Page 33 of The Rowan
With a deep breath, I complete the picture of myself and throw on my favorite jeans and long-sleeve T-shirt for simplicity. Intense heat encompasses me, and I’m suddenly me again. My hands run over my body, needing reassurance I didn’t forget something, like a nose. Finding everything where it should be, I exhale.
“That was…intense,” I confess, rolling my shoulders to ease my tension. “I’m not sure I’ll be comfortable using transfiguration unless I have a lot of practice.” Exhaustion rolls over me, and I stagger. Callyx steps close and holds me up for a second.
“It’s remarkable you have the power at all,” Santiago says with a frown. “I can only think of one possibility. My great-great-great-grandfather loved the ladies, and he was the black sheep of our family. He’s the only one I can think of who might have flouted our rules. His journals are in the attic, but it will take time to dig through them.”
If that’s the case, he must have had an affair with my mother’s mother. With a shrug, I figure it’s best to let him figure it out.
“Promise me you’ll keep this from Caro,” he demands. “She’s already looking for ways to control all the bloodlines. The light needs the dark for balance, but she doesn’t understand the concept. To her, the greater good of the coven relies on its alliance to the light. Dark isn’t evil, it’s the concept of free will. But to Caro, free will must be squashed in order to find the best way forward for the coven. If she aligned the entire coven, we would be more powerful, but she manipulates everything to the light’s advantage. She even installed her husband as leader of bloodline four.”
“What do you mean? Who’s supposed to be the leader of bloodline four?” I ask.
“His name is An Lee. You might have noticed him hanging out with my daughter. The Lee family has a handful of members left. Caro’s husband, Adam, is a Lee, but she made him take her last name. Technically, a Lee is head of bloodline four, but Adam is not the most powerful. His sole claim is a powerful wife. I don’t know what she did to make the Lee family concede the leadership to him, but she’ll never let them take over again.” Santiago’s anger fills the air.
“To be clear, the six founding families are Pennington, Martinez, Lee, Perrone, Dietrich, and Ivanov?” I query.
“Correct,” he answers.
Interesting. Then who were the MacAllisters? Another unanswered question, but I might have a source to find the answer. With a smile towards Santiago, I answer his previous question. “Thank you, Santiago, for teaching me to transform and for the information. I wish I could promise not to tell Caro, but I’ve got two more bloodline tests coming up, so she’ll find out then. Maybe you could suggest that she hold the last two tests and the placement ceremony at the same time? Then you can be there, and Caro won’t be able to suppress the knowledge from the coven.” It might be the best way to control the situation.
His shoulders droop, but he agrees. “I’ll see what I can do.”
* * *
Callyx stopsme on the way out. “Are you okay? You’re pale.”
“Transforming is draining. It uses a lot of power,” I explain. “But this afternoon was enlightening. I’m ready to get back and do some research.”
A roar comes from behind, and I turn to see a panther sprinting towards us. My hands prepare to fight, but I notice the golden eyes and hold back. It’s Santiago, but why is he charging us?
Callyx’s battle cry rings out. I turn and quickly bring up my shield against an attack. There must be over twenty assassins this time. I see a couple of shifters, a warlock, a troll, a vampire, but I can’t make out the others as they attack. My mind shifts into battle mode, and I pull my twin swords.
Callyx’s shadows roll off him in waves, and it helps even the fight as several assassins fight illusions only they can see.
There’s a blur to my right, and I strike out. The vampire’s head falls to the ground, but savoring the win has to wait, because the troll is locked onto me. I’ve never fought a troll, and I can’t recall their weaknesses, but their strengths are easy to find. They’re big, bigger than Valerian, and quicker than I’d expect. His fist catches the edge of my jaw, and I fly into the fence.
With a quick shake, I jump up and charge him. Bringing one sword up above my head, I keep his eyes distracted and pull the same move on him that I did on Valerian yesterday. A quick slide between his legs and a power punch to his balls brings him to his knees. He’s now at my level. One quick stroke with my sword, and his head rolls off his body.
A searing pain in my leg has me turning to face a new threat. A wolf, claws extended and dripping with blood, my blood, stands behind me. I don’t look down to see the shredded muscles of my calf. My feet find their battle stance automatically, and I wait. We circle each other, the wolf looking for a way past my defenses, while I do the same.
Callyx shouts, and I tense, just as a huge weight hits me from behind. I slam to the ground, pinned beneath a couple hundred pounds of wolf.
Shit! A diversion.
A piercing scream fills the air, and I’m suddenly free from the weight on my back. I glance to the side as I jump up, finding a black panther with the wolf’s neck between its jaws.
A howl brings me back to the one remaining wolf in front of me. I strike out with my sword, catching it in the side, and it launches toward me. I drop one sword in order to infuse my hand with magic, but it lands on top of me. I reach out and grab its throat, using power to keep it off me. Jaws snapping, it strains to reach my throat. Claws dig into my side, and furious, I scream, “Motherfucker!”
With magic, I swap the sword in my other hand for a dagger. I look to my right, as if I see something, waiting until the wolf turns its head, then I bring my left hand up, and stab it in the throat. It rolls off me, swiping with its paw to get the dagger out. I leap up, grab the sword I dropped, and swing. Another head rolls to the ground.
Shaky, I scan the bodies. The rest of the assassins lie scattered around us. Callyx, Santiago, and I assess each other, blood dripping from our wounds. I sway, and Callyx puts his arm around me and picks me up.
“Thank you,” he says firmly to Santiago. “I’ll take Arden to The Abbey. Will your men be able to take care of the bodies and help you inside?”
Men? A couple men, holding bloody swords, come up to Santiago. They must have joined the fight, but I didn’t notice.
“Yes, we’ll be fine,” he tells Callyx. “Go, take care of her. I don’t want her to die. My gut says we need her more than ever.” He nods at me before turning to his men to issue orders.
Callyx opens his mouth, but I slam my elbow into his side. Angry, he glares down at me, and I give him a slight shake of my head. Rolling his eyes, he opens a portal and takes us back to The Abbey.
