Chapter 671: Help From Ahbi
I walked back down the hall to the bedroom I'd found, grateful Raoul was long gone. The door snicked shut behind me as I used a little magic to lock it.
Reasonably sure now I wouldn't be disturbed, I reached for the veil and tore it open. Ahbi's power poured out toward me, my demon grandmother's spirit now part of the Node keeping Demonicon's multiple planes stable. I held back as she tried to draw me into the veil, instead allowing my demon ego to connect with her.
"Grandmother." I felt her power ripple, pause, listen. "I need a favor."
Her magic shuddered, hugged me.
"My friend Charlotte has been kidnapped." I let Ahbi feel Charlotte as a reminder, but she shoved that aside with impatience. Okay then, she got the message, knew exactly who I was talking about. The flashing image of my werefriend as a freaky creature with black scales and oddly jointed legs made me shudder. "Right," I said. "Exactly."
Her magic prodded me, now impatient. Nice to know some things never changed. Ahbi Sanghamitra had been powerful and commanding in life and was no different now only her spirit survived. Though I kind of loved her this way, to my delight.
Weird to prefer my demon grandmother dead to alive?
Tell me about it.
"I need to see where she is before I go to her so I know if it's safe to rescue her."
Ahbi's magic seemed to mull that over. I traced the path Isabelle showed me, sharing it with her, all the way to the black zone. Ahbi's magic balked, angry.
"I know," I said, feeling a little self-conscious about talking to her out loud, not sure why I didn't just speak mentally like I did with others. As odd as it was, it somehow felt comforting to use my physical voice with her. "But I have sorcery, remember?" I opened the blossom of darkness beneath me. She felt it, shivered back from it. "I think I can link you to it, enough you can see through for me. But you can't tear the veil all the way on the other side. Just enough for a glimpse."
Siphon. Her voice whispered in my head.
Right. "I think I can keep it from taking any of your power," I said. "I know it means risking the Node's balance, but it could also mean the difference between war and peace on my end." I needed to get in and out fast, without being spotted, if this was to work. Of course, Applegate would know I was the one who rescued Charlotte, but she'd have no proof and neither would the Czar if I could nab the weregirl without being spotted.
At least, if this worked.
Ahbi's magic surged around me again. Try.
Awesome. The only real stumbling block to the plan had been Ahbi's agreement. Now I had it, I could see if my theory was correct.
I'd been riding the veil for years, going to and fro without really thinking about how it worked. When I'd gone after the Brotherhood the first time, I'd been able to use Demetrius's guidance to tell the veil where I wanted to go. But I'd always wondered if there were other uses.
Including spying. I hadn't had the opportunity or reason, until now, to give it a try. But as far as I could tell, my idea was sound. The veil opened on my end, carried me to my destination as it sealed behind me, then tore on the other end and let me out. So why couldn't I open two tears at once and have a look between them?
I was about to find out. From the curiosity in Ahbi's power, she hadn't thought of using the veil this way before either. Made me chuckle to myself. Had she, I was sure she'd have used it to her absolute advantage while she'd still been alive and Ruler of Demonicon.
Carefully, with my vampire, demon and Shaylee all forming a protective shield between my grandmother and my sorcery, I opened the tiniest sliver and linked her to my dark magic. For a moment, she shuddered, the tear in the veil wavering even as my sorcery surged, starving for what Ahbi and the Node had to offer. But the pressure of my other magicks held it back just enough Ahbi was able to latch on and complete the link.
I eased back, my egos, too, until the shielding was gone. Weird, having Ahbi's power pulse inside mine. I'd carried her soul for a while, back when she was first murdered by Ameline, but this was far different. She was connected to all the magic on Demonicon through the Node. And now, she had sorcery at her disposal.
I grinned at the thought of my grandmother's spirit now having access to the one power we all feared and hoped her brilliant mind, obviously still awake and aware, could somehow come up with the means to use that knowledge to our advantage.
Ahbi wasted no time, the glow of amber fire of the tear flashing with images. I held my breath, stomach clenched. This idea of mine was a long shot, but it looked like it just might work.
I gasped a deep breath of air as the flickering view solidified, firmed up.
And Charlotte appeared. The image was dull, dark, a narrow tunnel. Ahbi had to be keeping the tear on the other side to a minimum as requested, but I didn't expect it would take long for someone to notice, so we had to hurry.
A quick hug for Ahbi was returned as I forced myself to slow down, catch my breath as my heart pounded in relief.
"Can we have a look around her?" Ahbi was one step ahead of me, already panning the view even as I spoke. My werefriend sat in a cell, bars making her door, though she had a canopied bed and a tall, narrow window shrouded in a curtain, as though the Czar made some attempt to give her small comforts despite her captivity.
Sick bastard.
Charlotte was alone, eyes downcast. She didn't look up or take notice I was watching. Maybe for the best.
