“You are a brooding, cocky asshole,” I retort. “And that was mild in comparison to you threatening to kill me.”
He steps toward me. “Well, you would’ve gotten yourself killed if I hadn’t.”
“I was never going to try and kill that vampire.” I inch forward until the tips of my clunky boots clip his. “I’d already bailed out on my plan before you came along.”
He laughs, shaking his head. “Bullshit. You were still thinking about it.”
“Maybe,” I say truthfully. “But I didn’t. You did.”
His tone drops, his low tone containing a warning. “I already told you it wasn’t me.”
“I know you did,” I say, blowing out a sigh. “Why are we even talking about this? It’s not even important right now.”
“I think he might just like to get you all worked up,” Oliver states, watching us with amusement. “In fact, I think he enjoys it a lot.”
Jax’s gaze darts to Oliver, his silver eyes shooting daggers.
Oliver simply laughs and sticks out a hand toward me. “I’m Oliver, by the way. Or Ollie, anyway. No one calls me Oliver except my parents.”
I take his hand and shake it. “It’s nice to meet you in person. When Jax said he had a friend, I honestly didn’t believe him at first. But here you are, living proof that Jax can actually make friends.”
“Alana,” Jax starts at the same time Ollie lets out a snort.
“I like her,” he declares to Jax, releasing my hand.
“I figured you would,” Jax mumbles then sighs heavily. “Look, I’d love to say I came here to hang out, but there’s some really important stuff I need to talk to you about.”
“I kind of figured that,” Ollie replies, his humor fading.
Jax’s brows draw together. “And why’s that?”
Ollie sweeps the flowery field and leafy trees enclosing his cottage with his gaze then steps aside and motions us to come in. “Come on in. We shouldn’t talk out here. Who knows who could be listening.”
Jax steps over the threshold without hesitating, and I do the same. Jax was right about holding off judgment of Ollie until I met him. I’m not getting a creepy, I’m-going-to-turn-you-into-my-puppet vibe from him. In fact, he seems like a really nice guy, and the inside of his house is wicked cool.
Not only does the living room have a mural of The Forest of Shadows and Bones, a ghostly forest located in Scotland, painted on the wall, but weapons are everywhere.
“Oh, my God, you have a Vanishing Blade,” I say excitedly as I spot a glinting silver sword mounted on his living room wall, along with a ton of other knives, daggers, and swords. “That’s so awesome.”
“It’s pretty cool.” He closes the front door and steps up beside me. “It’d be cooler if I actually could use them, but I’ve never been that great at using weapons. I’m more of a magic, spell, enchantment kind of guy.”
“Maybe I could teach you,” I offer. “I’m not fantastic or anything, but I’m not bad, either. And I had great teachers.”
Ollie offers me a strange look, and Jax intervenes.
“Alana’s parents are Keepers.” He moves to the other side of me, standing so close our arms brush.
“Really?” Ollie examines me with fascination. “You know, I’ve never met a Keeper before.”
I try not to frown at the reminder that I’m not a Keeper. The disappointment isn’t nearly as bad as when I first found out, though.
“Well, I’m not really a Keeper. I’ve just been trained by them and not fully trained, either.”
“It’s still pretty cool.” A thoughtful look crosses his face. “Maybe I’ll take you up on your offer to teach me.”
When I feel Jax stiffen beside me, I toss a glance over my shoulder.
“What’s the matter with you?” I mouth. He’s the one who told me I could trust Ollie.
The irritation in his eyes dwindles and is masked by coolness as he shrugs.
I shake my head. What a weirdo.
I return my attention to Ollie. “You know what, I’d love to teach you sometime.”
He smiles at that before his gaze travels to Jax. Then Ollie smashes his lips together.
“Okay, then,” Ollie says to no one in particular.
“Should we sit down and talk about some stuff?” Jax asks, sounding a bit peeved.
