Chapter 308: Finding Sebastian
They argued. They shouted, listed the reasons why this was a very bad idea. But in the end, I won. Because they knew I was right.
With Sebastian on our side, Mom would be home free.
She was worth the risk.
I sat in Quaid's lap again, feet swinging, feeling his breath on my neck as he bent to press his lips to my cheek. The connection of our power was instant and full of fire, but I didn't have time for it at the moment and, to his credit, he pulled away with a sigh, clearly understanding it too.
"We need him," I said, though I inwardly shuddered at the thought of the blood clan leader. The last time I'd seen him, he was a shining star, an angel of death, the most horrible and beautiful thing I'd ever laid eyes on. Already devastatingly attractive, the vampire virus he'd ingested, taken from those of his clan who had fed on Cesard before he died, turned Sebastian into some kind of super vampire, an incarnation of what his kind was meant to be. The former Firblog magician, host to the vampire virus and a banished demon named Torsh, threatened Wilding Springs and everyone in it-human, witch and vampire. Once I'd banished Cesard's demon possessor back to Demonicon, it was Sebastian and his vampires who removed enough of the living infection from Cesard to allow him to die in peace.
If the virus escaped the ancient magician long ago and infected the vampire race further, who knows if normals would have been the ones to dominate the population?
Sunny crossed her arms over her chest, biting her lower lip, flashing a little fang in the process. "We do," she said. "Without him, Batsheva might be able to take action against the vampires. Even with him, we have no idea of her ultimate plan." She tapped her fingertips against the table top. "Syd, you don't really think she'll just abandon this attack against Miriam if Sebastian tells her to?"
I shrugged. "She said she would. In front of everyone." I had to believe.
"I agree with Syd." Sassafras paused in his face washing to fix his amber eyes on her. "We must do everything in our power to stop Batsheva, even if it means risking finding Sebastian. She wants it all. Every scrap of power, every kind imaginable. And she wants, more than anything, to see Miriam suffer as much as possible right up until the moment Batsheva kills her." He set down his left paw and began with his right, stroking it over his ear after a couple of licks, inner lid sliding over the glow of his gaze. "Her jealousy of your mother runs deep, since they were girls in this very coven together. Batsheva has always had a nasty streak, but her years of envy have turned her heart purely evil."
No one said anything for a moment. We simply watched him, his movements hypnotic, adorable even. I finally reached forward and took his chin in my hand, turning his face toward me.
"Won't she be surprised, then," I said, "when Mom kills her ass first."
Sassafras winked. "If one of us doesn't get to her before Miriam does."
A round of laughs. Good to hear. Even Charlotte and her friends were grinning.
"The other side of this," I said, "is Sebastian's very talented brain. He's brilliant, after all. Maybe there's something he can think of that will help even if Batsheva manages to get around her promise. But I really think, no matter what the consequences, we need to bring him back."
"If we can even find him." Sunny sighed, rubbing her eyes with her hands. "I've been looking, Syd. He made me swear not to, but I couldn't just leave him out there, alone."
"What do we do if we can track him down?" Uncle Frank slid his arm around Sunny's shoulders. "He still has the virus inside him. There's a good reason he's not here anymore, Syd. Remember?"
Again my mind went back to the handsome vampire and again I shuddered inwardly. "I owe it to him," I said. "He doesn't deserve to live like that." I looked up and met Sunny's eyes. "He needs his clan."
She smiled, gently, with great tenderness, crystal tears rising in her eyes. "You have an idea?"
I shrugged. "Maybe. We'll see. But we have to find him first in any case."
"I still think this is a bad idea." Quaid shifted under me. "But if we have to do it, we do it. But you're staying here."
He said what? Good thing I wasn't alone in my head. I was so floored by his absolute nerve I couldn't speak.
Hush, boy. Gram's mental voice snapped like a whip, making Quaid jump. Everyone at the table looked suddenly startled, Sassafras leaping up and yowling, fur standing on end. The three werewolves moaned softly, shaking their heads. I happen to agree with my granddaughter. She's going. You're not. Suck it up.
Quaid twitched under me. I cupped his face in my hands, letting my magic envelop him.
Trust me.
He stilled before his tension drained away. I do.
Nice to hear from you so soon, Mom. Uncle Frank's mental voice was chilly to say the very least. I felt like I had icicles growing in my head.
