Martin looked at the three Ames women standing united, and his brows furrowed. Did he not understand what just happened? Was he the only one who didn't hear the traitor's thoughts, although he'd heard them only a few moments ago? But his befuddled expression quickly disappeared, and he stood, lifting his arms as if wanting to embrace us all.
"Now," he said, his eyes bright and excited as he looked over the crowd, "we may discuss the future of the Amadis. It is time to end the reign of the Ames women and declare a new leader."
"
And I'll lead them right into Hell.
"
"Martin!" several people exclaimed, Rina and Charlotte the loudest.
"Yes, I would be honored," he said instantly. "It would be my pleasure to rule–"
Cries and yells from the crowd cut him off. Confusion clouded his face.
"
They know,
" the traitor thought. "
Katerina!
"
Martin snarled as his hand flicked, and a blue light streaked through the air. My grandmother dropped to the floor next to me. Several people cried out as Mom fell to her knees, and Julia blurred to Rina's still form.
"
Ignorant vamp tramp. The first of many to–
" The traitor stopped, realizing her thoughts were still being broadcast although Rina lay unconscious on the floor. Then the voice changed, dropping several octaves from female to male, and went from a thought to spoken words. "
The first of …
many to die." Martin smirked. "Ah, Alexis. You broke my block."
"But how–?" I wondered as the crowd murmured with the realization of what I'd done–that I shared Rina's gift.
"Charlotte!" Mom cried out. "How could you tell him? I
trusted
you!"
"No, not me," Charlotte said, shaking her head, her blue eyes wide and her face paler than her blond hair.
"No, not Charlotte," Martin said. "And not Owen, either. They're more loyal to the Amadis than to their own husband and father. I have my own way of discovering things."
Martin hurdled the table and jumped toward us, but before he landed, my hand flew up, and lightning shot out of it. The electricity didn't stop him, though, didn't even slow him down as he dropped to his feet. In fact, he began
pulling
on it, drawing it out of me harder than I could push it at him.
"Foolish girl!" Martin threw his head back and laughed–an eerie sound synthesizing a man's low guffaw with a woman's higher pitched giggle–as he pulled the power out of my body and into his own. His physical form wavered. A ghostly image emerged from it like smoke from a fire. A dark-haired woman, her body transparent, stood with Martin, half of her still a part of him. Several people cried out–vampires, Weres and mages afraid of this strange apparition. Martin's voice changed to the traitor's as both of their lips moved. "I
feed
off your energy!"
He continued pulling on my power, draining me, and I couldn't stop him, couldn't break his hold. My body began to tremble, weakening, but he kept drawing on me, sucking all the force out of me. And as he did, the image of the woman became clearer and more defined. Just as my head began to swim with darkness and my knees began to buckle, a massive figure blurred in front of me, severing the connection. I fell to the floor, next to Rina and Mom, behind Tristan. The woman's image dissolved back into Martin's body.
"Your life force is nearly as good, Tristan." Martin's mouth moved, but the traitor's voice came out of it. "Or should I call you Seth? That is more appropriate."
"Daemoni!" someone from the crowd shouted.
"A sorceress!" someone else yelled.
Commotion broke out behind us–the sounds of Weres trying to control their inner animals and not quite succeeding, and hisses and growls coming from others.
The traitor pulled Martin's mouth into a wicked grin. "Correct. A sorceress. Took you long enough to figure it out."
"But how?" Galina demanded from the dais. All the council members stood now, looking down at the person they'd trusted to be their leader. This person who was …
possessed
?
Martin's grin became a proud beam. "I am Kali, a sorceress. And it was quite easy. I simply overpowered Martin's spirit with my own and took control of his physicality."
Charlotte jumped down from the dais and stood in Martin's face. "What have you done to my husband?"
He lifted his hand toward her cheek, and she recoiled. His hand fell to his side. "Charlotte, my dear Charlotte. Your husband hasn't been around since … 1939, I believe."
Char's hand flew to her mouth, and her body jerked, as if she'd been punched in the gut. "You lie! It can't be!"
"Oh, yes, it can be. It has been done. How kind of you to be so busy protecting Sophia and the Amadis that you didn't even notice. Such a great wife you have been."
Char raised her hand and whipped it out to slap Martin, but he caught her hand in mid-air and twisted her arm. I sprang back to my feet as Char–brave, strong Char–cried out when the bone snapped. Martin pushed her toward us, and I caught her in my arms. I gently lowered her to the ground next to Mom.
"All I wanted was my bloodline carried on," Kali said through Martin's mouth, his eyes tinted red as he stared at Charlotte, who returned his glare. "I chose Martin because his parents were such powerful warlocks and both physically stronger than any sorcerer–he'd be the best father to my child. I killed his parents, took him and planted him in the Amadis over a century ago. But he wouldn't give in to my desires, always loyal to
you.
" Martin's eyes flared brighter red as he jabbed his finger at Char. "Since you're such a strong warlock, too, though, I decided it was worth it. So I gave up
everything
. I gave up my life as a sorceress, even gave up my corporeal body, which had aged and weakened, anyway. But my powers remained strong, and I took Martin's body. Whether he liked it or not, you both still gave me a child–a boy with Martin's physical DNA and my magic. The most powerful warlock the Amadis has ever seen!"
Everyone's heads snapped toward Owen, who stood frozen, his face a white mask of shock.