“Sure.” Ollie’s smile returns, bright and shiny like a glittery rainbow. “You guys sit down. I’m going to grab a couple of things.” He strides across the living room toward an arched doorway.
“Your house is still under the praesidium spell, right?” Jax shouts out after him.
Ollie pauses in the doorway and glances at Jax with uneasiness. “Yeah, and there’s praesidium all around the house, too, so you’re good to say whatever you need to.” His uneasiness vanishes. “Does anyone want a soda or something?”
“I’ll have a glass of water,” Jax says, plopping down onto a leather sofa.
“A soda sounds good to me,” I tell him with a gracious smile.
He smiles back at me before ducking through the doorway and stepping into the kitchen.
I join Jax on the sofa, keeping a marginal distance. “So, what’s up with you not wanting me to teach Ollie?”
He picks at a crack in the cushion. “I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to,” I tell him, resting my arm on the armrest. “Your brooding silence said it for you.”
He shifts his silvery eyes to me. “I just think that you two spending time together like that isn’t a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“Because I said so.”
“That’s not a very good reason,” I tell him. “In fact, it might be the worst reason ever.”
“Nah, I’ve heard worse.” He relaxes back and stretches his arm across the back of the sofa. “So, are you going to tell me what you saw?”
“You mean in the fey woman’s memories?” I ask, getting whiplash from the subject change.
He nods, his fingers brushing strands of my hair. “I want you to tell me as much as you can. Don’t push yourself or anything, though. I know it was hard on you when it happened.”
“But what did happen?” I ask aloud while internally wondering why the heck he’s touching my hair. “You said Ollie might be able to help us figure that out, but how?”
“I’ll explain when he gets back here.” Another comb of his fingers through my hair. What the bejesus is he doing? “But let’s start at the beginning when you first started seeing the fey’s memories. Or did it start before that?”
“It might have been before that.” I take a deep breath and prepare myself to relive the horror that happened on the field.
Chapter 12
I begin with the strange feeling I experienced in front of the school and keep going all the way until the part where the vampire was about to attack Adaliya. After that, I struggle, on the verge of tears as the fear and horror she felt when she died rise up inside me.
Jax remains quiet the entire time, and a tiny part of me worries he might think I’m insane.
“So, what do you think?” I ask after I’ve finished explaining everything.
“You want to know what I think?” Jax asks, but it’s more of a rhetorical question. He slants forward on the sofa and rests his head in his hands, massaging his scalp, making his light blond hair go all bedhead crazy. “I think we have a huge problem on our hands.”
“Because there’s about to be a huge battle between the fey and the vampires?”
“No … Well, that’s part of it. But I’m honestly not too concerned about that.”
“How can you not be concerned about that?” I ask with a dumbfounded shake of my head. “A battle is about to break out between two very powerful groups, and they could end up destroying the entire world.”
He raises his head and looks at me. “The battle’s not going to break out, because we’re going to do our job and make the proper arrests. The territory clan will be tried for th
eir crimes, and then the fey will no longer have a reason to start the battle.”
“You plan on tracking down and arresting an entire clan of vampires? A clan of vampires who came from experimental facilities?” I shake my head. “Jax, Jax, Jax, how have you survived for the last nineteen years?”
“I think you’re forgetting one important thing about me.” His eyes illuminate, glowing silver. “I’m not just a Guardian, Alana.” The glow in his eyes fades. “And vampires fear wolves.”
Okay, he has me there.
“All right, I’m sorry I doubted your capability,” I apologize, and his lips twitch with an impending smile. “So, we’re really doing this? We’re really going after the territory clan?” Hope sparkles inside me like a shiny new Foreseer ball. Do I really get to hunt the killers down?
“We’re not doing anything,” he stresses, dimming my hope into a tiny lightning bug. “I’m going after them.”
“Hey, I’m capable enough to at least help a little.”
“Capable, yes. But with what’s going on with you …” His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows hard. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to put yourself in danger, not until we can figure out what’s going on with you.”
