Dark Cotillion (First in the Brenna Strachan Series)

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  If anyone answered me, it was lost. I was asleep before they could speak. I dreamed of magic and double souls. It was not a good dream. Double souls are toxic to the body and eventually, one soul wins the battle. It isn’t always the original soul either. Sometimes, it’s the interloper. It is forbidden magic. An offense, punishable by death. I dreamed of that too. I dreamed of Death, the person. I dreamed that I was sitting on a hill, looking out at the world and Death was standing next to me. He spoke in tones too low for me to hear. I had died. Put to death for forcing a foreign soul into Chiron’s body. Death had no face, no real features. He appeared to be wearing a hangman’s hood. There was a noose around his neck. No black robe, no clothing at all except for the hood. His body was the palest green I had ever seen. He was chanting something to me, over me. I couldn’t make out the words.

  I awoke to find myself laid out on the floor. Anubis was kneeling over me, his hands on my chest. Levi was at my head, his hands on either side. They were both chanting something. Behind them, I heard Fenrir howl, the sound was pure animal.

  “Oh, God,” Gabriel’s voice broke through the howl.

  “I saw Death,” I said looking into Levi’s face. “I dreamed I performed forbidden magic and was put to death. Death was standing over me. He wore a hood and a noose. He was almost green, but not quite. He was chanting.”

  “Death is not a real being,” Levi said removing his hands. “And that is why we do not perform healings on mortals.”

  “They dream of Death?”

  “No, they die,” Levi nearly shouted.

  “Leviathan,” Anubis had a tone to his voice that was reserved for use on insubordinates.

  “Anubis,” Levi challenged.

  “She didn’t die, just came close,” Anubis told him.

  “She dreamed of death and forbidden magic, it’s a sign,” Levi answered.

  “We don’t read signs,” Anubis countered, “only Centaurs read signs.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” The malice left Levi. “She lives.”

  “She lives.” Anubis also took a breath and seemed to calm.

  “What now?” Levi asked.

  “We continue,” Anubis answered.

  “My niece had better not die during the Maturing. It will not be good.”

  “Agreed,” Gabriel answered before Anubis could even open his mouth. “She took Fenrir to wolf form as she was dying. I’m not sure how long before he can change back. A while, I’d guess. He doesn’t seem very happy.”

  “No, no he doesn’t,” Ba’al was the first to laugh. As the giggle began in Ba’al, it spread out, overtook the other men in the room. When they had finished, it was lighter somehow, airier.

  “Okay, another crisis averted and only twenty-six days to go.” Gabriel was suddenly standing over me. “I would appreciate you not doing that again.”

  “Me too.” I couldn’t shake the feeling that the magic in my dream was still lingering. “Do all of you feel normal?”

  “How do you mean?” Levi asked.

  “Do you feel like yourself? I didn’t force another soul into your bodies?”

  “No,” Ba’al said, “I don’t believe you did. I don’t think you were actually casting.”

  “I feel the remnants of magic.”

  “So you did cast something?” Anubis asked.

  “I think so.” I frowned. “Could I get up? I don’t really feel all that bad, just creeped out.”

  “Creeped out,” Levi made a complicated gesture that involved his head and his horns. “Never a dull moment.”

  “Very true,” Anubis and Levi helped me to my feet. Fenrir was pacing in circles. There was a puddle on the floor and I was pretty sure it contained flesh.

  “Ugh,” I sat down on the couch. “Fen, do you feel okay, other than the wolf thing?”

  Fenrir gave a howl. It was loud and long. He padded over to me, his feet hushed on the hardwood floor. He nuzzled my leg and licked my hand.

  “I think that’s a yes.” I looked at him. He licked me again. “Okay, well until you change back, we’ll go with yes, you feel fine.”

  He seemed to consider this for a second. His large, wolfish head cocked from side to side in a slow rhythm. Finally, he curled up on the floor near my feet.

  “I think werewolves are allowed on the furniture,” I told him. He didn’t look up at me.

  “Am I allowed to pet him?” I asked.

  “Pet him?” Gabriel tried to hide a smile.

  “I have the urge to pet him.” I shrugged.

  “I don’t think he’ll mind,” Ba’al told me.

  I reached down and buried one of my hands into his fur. It was soft and fluffy. He opened his eyes for a few moments. He nuzzled into my hand before letting them close again.

  “Yeah, I think he’s okay with it.” Gabriel smiled.

  “Well, do you need me anymore? Nancy is giving me fits because of the baby.” Levi was standing.

  “If I do, I’m sure you’ll get a call,” I told him.

