Page 22 of Voyage of Magic and Malice (The Vampires of Charleston #3)

TWENTY-TWO

the beginning of the end

“What is this?” Serafina asks, looking at the void that surrounds us.

“It’s nothing,” Brayden answers.

“Nonsense, it’s just an illusion. A very good one, but nothing more.” She moves, still clinging to Aaron’s grimoire. “Quite impressive.”

“Thank you,” the immortal child answers, showing the innocence of his youth.

Serafina raises her hand and snaps. I don’t know what she expected to happen, but remaining in the void with the three of us must not have been it. The surprised look on her face is almost comedic.

“I told you. Here, we’re all equal.” Brayden smiles.

The witch raises her hand, snapping once more, and again, nothing happens. “That’s not possible.”

“Apparently, it is,” Nyssa answers. She raises her hand, sending a blast into Serafina, knocking her back a few feet.

“You’re no more powerful than the one who created the illusion,” Brayden answers her unasked question. “A child.”

Serafina clinches the grimoire under one arm, lifting the book high in the air. She begins to chant in an ancient language. I know without asking, she’s casting a spell to escape Brayden’s creation.

“It won’t work,” Nyssa interrupts. “Did you not hear the boy? In here, we’re all equal.”

“That’s not possible,” she retorts before attempting to cast the spell once more. Again, nothing happens.

“Give me the grimoire,” I demand, stepping closer.

Serafina’s dark eyes close as she clutches the book to her chest. “This is not how this is going to go.” Her body begins to glow with an otherworldly light. She opens her eyes and smiles. “Go to hell.” The glow rushes toward the three of us, resembling an explosive shock wave. The wave hits before any of us have time to react, throwing us in different directions. My body lands hard against a solid surface, slamming my head in the process. If that was Serafina with less power…damn.

A few seconds pass before I am able to stand. As a vampire, I’m immortal, but whatever she packed in that punch was stronger than me. I look around, finding nothing and no one. “Brayden? Nyssa?” Neither answer.

“Brayden?” I call through my mind. “Nyssa?” Neither answer. Fuck. I don’t know where I am, let alone what to do.

“Trust in yourself,” a voice says from all around me. The Scottish brogue takes me back three centuries to my life on the farm.

“Hello?”

“I’m here,” the voice says directly behind me. I turn, finding the nearly exact image of my father, only different. “Papa?”

The man smiles a familiar smile. “No, Elsbeth. It’s me, Aaron.”

“How?” My words are no louder than a whisper.

“I am with you, always. Find me in the wind, in the flame, in the whispers of the moon. You are not lost. You were never lost to me,” he quotes the letter I found in the grimoire at the start of this shit show.

“Are you really here?” I reach out, longing to touch the face of the man I last knew as an infant.

“Aye.” He meets my hand halfway, pulling it to his face. He feels as solid as anything I’ve felt before.

“Is this an illusion?”

“Yes, and no. I am no longer on this earth, with that in mind, yes, I am an illusion.” He looks around the darkness. “But here, I am whole.”

“You look just like Papa.”

“So, I’ve been told,” he answers. “You look like Mama.” He pauses. “She never gave up hope, you know.”

“I’m so sorry, Aaron. I can’t imagine what it must have been like.”

“You owe no one an apology. You sacrificed your life to save us. It’s the reason I created the spell.”

“The siphoning spell?”

“Aye. I tried to trade the spell in return for your life.” His eyes turn sad as he speaks.

“I know,” I answer, hoping to ease his pain at the memory.

“In the end, I couldn’t do it. I’m sorry, Elsbeth.”

“Elsie,” I interrupt. “Call me Elsie.”

“By not giving Kragen the spell, I sacrificed your life once more.”

“Kragen would’ve never let me go—spell or no spell.” I wrap my hand around his. “Serafina has your grimoire.”

“Serafina? How? She should be long since dead.”

I laugh, echoing off the void. “She’s alive and well and wants the siphoning spell.”

“What would she want with that?”

“She wants to kill all of the vampires and a few lycan in retaliation for Nathaniel’s death.”

Aaron closes his eyes and walks a few steps backward. “That psycho bitch.”

“That’s an understatement.”

“How did you get here?” he asks.

“It’s a long story, but in short form, an illusion from a druid vampire.”

He stares at me blankly with eyes I’d recognize anywhere. “Did I understand you correctly? A druid vampire?”