“I might be able to help with that.” Ollie appears in the doorway, carrying a glass of water and two cans of Coke. “I’m sorry I was listening, but I walked in mid-conversation, and with how upset she was …” He walks farther into the room, glancing from me to Jax. “I figured it might be better if I listened so she didn’t have to repeat it.”
“It’s fine.” Jax reaches to take the glass of water from his hand. “So, you know what’s going on with her?”
“That all depends”—he hands me a can of soda—“on if she has the mark of a Necromancer.”
“That’s what you think’s going on with me?” Goose bumps sprout across my arms. “You think I can talk to and raise the dead?”
“That’s just a theory.” He takes a seat in the recliner across from the sofa and sets his soda on coffee table. “But, if you don’t have the mark, then it’s probably something else.”
“Like what?” I wonder. “What other things can communicate and see the thoughts of the dead?”
He shrugs. “I have no idea, but there are ways to find out.”
I tap the top of the can with my finger, pop the tab, and the soda inside bubbles. “What kind of ways?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Jax cuts in, setting his glass of water down on the coffee table.
“It was just a suggestion.” Ollie opens his soda, sits back on the recliner, and takes a sip. “But it would be a hell of a lot easier than going door to door, asking every Enchanter out there if they’ve heard of anything like this before.”
“Wait, he’s not talking about the Scrawl of Secrets, is he?” My gaze bounces back and forth between them. “But that seems a little risky, considering it’s locked up in Hushing Forest, which FYI, only pixies know where that is. Plus, it’s dangerous, so dangerous the Keepers won’t even step foot in there.”
“No one said you were going.” Jax brushes me off with his eyes on Ollie. “You think it might have answers?”
“It’s probably your best bet.” Ollie props his foot on his knee and takes a swig of his soda. “And it’s probably less dangerous than talking to Enchanters. Cross paths with one who’s not as nice as me, and you’ll end up under their enchantment until you die.”
Jax cracks his knuckles against the sides of his legs. “You think you could find a pixie that you could make lead us there?”
The way he says “make” has me speculating if Ollie is going to enchant this pixie into taking Jax. I’d feel bad for the pixie, but I really want to find out what’s going on with me.
“I’m sure I can, but it might take a couple of weeks to get close to one. Pixies have a keen sense of when an Enchanter is close by, and they tend to stay away from us. I don’t really blame them, though.” He smiles at me, but it looks all sorts of wrong, filled with self-hate and torture. “What we can do is rather terrifying. I’d probably stay clear of me, too.”
I feel sorry for him and awful for how I reacted when I first heard he was an Enchanter. He’s obviously experienced a lot of anguish because of what he is.
I really need to stop jumping to conclusions before I meet people.
The thought is very un-Keeper like and makes me wonder if perhaps I’m starting to change from the girl who flipped out when her Guardian mark appeared. That need to eliminate first and ask questions later is gradually diminishing. Maybe one day, I won’t react when Jax mentions a vampire, fey, Enchanter, ogre, or any other paranormal creature.
“But you think you can do it?” I ask Ollie. “And you’d be willing to do it?”
He nods, sweeping strands of hair out of his eyes. “I’d be happy to. It’ll make me feel useful for once.”
Before Jax or I can say anything, he scoots to the edge of the seat and places the can back on the table.
“Do you mind if I check something first before I set out on this pixie tracking mission?”
“Sure.” I take a long gulp of soda.
“I promise it won’t hurt,” he adds, rising to his feet. “But I’m really curious if you have any traces of fey magic in you.”
I choke on my soda. “Holy shit.” I cough. “You can do that?”
He nods, kneeling down on the hardwood floor in front of me. “I just need you to let me relax you for a second.”
I glance at Jax, and he nods with assurance. Setting the soda down, I inch to the edge of the seat and rest my hands in my lap.
“All right, you can do it.”
