Billow (28 page)

Ian was the first person I'd seen her get serious about.

And I was alone. The way it had to be.

"I always needed a guy." Chloe's voice was dull. "That's why I fell for Dylan's stupid bullshit in ninth grade. I couldn't even get back at him. You had to do it for me."

I frowned. "So you didn't want a boyfriend?"

She gave a stiff nod. "I wanted to be alone to figure out what I want. I didn't want to be that way anymore."

I remembered her expression in the courtyard and anger simmered.

"You're wrong about all of it."

"What?"

"You heard me. No one distrusts you. No one thinks less of you because of what your mother did."

"What do you know? Your mother was some renegade hero. You're supposed to be the prophesied —"

"Are you kidding me?" I threw my hands up. "Everybody thinks my mother was insane. Most people think I'm just as crazy as her and they still don't believe I'm the
sondaleur
."

She jumped up, eyes blazing. "What if I'm like my mother? What if one day I want to turn Aquidae because I'm scared or because I want —"

"No," I shouted. "You're not going to."

She backed away with a slightly frightened expression.

As her words sank in, the last missing piece of the puzzle locked into place. The reason behind everything she'd done.

Ryder once said my friends weren't weak. He was right.

But Chloe believed she was and that was where I'd failed.

I hadn't paid enough attention, hadn't sensed the extent of her hurt.

You hear, but you do not listen.

I took a deep breath and tried to tone down the look on my face.

"You're not weak, Chloe." My voice was steady. "You never were. You never will be."

There was so much more, but the words wouldn't come.

Chloe was everything I wasn't. Even after she lost her mother and friend last spring, her arms were strong.

Strong enough to embrace me. Her father. Cam.

Marcella was also like that, her slender beauty the tip of an iceberg of strength and power. The round that balanced my mother's sharpness.

"Doesn't matter." She slumped against the wall. "I couldn't do anything today with a
kouperet
in my hand. Except hurt Cam. Just forget it."

I stood there feeling stupid and helpless. Chloe was so much better at these kinds of things. But she now needed someone and I was the only one here.

Julian said I should be a friend. Not the
sondaleur
.

I wanted to keep her safe. Get her back together with Cam.

But that wasn't what Chloe wanted. She wanted time to choose what to hold on to. Re-determine the course of the river within her.

At this moment, that was true for her.

I desperately wished I had other talents and could say the right words.

But all I knew how to do was fight. So I gave her the only thing I could.

"You're holding it wrong," I said gruffly.

"What?"

"The
kouperet
."

With a quick flick of my wrist, I removed my dagger from my boot. I held it in my hand and showed it to her.

"Wrap your fingers all the way around. Thumb should be in contact with your forefinger. Blood, sweat, and other things can cause your palm to slide and lose control. Correct grip maximizes your thrust when you attack."

Chloe didn't answer.

"Here. Try it." I handed it over.

She slowly grasped the dagger in her right hand. I moved her fingers to the correct position.

"Kendra —"

"Gabe's right
.
Without speed and strength, you won't be able to fight Aquidae with a
kouperet
. But you should at least know how to hold a blade correctly."

A knock came at the door followed by the dorm chaperone's sharp voice. "Chloe? Is someone in there with you? You're waking up the entire dorm!"

She stared at me for a long moment then passed the dagger back. "Thanks."

I gave a rough nod and turned to leave. I knew it wasn't enough. But it was all I had.

The small green sphere glittered on her desk and instincts flared.

I paused.

"Where did you find this?" I picked up the marble and rolled it in my palm. The smooth surface felt cool against my skin.

"On the ground, near an antique store." Chloe joined me. "A streetlamp flickered and the reflected light caught my eye. Otherwise, I would've walked right past it."

I ignored the continual knocking and studied the marble. Remembered Nick's quick hands, the way his cheeks reddened under my gaze.

What was bothering me?

"Hang on," Chloe called out.

The chaperone began making threats through the door, but I remained where I was.