  “Good, Uli is teething and he cries all the time. Fangs come in so easily, I wish the rest of the teeth did.” Levi gave me a quick kiss on the head and left.

  “Are you alright?” Gabriel asked after Levi had left.

  “Well, I am pretty sure I cast a spell as I died, and I also think I might have leeched survival energy from Fenrir. Those two things have me slightly disturbed, but otherwise, I’m good.”

  “Fine, it’s nearly dark. We’ll have some dinner and everyone will go back to what they were doing before.” Gabriel strolled into the kitchen.

  We all followed, even Fenrir. At the table, he curled up on the floor at my feet. I frowned at him.

  “Do we really think he is okay?” I asked, as Gabriel began putting stuffed manicotti on my plate.

  “Well, if you are right and you sucked energy from him, I imagine he’s tired and it explains why he’s in wolf form.” Gabriel put three of them down and added a little more sauce.

  “You said you dreamed of forbidden magic?” Ba’al asked as his plate was filled.

  “There are five spells Witches are never allowed to cast. They are considered pure evil. They are automatic death sentences for a Witch. One is called The Double Soul. The Witch forces the soul of a dead person into the body of a living one, essentially creating a being with two souls. Two souls cannot inhabit the same body. A war begins within the being as the souls battle for dominance. It causes the mind to break. They do crazy things and eventually, the stronger soul will win. It isn’t always the original soul. But what the soul wins is a damaged psyche. The brain is essentially corrupted. They usually go insane within a year and die. My mother once told me that Jack the Ripper was caused by a double soul.”

  “And you dreamed you cast the spell?”

  “I dreamed I cast the spell on Chiron, but you have to touch the person to do it or the original soul is too strong to give in to the invader. So, Chiron was too far away.”

  “So, you didn’t cast the spell on Chiron, but you definitely cast a spell?” Ba’al asked.

  “Exactly, and I don’t know to what or on whom.”

  “Could you have just forced magic into the aether?” Anubis asked.

  “Not likely. I don’t normally have the ability just to force magic into nothingness. I usually force it into something, even if it is just more magic.”

  Ba’al got a really stupid look on his face. His skin seemed to pale a little. His mouth wanted to work, but it didn’t seem to remember how.

  “Could you have forced magic into magic and broken a curse?” He finally asked.

  “I suppose so, but there aren’t a lot of cursed items in this house. My mother isn’t a huge fan.”

  “But there is the sword and the spell book.” He paused. “And Anubis.”

  “True, but I don’t feel like I broke a curse. Th
at has a different feeling.”

  “So, you could have just strengthened magic that already existed?” Ba’al asked.

  “Are you going somewhere with this?”

  “Perhaps you should turn around,” Ba’al said.

  I turned. In the doorway was a figure. He was nude except for a noose and a hangman’s hood. His skin was a very pale green. There were no real features on the face.

  “That is what I saw in my dream,” I finally said after staring for several moments.

  “What is it?” Anubis asked.

  “It’s Death,” I answered.

  “Death isn’t a being.”

  “I think he would beg to differ,” Ba’al answered.

  “Brenna?” Gabriel said my name softly.

  “I don’t have a clue what to do about it. I can’t bring things into existence. And I have no idea how Death got into the house.”

  “I’ll call Magnus,” Ba’al moved. Death moved as well. His hands found the knot at the base of the hood and loosened it. Next, he pulled the hood from his head.

  Whatever I was expecting was not what I saw. The face was devoid of skin, bones showed through bits of loosely hanging muscles and ligaments. Maggots crawled inside of them. His eyes were piercing and looked like flames dancing in the darkness.

  I shrieked. Fenrir rose from the floor, hackles raised and began growling at the figure. Gabriel turned white with light. Ba’al was ruthlessly dialing numbers on his cell phone.

  “Ask if he can fly?” Anubis said loudly to Ba’al.

  “He’s a Witch, he can’t fly,” Gabriel responded, his voice sounding ethereal and unreal.

  “Then go get him,” Anubis shouted. Death wasn’t moving any more. He stood frozen in time, his mouth open, and eyes glaring at me. Only the maggots seemed to be moving. I gagged and forced myself not to vomit.

  “On it,” Ba’al said, he left the dining room in a flapping of wings and odd noises. I imagined he was talking and flying at the same time. I stared at the figure and wished to wake up.

  “How…”

  “I don’t know,” I snapped at Anubis, “I really don’t know.”

  I closed my eyes, refusing to look at the specter any longer. No one was moving, even Fenrir seemed to be mesmerized and unable to growl any longer. There were noises and a crash. Death didn’t turn, I know because I opened my eyes.