“Aye.” I smile. “He’s only a child.”

“An immortal child? Is he here, in the void, with you?”

“Aye. He and another druid. She’s lycan.”

The smile that covers Aaron’s face is priceless. “You brought a druid vampire and a druid lycanthrope to the fight?”

“I like to come prepared.” I smile back.

He turns, facing into the darkness. “They’re this way. Let’s go find them, shall we?” He reaches his hand toward me, grabbing hold of mine. In the blink of an eye, we’re standing in front of Serafina with Nyssa and Brayden.

“Aaron Abernathy,” Serafina says breathlessly. “How?”

“I could ask the same of you, Sera.”

“Aaron? As in Elsie’s brother, Aaron?” Nyssa asks.

“Aye.” He turns his attention to the ancient witch. “Give Elsie my grimoire. The spell was not meant for you.”

“Shut up,” she spews. “This is another illusion by the boy.”

Aaron turns toward the immortal child. “You’re the druid vampire?”

“Yes.” He shrugs.

Aaron turns toward Nyssa, “Druid lycanthrope?”

She nods.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”

“Illusion or not, you do not own the grimoire. Give it to its rightful owner, now.” Serafina raises her hands, the grimoire held tightly in her hands, and begins to chant. “Knock that shite off, Sera.” A blast of energy hits the witch in the chest, causing her to bend slightly.

Serafina moves so quickly, even with vampire eyes, I have trouble tracking her energy. A heartbeat later, she’s standing in front of us with Brayden clinched in her arms. “Release me from this place,” she warns.

“No,” Brayden answers bravely.

“I will kill you,” she continues. “Is that what you want, child?”

“If you kill me, you will stay here forever.”

Without words, Aaron grips my hand tighter while wrapping his fingers around Nyssa’s hand. I know without asking, he’s requesting to borrow our power. I send every ounce I can muster through our joined hands. “Bound by blood, by will, by fire, return to me, as I require. Through shadowed path and ether’s thread, come home, my own, where you are led."

With his words, the grimoire bursts into flames. Serafina’s scream is a mixture of surprise and pain as the grimoire falls heavily to the floor. She’s in the air with Brayden held tightly to her chest seconds later. “Open the book, or the boy dies.” She pulls a wooden stake out of thin air, pointing it at his tiny heart.

"No!" I scream. “Brayden, do something!”

“I can’t,” he answers. “I don’t have any energy left.”

“Let this illusion go. Save yourself.”

“If I do, she’ll kill everyone.”

The sensation starts in my core, without thinking of what I’m doing, Releasing my infant brothers hand, I lift off the ground until I’m even with the witch. “If you send that blast you’re brewing into me, you’ll kill the boy, too.”

Seeing Brayden in Serafina’s arms and his willingness to sacrifice himself to save everyone else brings my life full circle. “You don’t have to sacrifice yourself. We can fight her.”

“You did,” his soft voice answers as I lower back to the ground.

“No,” I whisper as Nyssa grabs hold of my arm.

“He’s right,” she answers. “If she gets out of here, she’ll kill Alex, Autumn, Everly, Fran…”

“I get it,” I interrupt. “Dammit, I get it!”

“It’s okay, Elsie. I’ll be okay.”

“Brayden, don’t ask me to do this.”

“He’s not,” Nyssa answers, linking her arm through mine. “We don’t have a choice.” Without asking, Nyssa somehow grabs my power, pulling it from my body and combining it with hers. Her power overtakes mine as she lifts the two of us to level with Serafina and Brayden. She raises her free hand, sending a blast of energy into the duo. Serafina flies backward with the immortal child in her arms.

“Again,” Brayden says through my mind. “That weakened her.”

Nyssa repeats the move from before, throwing her back even further. “Put the boy down and fight,” Aaron says from below.

I watch in horror as the witch’s hand becomes transparent. Forcing Brayden in front of her, she punches her hand through his skin, grabbing hold of what I can only assume is his heart. His eyes roll back in his head as his mouth opens to a silent scream.

“Release the illusion,” I beg through our connection. “Please, Brayden. Don’t do this. We can win.”

“No, you can’t,” his soft voice echoes. “This is the only way. You need…Aaron.”

“You know,” Serafina spews. “The only way to truly kill a vampire is to cut off their head or stake them through the heart.