Gram's power smacked him gently. I'd have thought you got the hint I didn't want you to find me, silly boy. Her magic hugged him then. Sunny, child, how do you put up with him?
Sunny's mental laugh thawed the ice age and brought the sun back. He has his moments.
Only Gram would call a centuries-old vampire a child.
Listen up, all of you. Gram's power grasped us in a surge of magic and gripped us in a vice. Sebastian may or may not be the key to this. I've been looking for a way to break up the trial, and Batsheva has handed us an excuse to put an end to it. Even if she reneges on her promise, and we all know what a Moromond promise is worth, maybe we can use his influence with the other blood clans to force the witches out.
Those are a lot of maybes, could happens and ifs, Mom. Uncle Frank's tone was light so I knew he'd forgiven her.
I didn't say it was perfect, she sent. I just said it's worth it to find out. Her magic jabbed into me and from the tightness of the connection, I knew she shared her next thought with only my mind. Well done, sister soul. I considered Sebastian, but didn't think he could be saved. Can you do it?
If I can find him, I think so. She felt my hesitation and the gist of my plan and shrugged off my worries.
I'll work or it won't. Either way, we'll have an answer.
I just hoped getting the answer wouldn't cost us more than we could pay.
"I can distract the Enforcers," Charlotte said out loud. It felt weird to hear her speak. Her two friends nodded as well.
"I'll help." Quaid made a funny face, lips crooked. "Since I've been told to mind my own damned business."
You're learning, Gram sent, but her tone was gentle. Never get in the way of a Hayle witch, especially a Hayle coven leader, when she has a job to do.
Noted. Quaid touched my hair. I guess I have a lot of things to get used to. He frowned a little, but his magic was as loving as ever so I didn't say anything.
He could worry all he wanted. But I could pretty much promise him it wouldn't be nearly as much as I did.
Charlotte was on her feet, moving toward the door. I stood up, pulling away from Quaid. He actually looked startled.
"What, now?" The vampires both nodded as Quaid's face settled into resolve. "Right. We're kind of on a time limit, aren't we?"
"We have all night," I said, "but if we're going to do it, let's do it." I was tired of waiting, of holding back. This at least was something I could act on. I turned to Charlotte. "Give me five minutes to change."
She nodded and slipped out the door, her friends behind her. Quaid paused, bent over me. His kiss was brief, but it was enough. The love he sent me through that one touch filled my heart and made me light headed.
It was hard to see him go. Even more so when I realized two vampires and a demon cat were grinning at me.
Like I needed an audience.
Three minutes later I zipped up the front of my jacket, bending over the sleeping form of my sister. Meira was so peaceful I didn't want to wake her. Sassafras jumped up on the bed, padding his fat cat body toward her. I watched him curl up on her pillow, felt his power reach out and seal them together.
I'll keep her safe, he sent. You see you do the same for yourself.
I kissed his soft, furry forehead before pressing my lips to Meira's cheek.
See you soon.
The vampires were waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs.
"Back door will be best, I'm thinking." Sunny shook her head. "I just wish I knew where to look. He's totally cut himself off from us. So much I can't even feel him anymore."
Her words triggered a memory. Uncle Frank nodded even as my mind clicked the puzzle pieces together.
"I think I know where he's hiding," he said.
"The cave." It made perfect sense. Sunny's eyes flew wide.
"Of course." It's an interesting thing, watching a vampire blush. There's a glow to it from their white power that made her look absolutely adorable. "I'm a fool."
"No," Uncle Frank said, "you've been focused on taking care of the clan. Meanwhile, I've been chasing all over the countryside looking for Mom. With lots of time on my hands to think."
"But the cave was sealed with witch magic." Sunny frowned a little. "Would he be able to break the wards?"
I shrugged. "You felt how powerful he was," I said. "It wouldn't surprise me."
I felt the werewolves shift as Charlotte shared the experience with me, their bodies morphing from human to half wolf. I'd never touched anything like it before and realized Charlotte was letting me inside something intensely personal. Neither of the vampires seemed to notice so I figured it was for my consumption only.
We're ready. Charlotte's mental voice was more harshly accented than her speaking one. She sounded almost guttural and I could only speculate it was the werewolf wakened in her.
"The weres are acting," I said just as Quaid's power surged somewhere down the street, striking out at the house. Three howls followed. I slid my power through the wards and watched as two of the Enforcers went to investigate.