He gives a seemingly genuine smile, but he swiftly composes himself, reaches for my face, and cups a hand around each side of my head. Looking straight into my eyes, his lips begin to move as he chants what sounds like gibberish underneath his breath. His pupils begin to swirl, vivid shades of blue sparkling against the sunlight.
“So pretty …” I hear myself murmur.
Ollie’s lips quirk, but he bites back the smile and continues gazing into my eyes, drawing me in to his hypnotic gaze. My muscles relax until my body feels as weightless as clouds. It makes me want to fly. And sing. And dance. Do anything and everything.
“Blink for me, Alana,” Ollie whispers softly. “And the enchantment will wear off.”
My head bobs from side to side. “No way … This feels too nice.”
Ollie presses his lips together, stifling a laugh, and I hear Jax sigh.
“Alana.” Jax’s scent kisses my senses. “You need to blink.”
“You smell good,” I murmur. “Like trees … and yumminess.”
Ollie rubs his hand across his mouth, struggling not to laugh. “She’s a stubborn one.”
“Yes, she is,” Jax agrees. He says something in a low tone that makes Ollie move back. Then he shifts in front of me. “Blink, Alana,” he demands.
His demanding tone shatters the high in my body, and my eyelids open and close.
“That was weird.” I rub my eyes as reality sinks in. “I felt like I was drunk or something.”
It all comes crashing back to me. Oh, my God, did I tell Jax he smelled yummy! Great. It’s only a matter of time before he throws that in my face.
“Yeah,” Jax agrees, as if he has experienced it before. He turns to Ollie, who’s now sitting on the corner of the coffee table, studying me. “So, what’s the verdict? Does she have traces of fey magic in her?”
“She doesn’t just have traces of fey magic in her. It’s entangled in her like a web.” He scratches his head. “And the quantities are almost as much as a faerie would have.”
My heart constricts inside my chest as I stare down at the light bluish purple blood veins barely visible in my forearms. “But I don’t have faerie blood in me.”
“I know you don’t,” Ollie tells me. “That much, I can tell.”
“So what does this mean?” I ask. “Will the magic
fade eventually?”
“Probably,” Ollie says. “But I’m guessing, until it does, there might be some side effects.”
I swallow hard. “Like what?”
“I’m not one hundred percent sure.” He tugs his fingers through his hair. “But usually, if someone temporarily steals magic from a faerie, their emotions connect for a while.”
I frown. “Great, so I’m going to end up feeling what a dead faerie feels.”
“I’m not positive since I’m not sure what’s going on with you. I just wanted to give you a warning in case you start feeling strange.” Ollie stands to his feet and wanders toward the kitchen again.
“Where are you going?” Jax calls after him.
Ollie glances over his shoulder at Jax. “To go track down a pixie so we can find out what she is before anyone else does.”
He exits the room, leaving me alone with Jax and my overanalyzing thoughts of what could possibly be going on with me.
Chapter 13
An hour later, Ollie sets off on his pixie tracking quest with the promise that he’ll get ahold of Jax the moment he finds out where Hushing Forest is. He leaves us alone in the cottage so Jax and I can discuss a few things in private and figure out our next move. I also take the chance to use the bathroom and wash the blood off my face and neck.
After splashing a few handfuls of cold water on my face, I pat my skin dry and assess the damage in the mirror.
“Jesus, I look like the undead.” I slant forward over the sink and squint at the dark half-circles under my eyes, my pallid skin, and my tangled mess of brown hair.
I didn’t look this bad this morning. Did what happened on the field take a small nick out of my health? Is the lingering magic inside me doing this? I shudder at the thought. I hope it doesn’t happen again. And I hope the magic leaves my body. It’s not like I have any use for faerie magic since I’m not fey, and I can’t use it.
Or can I?
Stepping back from the mirror, I stare at my reflection and attempt to put up a glamour, make my hair change colors, make my skin shimmer, make my eyes glow.