Page 194 of Magic of the Damned

He scoffed. “When his video was cleared, his memories should have been altered, as well. Your brother has been quite busy posting his tales on free story sites.” It took an extreme amount of self-control to keep my eyes on the witch and not risk a glare at my brother. When he’d suggested writing about them, he conveniently left out he’d already uploaded stories. He’d always been a proponent of the ideology that it was better to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission. This time that propensity could cost him dearly.

“Do you know how many books there are about supernaturals, your politics and vulnerabilities?”

“Often they ring of ignorance and fantastical embellishments.” With a wave of his fingers, the witch manifested a small stack of papers and handed them to me. I skimmed over them, afraid to devote too much attention to them and ignore my environment. Tamping down my anger, I vowed that Forest and I would discuss this later. Damage control was my priority. He’d written so much from the limited information I’d previously given him. What would he have done with all the new and specific information I’d just given him?

Turning to my brother, I whispered in his ear, trying to speak as low as possible to prevent being overheard. “They’ll want to compel you to forget.”

“I don’t want that done. They’re not fucking with my head,” he said, his anger making it difficult to keep his voice to a whisper.

“Would you agree to a binding oath?” We weren’t leaving here without the assurance of his confidentiality.

“Depends on what it is.”

“There will be no oaths,” the vampire interjected before we could discuss it further.

I whipped around. “It should be part of the discussion.”

The witch’s venomous laughter filled the room as he turned to the vampire. “An oath is acceptable. A mortalitas oath would suffice.”

I assumed mortalitas was Latin. It wasn’t a good sign that it was a derivative of mortal.

“It is a binding oath that will cause death if he breaks it.”

Despite his sharp, angular features and pronounced chin, a rosy flush grazed the witch’s cheeks, and his kind hazel eyes held hints of discernment but not cruelty. His relaxed t-shirt and ripped distressed jeans reminded me of Peter, especially the way he bared his teeth with his harsh smile.

“No. That’s not remotely an option.”

“Because your brother is as much of a liability as you. What type of oath did you expect? A slap on the wrist? A good scolding and reminder for him not to do it again? With the mortalitas oath, if he breaks it, we just need to clean up the mess once and never have to deal with that problem, or him, again.”

“He will agree to an oath with reasonable terms,” I countered.

“You really aren’t in a position to negotiate. You’re an unsettling aberration whose existence shouldn’t be taken lightly. If others choose to regard your involvement with all the events that have occurred as coincidence, so be it. I won’t.”

With his rote movements and rapidly moving lips, a mist formed between his hands. When he stepped toward me, Forest and I took several steps back to keep the distance between us. I was about to tell Forest to run, when the door was flung open by a powerful burst of energy. The witch was suddenly airborne and slammed into the wall across the room. He crumpled to the floor in a heap.

“How dare you! There is an agreement.” Madeline’s voice boomed. The lights flickered at her anger.

“Agreement?” The witch sneered. “Does it mean anything if we remain at risk?”

“How are we at risk? The shades are gone, there aren’t any more Dark Casters. And the Awakeners who challenged us have been imprisoned, where you all will soon join them.”

“Wasn’t that claim made before? Dominic and his family boasted of making it safe, yet many died because it wasn’t true. We’ve almost been exposed countless times. Yes, the Awakeners are imprisoned, but how many survived their capture to be given the courtesy of imprisonment rather than death?”

She jutted out her chin and pierced him with a hard look. “We have more autonomy and control than we have ever had, a unified front, and an alliance with the royals that benefits us. And his only request was to leave her alone. You fucking idiots!”

Magic exploded from her, sending everyone slamming into the walls. Except for the werewolves. Impervious to her magic, one wolf lunged at her. With a swift swipe of her hand, the vacant chairs careened into the wolf. One of the bookcases hurled into the other wolf.

Madeline’s hands moved in sharp, distinct strikes. Eyes blazing with rage and fury, her frown ensured that they’d regret breaching the agreement. As Dominic had said, she appeared to be protecting me as if it were her own life. Seemed to be retaliating like the threat was to her. Fear crept onto their faces but quickly bloomed into satisfied smiles. The female vampire had Madeline pinned against her chest, her neck wrenched to the side to expose the vulnerable vessels in it.

“Shall we discover whether my fangs are faster than your magic?” she said against Madeline’s neck. A crushed look of defeat coursed over Madeline’s face. Usually haughty and confident, she now wore a wary look of fatigue. She was the self-proclaimed head of the Conventicle, and I figured the past few weeks must have come with its own set of challenges. She probably had been battling on behalf of the supernaturals against Dominic, asserting and campaigning to keep her position with the addition of new members, and negotiating unity among them. It was enough to cause exhaustion. Dealing with the Awakeners had to have taken an emotional and structural toll. If they were dealt with too harshly, the Conventicle would be viewed as tyrants; too leniently, the rules would be more likely to be broken.

The room silenced and all eyes turned to Madeline and the vampire. Tension and indecision lay heavy in the room.

“If you hurt her, we will incur Dominic’s wrath. Much of his concession came with that one request. Leave her and her loved ones alone. It hasn’t even been a month and already it’s been violated.” Madeline sighed with disappointment.

“We give him too much unchecked authority. One person.” The vampire holding Madeline scoffed. “We have every right to do our own investigation and not take?—”

Her words suddenly cut off, she dropped to the floor, her head twisted into an odd angle before Dominic plunged a stake into her heart. He whispered several words and with a wave of his hands, she disappeared. He didn’t even give her a true death where the body withers and turns to dust. Before they could put up any form of a fight, the other vampires received similar treatment.

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