Magic Rising (17 page)

“My orders are to remain with you, and you are here. Evan does not like having his orders disobeyed.”

“What if he needs your help?” Or mine? I thought, but didn’t say it.

“He is daemon,” Micah said, giving me a perplexed look.

“Even daemons need help sometimes.”

“Not this one.”

“But you are concerned?”

“Yes,” he conceded.

“Me too.”

“He will be fine. Do not worry.”

“Easy to say when no one seems to know where he is, or why he hasn’t been in touch with you or me.” I yanked the door open before Micah could say anything to scrub over my worries, and eased my aching feet back into my heels. A small plaque on the wall opposite listed the various rooms on the floor. I turned to the left and followed the arrow pointing towards the library.

The doors were closed when we got there, which shouldn’t have surprised me, given the hour, and the lights were off. I tried the handle, but the door didn’t move. “It’s locked,” I said, my shoulders dropping.

Micah tried the door and it opened easily. He smiled. “Not anymore.”

“This is breaking and entering.”

“Do you want the book or not?”

I really did. And I wasn’t sure I should check it out during regular hours, without arousing curiosity, especially with all eyes on me. If the talisman were stolen, I didn’t want to attract attention by having any interest in it. Especially now when my every move would no doubt be noticed by someone. “Fine,” I said as I stepped in. He followed and closed the door.

“What are you looking for?”

“Werewolves.” He raised an eyebrow at that, but didn’t make any retort. The room was massive. It looked a lot like a regular library with worn rugs over wooden floors and stacks beyond stacks of books, some of which looked ancient. It would take hours to search every one. Fortunately, I only had to find one section and I could only hope it was a small one. “Let’s split up. I’ll go this way. You go there. Shout if you find the werewolf bit.” I took off, checking the shelves for the small bronze disc that was printed with the sections. I found potions first, and moved past that to spellcraft, then onto dark magic, an area that chilled me to the bone. There were huge tomes on the fae, and others on mysticism. Vampires looked like a bundle of fun, but I moved past that, promising myself that I would spend more time here in the future. Towards the back of the room, I found the werewolf section, two rows running side-by-side, each one, six shelves deep. “Hey, Micah, I…” My voice trailed into a frightened squeak as a hand clamped over my mouth.

“Shh!” Micah whispered against my ear. “We are not alone.” He released my mouth, but remained close to my back.

“So?” I mouthed at him, but he held a finger to his lips and pointed in the direction of the doors. We held very still. Then I heard what he heard. Footsteps, at least two sets, moving towards the centre of the library, their conversation muffled. They must have entered shortly after us.

“What is it?” asked an annoyed male voice. “If you need to talk, do so now.”

“I thought I heard something,” replied a lighter, female one.

“It’s nothing. The building is old and creaks. What of the plan?”

Someone heaved a sigh. “We’ll try again tomorrow.”

“When?”

“After the ball.”

“It’s too risky.”

“Everyone will be preoccupied. It will be easy to take the shot,” the female argued.

“It could go wrong again.”

“It won’t. It will be enough to make sure everyone panics. And while they panic, we’ll win. You know we will.”

I edged closer, my hands holding onto the shelves for support. These people could be responsible for the attempt on Etoile‘s life, and I had to get a closer look at them. This might be the only lead we got. Even better, if I could catch Georgia in the act of plotting another shooting, I could warn someone. The very least my sudden popularity could avail me was to make someone at the Council listen to me.

“Etoile has too much…” the man began.

“Shh! Did you hear that?” the woman interrupted.

I stopped, and my heart thudded in my chest. Micah pointed at my shoes. They must have heard my heels against the floor. As carefully and quietly as I could, I slipped them off. The footsteps started to move and Micah grabbed my hand. With a tug, he pulled me after him. In a half crouch, we shuffled to the end of the row, rounding it and running for the dark shade of the rear corner. We melted into the shadows, keeping our bodies small. I thought about using magic to surround us in a protective bubble, but realised Micah had already thought of that and discounted it. Any magic might send out a trace to another witch, and the last thing we needed was to be discovered.

