Authors: Brenda Drake
Chapter Twenty-One
I
had to get some space, so I marched over to a vacant corner of the room. Lei and Afton came after me.
“He can’t be my betrothed. He’s a wizard.”
Lei adjusted her belt. “Sentinels are betrothed only to wizards. Your bloodline determines what wizard level your husband is chosen from.”
Afton laced her arm through mine. “This is so antiquated. But, hey, the boy is smoldering. I say go for it.”
Bastien stopped in front of us. “You don’t have to fear me, Gianna.”
“It’s Gia,” I snapped. “And I don’t. Fear you, I mean.” I spotted Arik heading toward us. He looked as stunned as I felt.
“You better back down, Renard,” Arik said.
“Don’t push me, Sentinel. I wouldn’t harm my betrothed.”
“She’s just a girl,” Pop said, coming up to us. “She’s no one’s betrothed.”
“Who are you?” Bastien asked.
“I’m her father.”
“Well, she was promised to me,” Bastien said and squared his shoulders. The angles of his chiseled face made every tilt of his head amazing. “It was a promise made between the High Wizards of Asile and Couve.”
The way he scrutinized me made me a little dizzy but I ignored it. This was beyond crazy. No way was I going to feel anything toward some guy they’d force me to marry. “I’m sorry,” I said. “But I don’t care about a promise between people I don’t even know.”
“Come with me.” Arik took my hand, and, still flustered, I let him lead me to the nearest room. “Listen, Gia, we haven’t time for this. We’ll deal with this later.”
I nodded.
“Bastien, bring your Sentinels,” Arik called over his shoulder. “We’ll do the truth globes in here.” He dragged two chairs together and motioned me to take one.
After I’d finished with the French Sentinels and their alliance with Asile was verified, Bastien sat down to have me verify his. Everything about him suggested royalty. I kept my focus on the globe, trying to ignore the intense vibe coming from him. He passed, and I was eager to get some distance between us. But he just sat there, not moving, staring at me with those eyes that held so much depth it was like falling into the ocean.
“You should be proud being betrothed to me,” he finally said. “One day I’ll be the high wizard of Couve and you’d be like a queen.”
I adjusted uneasily in my chair. “What if you hadn’t found me? Isn’t there a runner up or something? I’m happy to give her my spot.”
Amusement played on his face. “If you’re trying to dissuade me, you’re doing a horrible job.”
“I take it you’re not used to rejection,” I said.
He lifted a smile. “I’ll admit it’s a rare occurrence.”
Arik took a step toward us. “All right, we’re finished here.”
Bastien stood and leaned over to my ear. “You not wanting nobility intrigues me. I’m curious to learn more about you, Gianna.” His whisper tickled my neck and sent a shiver down my back. I held my breath, every inch of my body at attention. He straightened, gave me a wink, and swaggered to the door with Arik on his heels.
Holy crap.
I felt like I’d just melted in my chair
.
The boy was definitely confident, maybe on the side of arrogant, but something about him made me want to know more, too.
Arik glanced back and caught me watching Bastien’s retreat. I dropped my gaze and played with the fraying hole in my jeans. The look on his face was somewhere between disappointment and anger. But why? He’d made it clear there could never be anything romantic between us.
Alone with the familiar smells of the library, I shut my eyes and inhaled the musty scent of old books. Sitting in the middle of history with the scent of aged leather and floor polish teasing my nose, I began to relax.
“Well, did they pass?” Lei entered the room. “Arik won’t say. For some reason he’s all puffed up like a blowfish, brooding.”
I lifted my heavy head. “Yeah, they did.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m just a little weak. We haven’t eaten in a while. I’ll be fine in a moment.”
Lei crossed the room, pulling a power bar from a side pocket in her cargo pants. “Sorry it’s a bit squishy, but it’s food.”
“Thanks.”
Lei pulled out another flattened bar, and we ate in silence. When she was finished, she extended her hand to me. “Come on, let’s join the others.”
“Yeah, okay.” I grasped her hand and let her pull me up.
“This whole business about betrothals is a bother, isn’t it?”
“It’s pretty stupid, if you ask me.” I curled my hand into a fist. “There’s no way someone else is going to pick who I marry.”