"One left." I eased through the back door and into the yard, the vampires right behind me. "You two head out," I whispered. "I have my own means."
Sunny winked while Uncle Frank frowned, but the two of them flickered into shadow and vanished.
I'd tried before to jump into the veil, ride it from inside the house. While I was able to access it no problem, something about the family magic kept me from moving forward. Which meant I was forced to go outside.
I snuck across the lawn to the opposite side of the house from the driveway and the disturbance Quaid and the werewolves were raising. A peek around the corner and a whisper of questing power told me the third guard wasn't paying attention at all, too focused on what his friends were doing. I scowled to myself, knowing then the Dumonts could have attacked me without the Enforcers who were supposedly there to protect me even having a clue I was in trouble.
That raised a lot of confidence. Before I left, my mind remembering the fire threat, I whispered a water spell around the perimeter and sealed it with earth magic. While it wasn't foolproof against attack, it would drench whoever tried to break in before sucking them down into the ground. A witch would be able to break free eventually, but I was hoping if someone did approach, I'd be able to get back in time to heap some serious unhappiness on their ass.
The moment I set foot on the sidewalk, clear of the family shields, I slid into the veil and headed for the cave. My demon hummed happily, sliding us across the thick, rubbery membrane, her magic propelling us at an incredible speed I couldn't feel, cushioned by the veil. It was only a matter of seconds before I shot out of the edge, running for the cave entrance and the two vampires who were only then flickering back into corporeal form.
"Nice." Uncle Frank high fived me. "How?"
I grinned, the experience, as always, leaving me fiercely joyful. "Ask me when this is over. I might even take you for a ride."
He winked his good eye, smiling back. It had taken time, but the sweet man my uncle used to be seemed to be winning past the angry, hurt vampire he'd become.
I didn't know about Sunny, but I'd take it.
No time for idle chit-chat. I stepped forward, swiping with magic at the heavy growth of vegetation hiding the entrance. Someone planted earth magic deep beneath the ground to encourage the plants to grow thick and tall. I recognized the feeling of Mom's power and had a moment of intense sadness.
Find him, Gram sent, breaking the emotion, and you could save her. Remember that.
Right. I shook my head, blinking back welling tears and pressed my hands against the stone sealing the cave.
"The wards are broken." Relief surged. "The witch shields are gone." I dug a little deeper, moved past the stone and, on the immediate other side, ran into a shining white barrier. "He's here." I turned to the vampires. "He's sealed it up from the inside."
Sunny joined me, her magic following mine. "Yes," she smiled suddenly. "It's Sebastian's power. Even tainted by the virus, I know his energy."
"Can you break it?" Uncle Frank's magic joined ours.
"Yes, of course." Sunny grasped onto both of us. And gasped. "Oh my very dear," she whispered. "My poor Sebastian. He's not sealed it against us coming in."
I felt it then, what she meant. How the outside of the shield was pitted in places, weak. Bu the further into it we went, the more powerful it became.
He'd sealed it so he could never escape.
Sunny's magic dissolved it easily, the ward collapsing in on itself with a gentle outside push. "Maybe he hoped we'd find him and save him someday," she said, wiping tears from her cheeks. Uncle Frank hugged her gently.
"Maybe," he said. "For better or worse, that's exactly what we're here to do."
There was no time to second guess or let myself freak out with the thought I was wrong, so wrong and what the hell was I thinking? Shaylee's earth magic reached out as if she acted on her own, sliding the big rock out of the way, exposing the dark tunnel beyond.
I choked on a whiff of old, dying air, knew whatever we found in the cavern was bound to be horrible. Took the first step, then the second, as my magic dulled, elemental power shut off by the wards meant to hold the creature Cesard had become when trapped here, now Sebastian's prison. I was startled to find them restored. I'd shattered them, using Torsh's magic to do so, when I'd tricked the banished demon with a God complex to lend me his power. Only then had I been able to reach Demonicon and Dad, suffering a slight elevation of my own self-worth in the process. Good thing I had my demon to keep me in line or I might have become as bad as Torsh.
Now, as I stood there and felt around, I realized someone restored the wards to their previous power.
There was nothing I could do about it. I had to act. I moved further ahead and didn't look back.
Mom's need or not, it was the least I could do for a friend.
***