The footsteps stopped where we were standing. Then the second pair joined them. A flash of illumination lit the alley between the shelving, but try as I might to see through, the books were crammed too tightly together. I saw nothing more than a long, black dress and there were an awful lot of those at the party.

“Like I said, it’s nothing,” said the man.

“Let’s go. The librarian might come back. We’ll find another place to talk.” The light disappeared. The footsteps receded and they spoke no more. Moments later, the door clicked shut.

“We should leave too,” whispered Micah, his voice heavy with concern.

“I need to get the book.”

“Forget the book.”

“Please?” I turned my imploring eyes on him. “I’m going to look for it.”

“Two minutes,” he said. “You’ve got two minutes, then I’m finding a way out. I do not want to be discovered here.”

I skimmed the books quickly. I could have used a simple finding spell, but like before, I didn’t want to leave any trace of my presence, even if it were a metaphysical one. On the second shelf down, I found what I needed.
Symbolism and Artefacts of the Werewolf.
I opened it, letting the leaves fall as images flashed before me, until I spied the one I needed.

“Bedtime reading?” asked Micah.

“I wish. Let’s get out of here.”

He jabbed a finger at the door. “I sense no one on this floor. We are safe to leave. We will take the stairwell. You will return to the party for thirty minutes then meet me in the lobby downstairs,” he instructed. He held his hand out for the book. “It won’t fit in your little bag.”

“This is stealing.”

“Stealing is the least of your problems,” he said, reminding me of what we just heard.

“I guess I can bring it back.” I handed it to him. “Did you see who they were?”

“No.”

“Neither did I. I thought it was Georgia, but I’m not certain.”

“This is worrying. But it’s not as worrying as the trouble I’ll be in if you get into anymore trouble. Let’s go.” He held his free hand out to me. “This job is more interesting than I thought guarding you would be. Don’t give me the slip again. You’re fun when you put your mind to breaking and entering, and stealing.”

I couldn’t help smiling at his odd praise. “Thanks. I can’t think of a better partner in crime.”

Micah beamed at me.

TEN

“Stella! Ten minutes!”

I looked up from the big book Micah and I had “borrowed” from the library the previous evening and towards the door at Etoile‘s call. Lost in reading, I never noticed the time slipping past. I looked down at my jeans and sweater, and I knew my appearance wouldn’t cut it at the official Council forum where the candidates were going to be announced. I most certainly wouldn’t look the part to go to the ball afterwards, where all the other races would be gathering in honour of the big event.

Kitty stuck her head inside the room, eyed my outfit and glanced backwards. “She’s almost dressed,” she lied before slipping inside. “What are you doing?” she squeaked as she pressed the door closed and waved a hand at my appearance. “Etoile has been ready for an hour.”

“I got lost in reading.”

“No excuses,” she snipped as she opened my suitcase, rifling through it. “I’ll help. What did you plan to wear?”

“The same skirt as yesterday, but with a different top,” I told her and Kitty gave me a disgusted look. “What?”

“Are you serious? You can’t wear the same thing twice.”

“Why not?”

“Etoile will pitch a fit, for one. And this is a fancy pants thing. Didn’t Etoile tell you?”

“She said dress up. I brought dress-up clothes!”

“Clearly, not enough,” said Kitty, as she finished her search through my clothing. “Wait here. I’ll see what Etoile has.”

“Nothing of hers will fit me. She’s taller than I am. And skinnier,” I added with a pout.

“Barely. Maybe she has something short.” Kitty wrinkled her nose in thought and seemed to be mentally dressing me. “I knew I should have insisted you go shopping before this gala event.”

“I thought I’d have a chance to shop here if I needed to; then I got indicted!”

“Yeah, bad luck. Just wait here, okay?” She swept out of my room with the air of a stage manager whose star was sabotaging the show. I heard her tell Etoile that I ripped my dress, along with Etoile‘s subsequent sigh. Shutting the book, I stuffed it into my suitcase and waited for Kitty to return. A couple of minutes later, she banged back into the room, a swathe of gold silk thrown over her arm. She held it up and the material pooled in a long column. “This is perfect! And look, it still has tags!”

“It’s kind of revealing,” I said, scrutinising the draping cowl neck and crossed silk straps of the otherwise exposed back. Where it lacked material up top, it compensated for in a sweeping skirt.