“I’m not certain the Wizard Council realizes what one will risk for love.” A sadness hinted on her face before she forced a smile. “On the upside, you could do worse. Most girls would think they won the betrothal lottery with Bastien.” She headed back to the door, flinging her wrapper in a nearby trashcan.
I stopped. “Who’s Arik’s betrothed?”
She turned around, raising a curious eyebrow at me. “You’re still pining for him, huh? She’s a mage in Esteril. A very wholesome girl.”
Blood rushed to my face. “I’m not
pining
for him.”
“All right, Ducky, and I’ll pretend to believe you.”
“What about you?” I challenged her. “Can you give up true love for your betrothed?”
She shrugged.
“I bet you like the silent, strong type,” I teased her. “Say, with an East Indian flare.”
“I gather you’ve figured out Kale and I fancy each other.” A mischievous smile crossed over her lips. “And no, I can’t imagine being with anyone else.”
I dumped my wrapper in the trashcan and followed her out of the room. Everyone’s attention was on us when we walked into the lobby.
“We have a few from the human world with us,” Arik was saying to Bastien when we joined them. “I must get them to the shelter.”
“I think we should go to Couve first,” Bastien said. “If my brother is Veronique’s lover, I fear for my Haven. With our Sentinels gone, my people are vulnerable. If your Sentinels come with me, I will send one of mine to take the humans to the shelter.”
“That will do,” Arik said.
Bastien spoke to his Sentinels in a hushed voice. I couldn’t make out anything he said.
Arik came over to us. “Jaran, I want you to go with Mr. Kearns, Deidre, Afton, and Nick to the shelter. The rest of you will come with me to Couve.”
“What’s Couve?” Nick asked.
“The French Haven,” Lei answered.
Pop rested his hand on my cheek. “Promise me you’ll be careful.”
I rested my hand on his. “I promise.”
“I’m not ignorant, you know?” He smiled. “I knew there was something different about your mother. I felt there was something more to my mother. And I’m sure there is something magical about you. It’s hard to let go. Let you be who you’re meant to be…but I know I must.” The tears in his eyes mirrored mine.
Deidre stepped forward. “I’ve been trained to fight. I should go, as well.”
Sinead’s head snapped in Deidre’s direction. “No. You must go to the shelter and help Jaran protect the others.”
It was so weird having Deidre around. It was as if I was watching and hearing myself.
Deidre scowled. “As you wish, Mother.”
Jeez, I would have begged and protested longer before giving up. Watching Deidre give in to Sinead’s magic without putting up a good argument made me feel guilty about all the times I pestered Pop until he’d given in to my requests. A headache was building behind my eyes and I rubbed my temples.
Bastien was at my side in a flash. “If you aren’t well, I’ll aid you through the gateway.”
“No, that’s okay,” I protested. “I can jump by myself.”
Arik leaned against a wall across the room, eyeing us with a scowl. He angrily unhitched himself from the wall. “Let’s get this over with,” he said then jumped into the open gateway book on a nearby table.
One by one, the Sentinels jumped into the photograph of France’s Senate Library. Before I jumped in, Bastien wrapped his arms around my waist, tugging me into the page with him.
“Let go of me!” I yelled.
His grip tightened. “It’ll throw us off balance.”
“You’re really something, you know that?”
“I’m pleased you finally realize that.” His breath puffed against my neck and my stomach twisted. We fell in silence for several minutes, until we landed in the middle of a battle.
Colored globes flew by like paintballs in an arena, smashing against walls and shields, bursting into flames, shooting whips of light, and blowing gusts of wind. Lashing swords, explosions, grunts, and yells echoed around the room. A French Sentinel fought off a hairy eight-armed man near us.
Across the room, Arik battled a hound, just like the one that had attacked Nick, Afton, and me in the Paris Library. Arik darted and rolled away from the beast. The hound charged him. A fire globe burst to life on his palm and he manipulated it into a fiery whip, snapping it at the hound until it backed away. Once the hound was in range, Kale stabbed it with his sword.
To my right, Demos held tight to a rolling track ladder with his sword extended, speeding across a bookcase toward a Writhe who was climbing the shelves. The track ladder stopped violently, and he swung his sword at what I recognized from the books as a Writhe. The blow fell short, hitting a shelf.