"Okay, Ahbi," I said. "Let me through."
I leaped into the veil, followed the set path and, within a heartbeat, stepped out of the tear on the other side and into Charlotte's cell.
She looked up, eyes huge as I quickly glanced around, the hole still open, waiting for our retreat. I grinned at my friend, holding out my hand to her even as I kept one foot inside the veil.
"Hey, Charlotte," I said. "Nice to see you. Coming?"
I watched the shock in her eyes turn to despair as she turned her head away.
"I can't," she whispered.
Holy. Freaking. Elements.
"Raoul is fine," I said, glancing out through the bars. Any second now someone could show up. We didn't have time to discuss this. "So you don't have to stay."
Charlotte didn't react, hugging herself, huddling into a small, compact heap.
"I know," she said, voice breaking.
My anger crackled around me, sparks falling to the stone floor as my frustration got the better of me. "Okay then," I said. "Get your ass over here and let's go."
A headshake. Was she kidding me here?
Damn it, I knew this might be a fight. But I didn't expect Charlotte to be an idiot.
"The bond is broken," she said, tears in her voice. "I failed you. I deserve what I get."
Choke. Splutter.
"I watched it happen," she went on, a thin wail rising through her words. "I felt you drift from me, further and further. Leaving me behind." She turned back, face a mask of grief, tears streaming down her face, so young looking, frail, beaten. "You don't need me and I failed you." Charlotte's hands shook as she held them out to me. "You were shot." She shuddered. "Shot. And I was too late, Syd, too late to protect you." Her accent thickened with her voice as she struggled to swallow. "This is all my fault, you almost died, my mother did, Danilo." She sobbed, a wrenching sound as though her insides were torn in half. "I failed all of you and I deserve what I get!"
I gaped at her, anger falling away. I'd never seen her so emotional. Hell, I rarely saw her crack a smile, as far as that went. Her wolf emerged, whining like a beaten puppy, only to retreat again as she clawed at the metal collar around her neck.
I didn't have time for her pity party. As hard as it was, I shoved aside my own emotions and reached out to her with my spirit magic, feeling along the edges of the collar.
It's keeping her from shifting, my vampire sent, sympathy aching inside me.
I think it's making her a dumbass, my demon snarled. Cut that thing loose and let's hit the road already.
"Charlotte." I left the edge of the veil, felt Ahbi reaching for me, anxious, trying to pull me back. "We have to go." Sigh. "We've been through so much. Don't quit on me now."
Her shoulders twitched, though her broken expression didn't change.
"Don't quit on your people." If I had to flog her with guilt to get her to act, I would.
Another twitch. She turned her head away. "They are better off without me."
"They beg to differ." What would it take? This wasn't my Charlotte. Maybe my demon was right. Maybe the collar was affecting her. After all, the Brotherhood were known for their subtle manipulations, weren't they? But when I let my vampire's magic try to sever the metal, Charlotte cried out and grasped at the collar again.
There has to be another way, my vampire sent. Your sorcery perhaps?
It will have to wait. Shaylee's concern cut through my emotions like a cold splash of water. Vibrations beneath us. Someone is coming.
Out of time.
"I'm not strong enough to lead them." Charlotte's self-flagellation was getting a little old, frankly. "I know that now."
"What the hell happened to the weregirl who didn't take crap from anyone?" I could feel the approaching feet now, thankful for Shaylee's early warning system. "They're coming for you, the family you seem to have written off, so you'd better be damned ready to fight."
Charlotte's head whipped around, desperate fear on her face. "No," she whispered. "They can't."
"Well, they are." I crossed my arms over my chest, forcing myself to calm despite the approaching feet. Which slowed. Stopped. Okay then. Luck was on our side. No clue how much time we had, but Charlotte better smarten the hell up or I was knocking her over the head and dragging her out of there.
Charlotte leaped to her feet and grabbed my arms in her hands, shaking me. "They can't," she sobbed. "Yure knows they are coming. He's ready for them."
Piers was in for more than he bargained for, then. I forced aside my need to warn him. I had to focus on Charlotte. But she clung to me, still shaking me, fingers digging into my bare flesh.
"Please." She fell to her knees at my feet. "Please, you have to stop them. He will kill them all."
"Charlotte," I said. "They aren't my problem." I reached for her as gently as I could. "You are."
She surged to her feet, face twisting in anger. Charlotte lunged for the bars, screaming at the top of her lungs in Ukrainian. I felt the shiver of the ground as the feet that approached doubled, tripled in number.
Out of time.
She spun on me, frantic. "Save them," she said.
Damn her. A flicker of motion around the far corner and I was sunk. Kicking myself for not just grabbing her when I had the chance, I ducked back into the veil and ran for the werewolves to warn them.
This was just not my night.
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