Page 19 of Voyage of Magic and Malice (The Vampires of Charleston #3)

NINETEEN

the plan…finally

“I need a map,” Nyssa announces to everyone in the room. “Now!” Connor exits the room for the third time, returning seconds later with a folded map in his hands.

“This is old. A few landmarks may have changed since it was printed.” He hands the rectangle-shaped paper to her.

Nyssa takes the map, spreading it open on the floor. She runs her finger across the cartography, moving toward the wetlands and marshy area of Charleston. “It’s here,” she says, pointing at a small inlet.

Connor pulls the map closer to his face. “Are you sure?”

“No,” she answers. “While looking for Serafina’s energy, we rode the wind. This is where reality was distorted.”

“Explain,” Cam interrupts. “Not the wind part, the distorted part.”

“Everywhere else the wind took us felt—normal, like it is here. When we went over that spot, the energy shifted, kind of like watching static on a television set.”

Fran sets the computer down. “According to city records, that land is nothing but marsh and has been for centuries. It’s uninhabitable.”

“She’s there,” Brayden answers. “Nyssa is right. The energy was weird there. I felt it, too.”

“What if we go and there’s nothing there?” Fran asks.

“Then she’s not there,” I answer. “We don’t have anything to lose.”

“I’m afraid I can’t go with you,” Connor says, folding the map back to normal size. “I’m leaving in thirty minutes for New Orleans.” He looks at Cam. “Your brother has called me down there to figure this out.”

“We have enough,” I answer for the group. Each person in our group has a gift, a reason for being here. Nothing against the alpha lycanthrope, but he will be deadweight in this situation.

“Okay. I’ll leave you to it.” Connor exits the room, leaving us alone.

“We need a plan, Elsie. There’s none of this going in blindly thing that can happen here.” Fran pauses, rubbing her temples. “I’m hesitant to say this, but we saw what happened to Arina when Nyssa pushed through Serafina’s binding spell. What if that happens to Thorne?”

“I know.”

“Let’s go to my home here in Charleston. I have a replica there of my computer room in New Orleans. We can take a closer look at this marshland and come up with a strategic plan.” Fran’s eyes soften as she speaks. “You don’t have to do this on your own. Let us help.”

“You have a home here?” Out of everything she just said, I’m stuck on the fact that she owns a home in my city.

“It belonged to Viktor. Are you going to let us help?”

“Aye. I am letting you help.”

Fran wraps her arm through mine. “No. You’re the vampire on the run from her maker, trying to figure everything out on her own. You can trust us. We’re here for you, and you don’t have to do it alone.”

I open my mouth to argue and realize she’s right. Other than depending on a few spells from Phyllis and Nyssa, I’m doing what I always do. I’m taking the burden onto myself. It’s what I’ve always done. “Okay,” I whisper.

No one speaks on the drive back to Fran’s house. Cam pulls Phyllis’s SUV to a stop behind the three-story home not far from the rental Thorne and I have been in.

The eight of us pile through the back door into a dimly lit kitchen. “There’s goat’s blood in the fridge and some fresh lunch meat and bread for those that eat food.”

“Oh, thank God. I’m starved,” Cam announces, heading straight for the food. The children follow him, pulling several bottles of red liquid from the door.

“Elsie, you should eat,” Cam says, handing me a bottle of blood. My stomach growls at the sight.

“Thirty minutes,” I announce, slamming the empty bottle on the counter. “I need a shower.”

“Thirty minutes,” Fran agrees. “I’ll get everything up and running.”

I head up the back stairway to the second floor and to one of the only rooms with the door standing open. Like the rest of the home, the room is immaculately decorated. A beautiful four poster bed, perfectly in tuned to the age of the home, sits against the far wall. The mahogany posts are intricately carved, with ornate images of grain and rice. The bedding is soft and delicate, the perfect opposition of the masculine wooden frame. A large fireplace covers one wall, and the ceiling is painted haint blue—something used often in old Southern homes.

The wardrobe holds a few clothes that probably belong to Amelia or Celeste. I’m going to hope they fit. I grab what looks like workout attire before heading into the en suite bathroom, thankfully fully stocked with all the necessities. I take a longer-than-needed shower, letting the water take away a little of the tension I’ve been holding onto since Thorne left with Serafina. Hell, who am I kidding? I’ve held tension for over three hundred years.

Ten minutes later, I’m sitting in Fran’s computer room, surrounded by the people who have sworn to help me. Alex moves to my side as I enter, offering warm energy through our connection. Everly, Autumn, and Brayden look through Fran’s laptop computer collection, studying each piece carefully.

“You look better,” Fran says with a grin.

“I feel a bit better, thank you.”

Fran pulls up a map on a large screen in front of us. “What’s that?” Alex asks.

“This is an aerial view of the marsh Nyssa identified earlier. It’s a satellite image from a few years back.”

“There’s nothing there,” Everly states the obvious.

“Nyssa? Do you see anything?” I ask.

“Through human eyes, no.” She steps closer to the screen. “However, the energy is off .”

“I see it,” Brayden adds. “The air is shimmery.”

“I’m going to have to take your word on that, buddy,” Cam says, ruffling the immortal child’s hair.

Everly steps close to Brayden. “I see it, too.”

Staring at the image on the screen, I will myself to see what they see. Nothing appears. “I don’t see anything but marshland and haze.”

“You’re seeing the illusion. You have to look through it to see what’s really there,” Brayden says.

“It’s like one of the old 3D images that you stare at long enough that the image changes into something completely different. Clear your mind of any expectations of what should be there, and allow your eyes to focus on what’s really there.” Nyssa moves closer to the image as she speaks, pointing at a dark spot on the screen. “Keep looking here.”