The Writhe soared to the floor, swinging a spiked mace. Demos shrugged with a cocky snicker and slid down the ladder, his sword meeting the Writhe’s mace at the chain. The chain broke and the spiked-ball fell to the floor. The Writhe and Demos stared at the decapitated mace.
Thick veins branched across the Writhe’s pale bald head like raised roots of a tree. The frozen expression on his face reminded me of a theatre tragedy mask. When the spell of the murdered mace wore off, Demos and the Writhe resumed their battle dance. The Writhe contorted his body away from Demos’s sword, twisting and bending in different directions to avoid each blow. Demos chased him down an aisle of bookcases.
A Laniar sprinted on all fours and attacked a hairless creature with an oversized head, a spindly body, and tons of teeth heading for Arik. The creature whipped its tail at the Laniar, who clawed the demon with its sharp nails, then latched onto the creature’s throat with its canines. Dark blood sprayed down the Laniar’s pale chin.
I choked on a gasp and spun away.
Oh my God.
A wave of nausea swooshed through my stomach. Everything was in fast motion around me, I couldn’t move.
In the middle of the room, Lei and Kale stood back-to-back, throwing globes at their adversaries. Lei hit three Writhes at once with a lightning globe, while Kale stunned a charging man shrouded in a cape. There were several cloaked men, their faces hidden in the shadows of their hoods, battling the other French Sentinels. I spotted Sinead fighting one, the hood slipping off and exposing the woman underneath.
Veronique.
How did she get out of Asile?
Just as Bastien shoved me to the floor, a purple globe whizzed by my head and hit him. My helmet flew from my hand and rolled across the floor. Bastien slumped to the ground, and I scrambled to him. Though his body was immobile, he breathed. The stun globe had hit him.
On the floor, Bastien struggled to breathe.
Kale. He can help.
I searched the room for him. A small man in a colorful suit—a typical Napoleon Bonaparte type—bounded in my direction. Lightning flashed between his hands, and by the fix of his eyes, he planned to send it my way.
Panic surged through me, and I threw up my hands as if I could block the man’s attack. A pink globe sprouted and engulfed Bastien and me. The man slid to a stop in front of the globe.
He titled his head to the side and cracked his neck, bouncing the electric currents between his hands. A wicked smile played on his lips. “Well, well, Agnost’s prophesized child. Impressive, Gianna. You may be of use, after all.”
Put on a brave face. You can’t let him know you’re afraid.
“Conemar,” I sneered.
“I see my reputation precedes me.” His lips twisted into a smirk. “Your great-grandfather refused me. That is why I put my knife between his ribs. You would be smart to give up now.”
He touched the pink membrane separating us and closed his eyes. A force pushed against the globe. I gritted my teeth, willing the globe to hold. After a while, he removed his hand.
“Good girl. This globe is strong. I’ve never seen one grow like this before,” he said, running his hand across the outside as though he was searching for a weak spot. His gaze landed on Bastien. “Poor Bastien, shall I tell him I just killed his father, or do you want the honor if he wakes up?”
I glanced down at Bastien, still stunned on the floor. His gaze was frozen on the ceiling, and tears slid down his temples. My heart twisted, knowing Bastien had heard Conemar’s confession.
There was a
plunk
. Conemar had punched his arm through the globe, and his meaty hand clamped my throat.
“Your globe is easily breached. You must learn to master it.”
I gagged against his tight grip. Lights flickered across my vision and I turned faint. I focused on a pulsing sensation deep inside me. It had to be where the globe originated. I put all my will into pushing that feeling out, thinking only of strengthening the globe.
Conemar’s grip loosened as the pink membrane strangled his wrist. “You can’t win,” he hissed. “Drop the globe. Join me and your friends won’t die. Think of the power we’ll have by controlling the Tetrad. Whatever you want will be yours. Where’s the chart, Gianna?”
“Chart?” I croaked.
“The poem with clues to finding each Chiave.” He placed his other hand on the globe and pushed harder. “It is said only the presaged can find the Chiavi. A charm on the chart would locate you the moment you entered Asile.”
“What are you talking about?” The pink sphere rippled under his effort. “You’re fricking crazy. I haven’t seen any damn chart.” But the image of the book
The Invisible Places
by Gian Bianchi flashed in my mind. The scribbling on the first page was a poem. Professor Attwood had given it to me the first day I was in Asile—it did find me, so to speak. It had to be the chart.