"I lived Martin's life, pretending to be one of you, waiting for my opportunity," Kali continued, her voice cold yet mesmerizing. "The Daemoni grew restless. They have no patience, no self-control, but I have mastered it. Killing Stefan was their way of getting me on the council, but it wasn't until Seth's return that the opportunity really arose. I knew about you then, Alexis, about your power, and purposely planted those ideas in your head. Ideas about a daughter. It took you and Tristan away from here, letting me execute my plan while at the same time, knowing what would happen when you found the girl. It all played out beautifully. Until now. You're better than I realized."
Martin's wrist flicked again, but no blue light shot out of his palm. Instead, a staff, taller than him with a blue, crystal-like ball on its top, appeared in his hand. He lifted the staff and banged the end on the floor. My body jerked as the electricity shot out of me and to the shimmering ball. But not only from me. Energy from the atmosphere created an electric flow to the staff, like lightning being pulled from the sky, and the ball's interior glowed and swirled. People started crying out, even whimpering, as the sorceress pulled on our life forces.
Owen yelled something over the noise, and the air around Martin trembled–Owen must have shot some kind of magic at the sorceress, but she had herself shielded.
"Use your power, Alexis," Tristan said.
"She's already taking it!"
"Your Amadis power. She's Daemoni!"
"
Alexis, I think I can break the shield,
" Owen thought. "
Be ready. She's weakening me, so we only have one chance.
"
Resisting the desire to sag to the ground, my energy all but gone, I dragged my right arm up. Owen yelled out again, and the air around Martin wavered once more. I seized the opportunity and pushed the Amadis power at the sorceress. She shrieked. Martin's body convulsed. But the sorceress fought it. She pointed the top of the staff my way, and a blue light streaked out of it. With a writhing body, though, her aim jerked to the right, and the blast missed me. A thud sounded from behind.
"Ferrer!" someone cried out. The spell must have hit the blacksmith.
Before I could react, another streak blasted out of Martin's hand. My arm shot up with my dagger out to parry it. The spell bounced off the blade, soared over the council members' heads and hit the wall above them. The angel's stone sword shattered and debris rained down on the dais. I gathered all my Amadis power within me and pushed it out at Martin. But it wasn't enough to bring the sorceress down.
"Mom!" I shouted. "Help!"
She sprang to her feet, grasped my shoulder and lifted her own right hand toward Martin. Our powers more than doubled–they grew exponentially. Then Tristan stood behind us, placed his hands on us and gave us what he had. No one else could project Amadis power and none were as strong as Mom and me, but the rest of the Amadis in the room did what they could. Council members jumped down from the dais and formed a human chain, ending with Minh's hand on my wrist. Others from the crowd joined us, too. Their hands–some bone white, others looking more like claws–grabbed our arms and legs, held on wherever they could and shared their power with us. The Amadis came together as one, the power of all that's good streaming through them, into me and out my hand. The sorceress couldn't fight the goodness. A siren of a scream escaped Martin's mouth as he collapsed to the floor. Our energy sapped, the rest of us fell, too.
An eerie stillness blanketed the room as we all processed what happened. But before anyone could move, motion from the center of the floor caught our attention. Martin flinched. His arm jerked upwards. His hand waved weakly, and the air around us trembled.
"The shield!" Charlotte shouted. "She's trying to take it down!"
"Owen! Stop her!" Mom said.
"Kill her!" Charlotte yelled.
But Owen didn't move. He only stared at Martin's upraised arm. And I knew he couldn't do it. He didn't see the sorceress anymore. He saw his father. And stopping the sorceress from hurting us was much different than killing his own father.
Martin's hand moved again, and the air shook harder. We had to do something. I switched the dagger to my right hand and pulled it up, behind my shoulder. Tristan's palm rose, and he paralyzed Martin just as I swung up and let go. The knife arced up and over, the light flashing off the silver blade as it flew end over end and stabbed Martin right where I intended. The dagger pierced through his hand and pulled it down, nailing him to the stone floor. The sorceress was too weak to withstand the silver. Her ghostly image rose from Martin's body, swirled and disintegrated. Her spirit became smoke in the wind.
I dropped my arm to my side and stared at Martin's lifeless body. Unable to move. Unable to
breathe
. As others began to stir, I remained on my knees.
What have I done?
A huge lump formed in my throat. My chest tightened. My stomach felt like a small stone.
I … killed … someone.
That was what I'd done. I'd ended a life. Martin's life.
But had I? Had there been anything of the real Martin left? Or had he already been dead, killed by the sorceress when she overtook his body decades ago? Who
did
I kill? Char's husband? Owen's dad? Or an evil and powerful sorceress? Or was she even dead?
I vaguely noticed people rising around me or the change in the air–relief that the real traitor had been identified and the situation managed. Mom, sounding distant to my ears, asked Tristan to flash Rina to the mansion. I finally tore my eyes away from the heap of robes and flesh that had been Martin and looked at Rina, who appeared to be just as dead.
My stomach clenched. "Is she …?"
"No," Mom said, "but she's not well."
"How bad?"
"I don't know, honey. She got the same dark magic you did."
Tristan bent down to lift Rina into his arms.
"Don't you dare touch her!" Julia hissed at him, her body protecting Rina's.
Chandra placed a hand on Julia's arm. "Julia, it's over. Tristan is obviously not the traitor."
"Yes, we have been made fools of," Armand said, his tone mixed with exhaustion and anger. "Martin was the traitor. He–or
she
, I should say–had all of our thoughts twisted up."
"Then are you done accusing my husband?" I asked.