I follow instructions, wiping my mind clear and staring at the spot she pointed out. I’m not sure if it’s a figment of my imagination, but for a brief moment, the image of a roof comes into view. I blink several times, trying to clear my eyes. “I…I think I saw something.”

“What did you see?” Alex asks.

“The outline of something. A roof, maybe? I’m not sure.”

Cam moves in front of the large screen. “Where again?” Nyssa points to the same spot on the screen, and Cam stares for several minutes. “Yeah, I don’t see anything.”

“Fran? Do you have any other images of the area?” I ask.

“This came from Google Earth. Give me a minute. I can hack into a few government sites and find more current images.” I don’t question the computer genius vampire as she types away at the main keyboard of her setup. To the untrained eye, me, it looks like she’s typing a series of numbers onto a black screen.

“Got it,” she announces. “This image is from two days ago.” A new picture pulls up on the large screen. The grass is greener than in the first image. Other than that, nothing has changed.

“It looks the same,” Autumn announces.

“No, it doesn’t.” Nyssa moves closer. “There’s something here. I feel the energy of the illusion and something else.”

“What?” Cam asks.

“Serafina.” Brayden fills in the blank. “I feel her.”

I fight the tears threatening to fall. “That means Thorne is there.”

“What if he’s not?” Alex asks, wrapping his arm through mine.

“Then we kill Serafina anyway.”

Fran turns in the computer chair she’s occupying. “Elsie, don’t lose your brains now. The whole reason we came back here was to form a plan. We can’t do this half-ass.” She looks around the room. “Every person in this room is an instrumental part of the plan. Each person has special abilities and gifts that will be needed. Without a plan, we won’t survive. Any of us.”

“She’s just a witch,” I remind her.

“She’s a witch with a powerful bloodline,” Nyssa reminds me. “She will stop at nothing to get into that grimoire.”

“Maybe she’s saving the siphon spell until we’re there,” Alex adds.

“Why would she do that?”

“To watch us suffer,” Brayden answers with a shrug.

I glance at the ancient clock hanging on the wall. “It’s five o’clock. I refuse to leave Thorne there, under her binding, longer than necessary. Yes, we need a plan, but we need it now. I’m done waiting around.”

Our group gathers together, forming a circle in the middle of the room. “Other than finding the possible location of the house, what other major conflicts are we up against?” Cam takes a leadership role, and I’m grateful.

“Serafina will use her illusions to confuse us. Turn us against one another, lead us into traps, etc.,” Nyssa answers.

“The bound will come to her defense,” Fran adds. “They will fight to the death to protect her.”

“Arina didn’t.” Brayden crosses his arms over his chest. “She relented to the illusion of her captivity.”

“Aye, but not all vampires have a story like the one Arina and I share. We don’t have the resources or time to discover each one’s background for illusion creation. We have to assume they’re willing to die for her."

“What about the bound lycan?” Cam asks.

“Unless we’re able to produce a spell that will unbind them, they’ll be bound until Serafina’s death.” Nyssa leans back in her chair.

“So, basically, it’s kill or be killed.” Cam’s tone is flat.

“I can communicate with everyone while we’re there. If anyone has a question about something being real or an illusion, I can connect us together and to Brayden and Nyssa.” Alex smiles as he speaks.

“I will create illusions of my own to confuse Serafina and the bound.” Brayden piggybacks onto Alex’s idea.

Nyssa props her hands on her hips. “I can cast a spell that will enchant our group and enable us to move undetected by any magical wards while Brayden camouflages our group’s arrival from any lookouts or guards.”

“I could distract them by moving objects around in front of them,” Autumn adds.

“Unless you can move a tree on command, I’m not sure that will be helpful,” Fran answers.

Autumn’s tiny shoulders shrug. “That’s not a problem.”

“I can mimic everyone’s powers and go where help is needed,” Everly adds.

Fran turns toward me. “That leaves you, me, and Cam to find Thorne, get the grimoire, and fix this entire shit show.”

I shake my head. “We’re going to need to work together. She’s going to try to separate us and turn us against one another. We can’t let that happen.” I look at each member of the group. “Your ideas are great, except for one thing. We have to stay together at all times. I will not sacrifice any of you. The moment we’re separated, her illusions will take effect. She could take the form of any of us at any time. The only way to protect everyone is to stay together.”

“No one is planning on sacrificing anything,” Cam answers for the group. “We each have a role to play, and we’re ready to play it. None of us are dumb enough to think everything will work out the way we plan, but knowing what our goal is and each person’s role in that goal is the way to defeat her.”

“Aye, but we stay together. That’s not up for discussion.” I look around the room, making eye contact with each member of our team. Each nod, understanding my insistence. “We have to make sure Serafina dies,” I add. “If she lives, the binding spell will live with her. Nyssa’s unbinding spell will only lead to more situations like Arina’s.”

“This isn’t a plan,” Fran says grimly.

“I think I can speak for everyone here when I say there’s no way to form a plan to attack when we don’t know what we’re walking into. Each person has a skill, and we have a plan on how to utilize that skill. What’s going to happen when we get there? We have no way of knowing.” Nyssa moves toward the large monitor. “This is our plan.” She points at the void once more. “This is where she is. This is where Thorne and who knows how many more are. This is where the grimoire is.” She pauses. “This is our plan.”

“What are we waiting on?” I ask.

“Nothing,” Cam answers. “I’ll get the SUV.”

“This plan sucks,” Fran mumbles, ushering the children toward the door and making me smile. She’s right.