Page 54 of Elemental Hope
Coryn drew Dominic and Damon away and they stood, half concealed behind a small copse of trees. Nathaniel jogged acrossto wait with them. He put his arm around Damon’s waist, drawing him close.
Gregory and Evrain waited in the center of the clearing, their silhouettes outlined in gold. Imelda was the first to leave her vehicle. If Dominic had been expecting flowing robes and pointy hats, he was disappointed. Imelda was wearing well-cut black trousers and a thick dark red sweater, which seemed to hint at her lust for blood. The eight women who came to join her were less dramatically dressed—one or two were young and attractive, but the rest were completely unremarkable. Under normal circumstances, no one would have given them a second glance and there was no way of knowing that together they formed the most powerful Coven in the northwest. Most of them cast covetous glances toward Evrain as they moved to stand in a loose circle.
Gregory took Evrain by the hand then led him to the center of the circle, where he gestured for him to kneel. Evrain dropped to the ground and looked up at his godfather, waiting for the signal to begin.
“Why is he kneeling?” Dominic whispered.
“Because he has to be stable when he channels and he may not be when Gregory cuts his palm. It’s also part of the show for Imelda. Gregory wants Evrain to come across as less of a threat than he actually is. Perception is everything.”
“Imelda, do you have the knife and goblet?” Gregory asked. The evening was clear and still. The sound of his voice carried to where Dominic, with a clear line of sight, waited with the others.
Imelda approached Gregory. She extended a simple dagger of gray steel. From what Dominic could see, its handle was not ornate—there were no jewels or mysterious designs that caught the light. The fact that it was clearly a tool, designed to be efficient and useful, made it all the more horrifying to Dominicas he looked on. The copper goblet she handed over was very similar, made from plain, unadorned metal.
Imelda took a few steps backward but not so far away that she couldn’t see exactly what was going on. Evrain extended his arm, allowing Gregory to grip his wrist loosely. With his free hand Evrain began to make gestures and muttered the simple incantation that allowed him to manipulate fire.
Dominic shuddered as Evrain began to channel. He locked his knees, accepting the deep-seated ache that always came with Evrain’s use of his power. Coryn put an arm around his shoulders but said nothing. Damon gave him an understanding nod.
Evrain was absolutely focused on what he was doing and a small, delicate flame hovered in the air above his outstretched hand. A perfect tapered shape, it was blue at the base, deep orange at the center, fading to silver at the tip where wisps of dark smoke disappeared into the air. Perhaps it was a side effect of the channeling but Dominic could see every detail and hear every word with absolute clarity. As Evrain continued to whisper words of power, Gregory took the knife and made a small incision in his palm, beneath the flame. Evrain didn’t falter as Gregory turned his hand over and allowed deep red droplets of blood to fall into the goblet. To Dominic, time slowed as drop after drop splashed into the metal cup.
“This is taking forever,” he muttered. Coryn patted his shoulder.
“It will. A drop of blood is not much. It will take a while to even half fill the goblet.”
Finally Gregory curled Evrain’s fingers into a fist and patted his arm. “You may stop now, Evrain.”
The flame disappeared with a soft pop and Evrain relaxed with an audible sigh of relief. He remained on his knees and watched Gregory hand the goblet to Imelda. Dominic could almost feelthe wet warmth of blood squeezing between his fingers and the throbbing pain of the cut on his hand.
“I hope you’re satisfied that we have done everything as you requested, Imelda. Now conduct your tests and we can finish this once and for all.” Gregory sounded cold and stern.
Dominic wanted to run to Evrain but he held his position. Nathaniel took a step away from Damon, his entire body poised and alert.
“You expecting trouble?” Coryn whispered.
“Something feels wrong.” Nathaniel swiveled around, checking every direction, but the light was fading and it was hard to see. “There’s a vague scent on the winds…I can’t quite pin it down. Smells like rot.”
“Imelda’s taking the goblet.” Dominic held his breath. He had to let it out eventually but breathing seemed an irrelevance under the circumstances.
Imelda’s eyes had narrowed at Gregory’s icy tone, but she took the cup and handed it to another woman, who walked away toward one of the vehicles. She was perhaps halfway between Imelda and the car when a dark figure appeared from nowhere, grabbed the goblet from her grasp then threw her to the ground where she lay unmoving. Imelda’s cry of outrage was silenced as the mysterious figure walked toward her.
“That’s Symeon!” Damon cried.
“Fuck. He used a concealment spell. That must have been his stench I detected.” Nathaniel edged forward, herding everyone else behind him. Dominic eased sideways. He wanted to keep a line of sight on Evrain.
“Symeon.” Gregory’s flat tone showed no surprise.
“How the hell did you get here, Malus?” Imelda wasn’t as restrained. She spoke with barely suppressed fury.
“It seems you do not have as firm a grip on power within the Octis Coven as you thought, my dear.”
The oil slick of Symeon’s voice made Dominic want to wretch.
“Some of your revered colleagues are contemplating a change of leadership. They have been giving me what you would not, including the handy spell that got me here unnoticed.”
Evrain made to stand.
“No. You stay put. I like you on your knees.”
Dominic was glad he couldn’t make out Evrain’s expression.
