“What I witnessed in that room had nothing to do with strength. Arina was folded like a paper doll and would’ve been living the same nightmare over and over for an eternity. I can’t let that happen to him.”

“It won’t,” Alex answers. “We won’t let it. We’re going to find him.”

“How?” I shout. “In the clouds?”

“Maybe it’s fog,” Everly answers.

“Or, an illusion.” Brayden adds.

“What do we know about this witch, Serafina?” Connor asks.

“Other than she’s insanely powerful and wants to steal my brother’s spell—nothing.”

“There’s something familiar about what she said, about being in the clouds,” he continues.

“What are you talking about?” Fran asks.

“I’ll be right back.” Connor excuses himself, leaving us alone in the backroom of the bar.

“This sucks,” I announce to the room. I’m no stranger to the feeling of powerlessness. At this moment, the overwhelming sensation threatens to take over.

“I found it,” Connor bursts back through the door, carrying a large book. I laugh at the irony. A book is what got us into this mess to start with. Meeting Phyllis in the library and finding Aaron’s grimoire seems like a million years ago. The amount of shit that has gone down since then is nearly impossible to fathom.

Setting the book on a high-top bar table, he thumbs through the pages of an older bound text. He stops, pointing at a specific page. “Here it is. The vanishing manor.”

“The vanishing manor?” I repeat, not sure I understood him correctly.

“Yea. The story tells of an antebellum mansion hidden deep in the wetlands—a home so grand it rivaled the estates of Charleston’s wealthiest families.” He pulls the book closer to his face and reads, “While some believe the house moves and is hidden by magic, the truth is the house has remained in its location for centuries if one knows where to look.”

“That says a whole lot of nothing,” Nyssa announces.

“The home is called the House in the Clouds because, when the fog rolls in, the mansion seems to rise from the earth, floating like a vision from another world,” Connor continues.

“Where is this house in the clouds?” Fran asks.

“No one knows.” Connor closes the book dramatically.

“That was incredibly helpful, thank you.” Fran sounds as frustrated as I feel. I resist the temptation to smirk at her sarcasm.

“Actually, it is,” Nyssa says, moving to the center of the room. “Brayden?” She holds her hand toward the immortal child.

He latches onto her hand. “What are we doing?”

“I’m going to use the elements to look for any anomalies nearby. That might give us a clue where to look. Close your eyes, and open your mind. Lend me your power.”

The two of them stand facing each other with hands latched together. It doesn’t take long before the room begins to feel different. Brayden’s head flies back, and his eyes roll back in his head while Nyssa begins to shake slightly.

“What the hell?” Cam asks. “Do we need to do something?”

“I don’t know,” I answer truthfully.

Nyssa releases Brayden’s hands, and he falls to the ground with a thud. I rush to his side, lifting him. “I’m okay.” He pants. He’s on his feet seconds later as Nyssa stops shaking and opens her eyes.

“We found it.”