“I think that’s the point. If you put on yesterday’s heels, you’ll be tall enough to wear it.”

“My feet hate those heels.”

“Wear. The. Dress.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I took the dress, and with a pout, carried it into the bathroom to try on. At least, I had already showered and my hair would be fine hanging unadorned. I stepped out of my clothes and pulled on the dress, looking at myself in the mirror. The cowl neck draped lower than it appeared, but in an elegant fashion. As I twirled to check the back, I noticed it also revealed a lot of skin. However, the cut was deeply flattering, and it accentuated my waist into an hourglass. It also showed my toned arms, which I credited to my frequent runs. I had never worn anything sexier. I gave another little twirl and tried a smile. I imagined wearing it with a flak jacket over the top, then reminded myself that Etoile knew about the conversation Micah and I overheard. Consequently, she conferred with the Council and requested extra precautions for tonight. Looking at the price tag, I winced. I doubted very much that she would want me to get this dress dirty.

“So?” I asked when I stepped into the bedroom.

“Va-va-voom, baby!” Kitty whistled as she held up a jacket. “I found this to go with it. You can make it a little more formal for the meeting. Etoile says you can borrow them both.”

A rap sounded on the door again. “Please tell me you’re ready,” called Etoile. “I have a car in ten minutes.”

“Almost,” I replied. “Just putting my heels on.”

Etoile muttered something that I didn’t hear, and probably didn’t want to, but Kitty laughed. “I’ve never seen her so frantic.”

“Are you sure you want to come?” I asked her. She wore a little back dress with a beaded neckline and swept her hair into a messy bun.

“Yes! I wouldn’t miss this. My first Summit! It’s exciting, only…” I waited. Kitty flopped onto my bed and played with her bracelet. “I just hope no one gets hurt,” she finished.

“Etoile said she made precautions. Plus, the Council promised to post extra guards.”

“All the same. You, me and Etoile, let’s come home safe, okay?”

“Okay,” I agreed. I leaned over to fasten my heels, glad for the extra height that would spare me from tripping on the hem.

“I have an interview tomorrow,” Kitty said softly. “I was going to turn it down, then I got the summons and it seemed to make sense to stay and take it.”

I glanced upwards and flashed her a smile that alleviated the worried look on her face. “I’m so pleased for you. I didn’t know you applied for anything here.”

“It was one of those ‘I’ll never get it so why the hell not’ things,” Kitty explained.

“Someone has to get it, why not you?”

“Because that would mean leaving Wilding.”

“And Ryan?” I asked, taking the jacket from her and slipping my arms into the sleeves. It was a little snug, but it would do. I stood and buttoned it, smoothing the fabric as I looked in the mirror. The matching gold stripes on the faux pockets ensured the ensemble looked smart and elegant. Not for the first time, I admired Etoile‘s excellent taste. I snapped off the tags and laid them on the bed.

“I like him a lot, but it’s not that far. We could always visit each other.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter until I have to make a decision.”

“Good luck. You won’t need it. You know you’re good at what you do.”

“Bringing the sun out and making people shine?” Kitty withdrew a tube of lip gloss and swiped on another layer.

“Exactly.”

“Two minutes,” called Etoile.

“Makeup,” I yelled back.

“I’ll miss this,” said Kitty. “I’ll miss this most of all if I go.”

I knew exactly what she meant and it hit me that if Etoile stayed behind for the Council and Kitty got the job, I would be without them for the first time in a very, very long time. But I couldn’t think about myself. I had to think of my friends and supporting them in what I hoped would be best for them. Like Kitty said, visiting wouldn’t be hard. Maybe they would vacation with me?

“It’ll be okay,” I assured her. “Everything is going to be just fine.”

“Yeah,” agreed Kitty, her voice as flat as mine as she pulled out brushes, powders and tools. She gave me a bright smile. “Everything is going to be just fine,” she echoed, as she began to make up my face.

~

The last time I was at a formal meeting of the Council — having discounted the previous night’s party and the trial — I’d been paraded around as the “last English witch” by the former leader. That was right before his wife attempted to decapitate me with a magical missile. Fun times, but no nostalgia there.