First abduction. Middle of the day. Disappearance from my Virtue. Magic. Antique store…

I startled. "Was the store's name The Seahorse?"

Chloe's brow crinkled. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

My mind raced, working through the connections.

"I think I know how they're doing it," I murmured.

There was only one way to find out.

"You have to come with me right now."

Wariness crossed her face. "Why?"

"Do you want to prove you're not just Miriam's daughter?"

"Yeah, but —"

"Come on." I grabbed her arm. "This is your chance."

We opened the door, interrupting the chaperone mid-knock. Her mouth dropped in astonishment.

"Sorry. Emergency," I muttered as we hurried past.

"What are we doing?" Chloe whispered.

I took out my cell. "We have to get Aubrey first."

I dialed a number that was becoming more and more familiar.

"Yes,
sondaleur
?"

It was strange to hear his voice after what Julian told me.

"Jeeves, I need to speak to my grandmother and Tristan."

Chloe tensed and I shot her a reassuring look.

Please. Trust me
. 

"And I'll be bringing Ian, Aubrey, and Chloe."

TWENTY-TWO

The Governor's office was a study in contradiction.

Wood paneling, luxurious carpeting, and elegant furnishings gave off a subtle impression of warmth. But it only served to emphasize the cold authority tautening the atmosphere.

We sat on the black leather sectional occupying one side of the room. My grandmother remained behind the enormous mahogany desk on the opposite end.

"Mr. MacAllister." Rhian's tiny form seemed to loom over us. "Is what the
sondaleur
said true?"

The room was set up so the person on this side felt smaller than the Governor.

It was a clever design.

Ian and Aubrey wore identical expressions of grogginess and astonishment. Chloe fidgeted, fingers playing with the folds of her sweater.

"Y-y-yes." Dark, messy hair partially covered his face and he blinked rapidly. "But I don't know how that's possible."

I made a concerted effort not to look at Tristan, who stood next to Jeeves and Rhian. Moonlight filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows, partially casting the three of them in shadow.

"You only use a part of your magic." I turned to Ian. "That's why I still sense you with my Virtue. But what if you used all that latent magic in your blood? Wouldn't it cover you completely?"

"Maybe," he said slowly. "But I don't know any nix who could do that. There's no way Gilroy could. I doubt he even knows about the magic —"

"He doesn't need to know. Only the Aquidae do."

Ian frowned. "So they used Gilroy's nix magic and he wasn't even aware of it?"

"Because the magic is contained in your blood."

I knew the moment he got it. His eyes widened.

"The marble's location by Gilroy's store gives us a link." My mind went through the connections I'd made. "Nick was there. And it probably fell out of his pocket when he was abducted. Which means the Aquidae was also at Gilroy's. It can't be coincidence."

Aubrey's nose wrinkled in distaste. "You think they took Gilroy's blood?"

It seemed impossible. But the only magic I knew that covered up a person's essence was nix magic. And the only way anyone could access so much of it was directly through blood.

"How do we know it even has that ability?" Tristan's low voice rolled through the room.

"We need to test the theory." This was going to get a little strange.

I pulled the dagger out of my boot. Ian, Aubrey, and Chloe startled.

"We have to see if blood magic works outside the user's body." I took a deep breath. "Ian, we need a little of yours."

An uncomfortable silence descended.

"Just a tiny drop should be enough." I pointed to a small saucer on the table. "Put it there and we'll need to try it out on an ondine —"

"I'll do it." Determination flared in Aubrey's eyes.

Alarm crossed Ian's face. "But we don't know what it does."

She touched his arm. "It's an experiment. If it doesn't work, we'll eliminate one possibility."

He didn't move.

"Mr. MacAllister," Jeeves said. "Rest assured we're all here to ensure Ms. Rossay remains safe."

Uncertainty filled Ian's expression. Aubrey gently rubbed his arm.

He took a deep breath and gingerly handled my dagger. He pricked his left thumb and a small bubble of blood swelled.