“Stop!” I scream. “Nyssa, let me go.” Nyssa ignores my request and sends another blast of our combined power into the witch.

“We’re not strong enough,” Nyssa says. Below us, Aaron has his grimoire open and is chanting in a language similar to the one Serafina used. “Brayden, we need you,” she yells toward the tortured immortal child.

The void surrounding us begins to blink slightly, giving way to hints of the mansion and bayou before returning to the illusion. “That’s it, baby. Let the illusion go,” I encourage him.

“You see? Even in the illusion, I’m still stronger.”

The void flashes away once more, long enough to catch a glimpse of Thorne standing on the perimeter. “Thorne?” I whisper. As soon as the blackness returns, it disappears once more. This time, giving enough time for Thorne to enter the void.

“Brother, dear. It’s good to see you less crispy.” I stare at the spectacle in front of me. I’ve never felt so out of control. Even in the bowels of Kragen’s ship, I had control over me. Now, with Nyssa using my power, Serafina holding Brayden’s life in her fist, my brother casting spells beneath me, and now Thorne still under his sister’s influence, I can’t fix this. I’m nothing more than a helpless participant trapped in a game with no winner.

Thorne flies into the air like it’s something he’s done his entire life. He moves to Serafina’s side. “I’m here, sister.”

“Kill them,” she demands.

Thorne turns toward me, his pupils wide and dilated. He makes eye contact with me, saying more than his mouth ever could. Power floods me from inside, stronger than ever before. Without breaking eye contact with Thorne, I pull away from Nyssa and fly straight toward Serafina, praying that my instincts are right.

I move to Thorne’s side as he turns toward his sister. “Someone will die today, but it won’t be them.” He grabs my hand, and a surge of power rushes my body. Thorne sends the energy into the ancient witch, knocking her and Brayden to the ground below in a sickening thud.

Seconds later, we’re on the ground next to them. Ignoring Serafina, I move toward the Brayden. The illusion is still holding, which means he’s alive.

“Brayden?” I pull him away from what remains of Serafina. Cradling his tiny body in my arms. “Brayden, you’re going to be okay. I’ve got you.”

Instead of fading in and out, the dome of the void begins to break apart, reminding me of a puzzle, falling apart one piece at a time.

“It’s okay, Elsie.” He pulls his hand away from his chest, revealing the wooden stake shoved through his tiny heart. “We did it.”

I fight tears. “ You did it.”

He turns his tiny head toward Thorne, Nyssa, and Aaron. “We all did…” His eyes close, and the void disappears completely.

“Brayden!” I shout, pulling his tiny body into mine. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

I turn, finding the trio of remaining immortal children standing just on the other side of what was the perimeter of the void. They’re filthy and covered in blood, but they’re alive.

“He’s gone,” I whisper for their ears only.

“We know. We felt him leave,” Alex answers. I don’t ask questions as the three of them move to Brayden’s side, wrapping him in their arms and carrying him off the porch of the house.

“Where are you going?”

“We’re taking him home.” I don’t question them as they carry his tiny body away from the carnage.

Beside me, the once-powerful ancient witch lies in a puddle of blood and remains. Her face is nearly unrecognizable, and what was her mouth is frozen in a perpetual scream. Other than Kragen, I’ve never been happier to see someone dead.

I turn toward the spot where Aaron was moments earlier. The only piece of him that remains is the grimoire that was the focus of all of this. “He’s gone,” I whisper. “They’re both gone.”

Thorne wraps his arms around me, pulling me to his chest. The feeling is familiar and welcome while I cry tears for Brayden, the boy who never had a chance to live, and for Aaron, the brother I never knew.

The chaos surrounding me is over as Cam runs to our side. He’s in human form and naked, but as usual, he doesn’t seem to notice or care. Blood drips from different places on his body, his or someone else’s, I’m not sure, and he’s covered in dirt and debris.

“Brayden?” he asks breathily.

“He’s gone,” Thorne answers. “The children took him.”

Cam moves to Nyssa’s side, who looks weaker than I’ve seen her before. He wraps an arm around her, pulling her close. “The children and I took care of the bound.” He nods toward a pile of lycan bodies and what remains of the vampires. “Is it over?” he asks anyone who’s listening.

“Aye,” Thorne answers. “Serafina is dead.”

“What now?” Cam asks as he and Nyssa move down the grand staircase.

“We live,” he answers.