Page 78 of Drawn in Blood
“Clues?” Killian all but laughed. “What sort of clues are you looking for, Sherlock? And what is Osiris supposed to do to help?”
Ember furrowed her brow. “He’s older, knows more magic than we do.” She shrugged as she leaned back against the couch. “I just think we could get further if we ask for help.”
“I agree,” Fen nodded, “we need to go back and talk to Erevan. But without Siris. I don’t need his help.”
“This isn’t about you,” Ember said sternly, as she laid a hand on his arm. “This is about Maeve and getting her back. I don’t know what happened with your brother, but we can sort that out later.”
Fen chewed on his lip and nodded, making another move on the board as he sighed.
“I guess so.” He tried to feign indifference, but Ember could see the ire dancing behind his eyes.
“So, it’s settled then,” Killian said as he moved a rook. “Tomorrow, we go Arcelia and talk to Lord Erevan.”
“If you put so much as a finger outside of the property line, I’ll string you up by your toes from a rafter in the barn myself,” Osiris said, as he waltzed into the room and ruffled Theo’s hair. “What’s your name, lad?”
Theo shrunk into himself, clutching his book to his chest as he looked to Ember.
“Um, he’s deaf,” she said to Osiris, preparing to interpret for him, but the man’s eyes almost lit up as he grinned and turned back to Theo.
“Sorry, mate. I’m Osiris. What’s your name?”he signed to Theo, and Ember’s jaw nearly hit the floor.
Theo’s face lit up as he grinned.“I’m Theo,”he replied before settling back in and continuing with his book.
“Where did you learn sign language?” Ember asked, as she cocked her head.
Osiris shrugged as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “My best mate was deaf,” he replied. “Had to learn if we wanted to talk. Plus, it made getting away with stuff so much easier.” Osiris looked down at the chess board as Killian furrowed his brow over his next move. “I see you all made it back in one piece.”
Ember felt her cheeks redden as she looked down at her hands, and Fen’s eyes bore holes in the side of her head.
“You were in Iceland?” Fen looked at Killian dumbfounded.
“We came back as soon as we heard,” Killian replied, and then narrowed his eyes at Osiris. “You got here awful fast as well. How accessible are Geoports in Iceland?”
Osiris grinned as he looked toward the fire. “You’ll come to find that the magic you learn at Heksheim isn’t the only magic. It doesn’t begin and end with us. The world is full of it, and once you learn the rules, you can learn how to break them.”
Fen glared at his older brother as he crossed his arms tightly over his chest. Everything the man did seemed to make Fen want to strangle him. Ember grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly.
“You will not go into the Danann,” Osiris continued, walking over to the chess board, “and you will not go to Arcelia, and you will not talk to Erevan. You will stay here and let the adults handle it. This is so much bigger than any of you can fathom.” He looked at Fen as if he wanted to say so much more, but instead, he looked back down at the board, moving one small piece that neither of the boys had noticed.
Killian’s jaw fell open as Osiris stepped back.
“Checkmate, little brother.”
A few weekspassed by with no word about Maeve and no new leads, and Fen was beginning to grow desperate. And if Ember was being completely honest, she was too. Yule and the Winter Solstice were in just a few weeks, and the trio had concocted a plan to go to Arcelia and talk to the king, despite Osiris’s warning.
“So, we go tonight.” Fen nodded as they walked to the Echopoint outside of Heksheim. “Siris has to go back to Iceland for a few days, and Mum and Dad won’t notice as long as I’m back before sunup.” Fen’s eyes were hollow, perpetually dark underneath. It didn’t look like he had slept in days.
Ember nodded as she adjusted the bag on her shoulder. “I have to make sure Theo is settled, but I’ll meet you all back here tonight.” She smiled as she traced her fingers along the runes at the Echopoint. “Odette will be here too. I talked to her at lunch.”
Fen groaned, and Ember lightly slapped him on the shoulder.
“Want us to walk you home?” Killian offered, waggling his eyebrow.
Ember rolled her eyes as she smiled. “No, I think I can manage,” she replied. “See you soon?”
“See you soon, Starshine.” Killian smiled, and Ember disappeared through a cloud of smoke and stars. She landed at the closed gate in front of the manor and wiped the dust from her jeans. She made her way through the iron gates and up to the front steps into the warm foyer.
“Mum, I’m home!” she shouted, as she walked toward the kitchen. “Do we have any apples?”