A subtle energy pulsed from it. It was similar to the elemental magic Jourdain and Julian used. But Ian's energy felt unfamiliar because it came from a different source.

He squeezed two drops onto the saucer. "Now what?"

Since the abductions and disappearances from my Virtue took place so quickly, application had to be fast and simple.

That ruled out swallowing or injecting it. If they used those methods, Nick and the twelve elemental children would've put up enough resistance to slow the Aquidae down.

"Aubrey, touch it with your finger."

I reached into her with Empath. Threads of nervous excitement and a small amount of fear.

Pulse quickened.

She leaned forward and cautiously dipped her index finger in the blood. She raised it so all of us could see.

The blood sank, disappearing into her skin. Within a matter of moments, her finger completely absorbed the thick liquid.

"You're gone."

I couldn't sense her anymore. Just like at the Trident and the park, Aubrey's essence blinked out the moment her skin took in the blood.

"Her aura. It…" Incredulous, Tristan shook his head. "It vanished."

Ian stared at the air around Aubrey. "Unbelievable."

"This is it." We finally had proof. "This is how they're doing it."

Chloe reached over to touch Aubrey's arm. "Do you feel different?"

"No. But I can't feel…"

She lifted her hands and concentrated. Nothing happened.

A slight edge of panic entered Aubrey's voice. "My magic's gone."

"It's not gone," Ian reassured her. "Nix magic conceals, but doesn't destroy. You can't access it because my blood is covering up what makes you an ondine. That's why you don't have an aura and Kendra's Virtue can't sense you."

Tristan leaned against the wall. "What happens when it's applied to humans?"

Ian considered. "Humans don't have magic at their core. When the magic conceals their essence, it would cover them completely. They'd become —"

"Invisible."

That was why there were no witnesses to the kidnappings. All Aquidae had to do was get a drop of that blood on any human's skin and they'd completely disappear from sight.

The demons' speed and strength made it simple to whisk them away without anyone noticing.

Worry gleamed in Jeeves' periwinkle eyes. "Is there any way to counteract the magic? Make elementals immune to it or reverse the effects?"

Ian shook his head. "Not that I know of. But the blood is outside my body so the magic probably won't last long."

Tension filled the office and everyone waited.

I kept Virtue trained on Aubrey. Five minutes later, her aura and essence returned with no side-effects.

Rhian folded her hands. "I understand how this magic works with elementals and humans. But how does it work with Aquidae? The
sondaleur
sensed them disappear. They shouldn't be able to handle magic."

Tristan rubbed his face, deep in thought. He met Ian's gaze. "It's where you come from."

Ian knew what he meant. "Nix magic comes from our dark roots. It's different from the light magic of elementals. It must be compatible with them."

I remembered what Jourdain said about the Shadow. That he was meant to be the dark that balanced her light.

Nixes came from that same darkness. But because of an imbalance, the Shadow had grown into what was now the unnatural black void of Aquidae.

Darkness didn't necessarily mean evil. Ian and other nixes shared the same original source as those demons.

But they were completely different.

"Why now?" Chloe suddenly said. "Why haven't they used nix magic in the past?"

All eyes went to her.

She took a deep breath and her voice grew stronger. "Why are Aquidae using it on themselves in the first place? They don't need it. They could just use nix magic on the victims."

She was right. Aquidae were already difficult to identify and track. According to Ian, they ran auctions and kidnappings for years without using this magic.

"They did use it on the victims first." I didn't sense Nick in the Trident. And in the park, the elementals disappeared first. "They used it on themselves later."

Why?

The only reason would be to disguise that black void inside them.

A void gardinels and chevaliers didn't sense.

So who were they concealing it from?

Someone who could sense it. Someone like…

Me
.

The Aquidae in the Trident and park disappeared once I was close enough for them to see my aura.

All of it. The kidnappings and auction in Lyondale. The sudden use of nix blood for this particular city. Targeting my relative.