  “Jesus Christ,” Magnus’s voice came to me from the other room “do you have any idea who that is?”

  “Uh, no, but I wouldn’t mind it not being in my parents’ kitchen.” I yelled to him.

  “Brenna, what the fuck happened?” Magnus came into view. He skirted around Death.

  “I died and somehow, cast a spell as I did it.”

  “You seem surprisingly calm for all that.” He frowned at me. “Are you in shock?”

  “Yes, I believe I am. I dreamed of Death, and now, he is standing in the kitchen. Only, in my dream he didn’t remove the hood.”

  “Well, first of all, that isn’t Death. Second, I don’t know how you resurrected a soul. Third, I don’t know why you resurrected this particular soul. And fourth…” Magnus stopped and looked at me. “This is terrifying and exciting and interesting.”

  “Who is it?” Anubis asked.

  “You don’t recognize him?” Magnus asked.

  “No, do you?” Anubis snorted.

  “Yes, the first soul to die on this planet.” He frowned. “The Hanged Man is a myth, but the story is one that isn’t.”

  “Don’t talk in riddles,” I snapped, yelling loudly at Magnus. I dropped my face into my hands.

  “Fine, Brenna, meet your dead uncle, Sonnellion, the tenth brother and the first soul ever to die on the planet.”

  “What?” I didn’t look up as I asked it. I was pretty sure I had heard him, but something told me I had to be wrong.

  “Sonnellion, he is the Hanged Man. When Lucifer put him to death, Sonnellion requested that his brother hang him from a tree to make an example of him. Lucifer did so.”

  “I remember that. He hung for a year. His body not decaying. We put a hood over him because he didn’t seem to change,” Anubis finally said.

  “The only part that rotted was the part that was covered by the hood, so we buried him after another year,” Gabriel responded.

  “Why is he in the kitchen?” I asked, still refusing to look up.

  “I don’t know. Maybe he was lonely in the living room,” Magnus answered.

  “Really? Jokes?” I finally looked at him and frowned.

  “Brenna, you have a dead Demon soul in the kitchen. And I have no idea what to do about it. Jokes might not be a bad thing at this time.”

  “Okay, I take your point.” I frowned harder. “If you don’t know what to do about it…”

  “What did you dream exactly?” Magnus asked.

  “I dreamed that I was put to death for casting The Double Soul. I forced it into Chiron. Suddenly, I was sitting on a hill with Death looking down on me and chanting something. Then, they brought me back from the dream and what I assume was a final death dream, and felt I had cast a spell, but couldn’t figure out what spell or on whom. Everyone said they were all right. We were eating dinner and then, well, he came into the room.”

  “You dreamed you cast The Double Soul?” Magnus’s tone was disapproving.

  “Yes.”

  “That explains why you have a soul in the kitchen. He didn’t have a body to enter, which is good news because it means you get to live, and you didn’t resurrect a soul. You merely brought it into our realm. That I can work with.”

  “I tried to force this soul in Chiron and it didn’t work.” That news was kind of hard to take. I started to cry.

  “It didn’t work and you can’t be responsible for casting spells as you die. They are usually done in a vain attempt at survival. The Great Houses would not have put you to death for it. It is rather unusual to pull the soul of an Elder into it, but then, if you were dreaming of doing it to Chiron, it might make sense. With a Human, Chiron would have the stronger soul.”

  “What do we do about it?” I sobbed.

  “We send it back.” Magnus put a hand on my shoulder. “Were you touching anyone when you cast it?”

  “I don’t know, I was dying.”

  “Anubis, did you feel anything or see anything?”

  “I felt something, but I thought it was her soul. It touched Levi, but Levi’s own soul repelled it.”

  “Did it touch anyone else?”

  “No,” Anubis answered.

  “Good thing Levi is strong.” Magnus looked around. “Without a body, he can’t hurt you. He can only glare at you and make you feel uncomfortable, possibly ill. Luckily, he had a room full of beings with incredibly strong souls to contend with. I can’t imagine what would have happened if he had managed to enter one of the Overlords.”

  “Okay, Magnus,” I was still sobbing. I was actually pretty sure I was on the verge of hysterics.

  “Brenna, I need you to focus for me,” Magnus’s voice was soothing. “You are going to have to help me send him back to the ethereal plane. Can you do that?”

  “Probably not,” I shook my head, “I’m a walking disaster.”

  “No, just a little out of control at the moment. It happens to all of us from time to time,” Magnus assured me. “However, I know you are very capable of regaining control and forcing magic to do interesting things.”

  “What do I need to do?”

  “Treat it like a curse, push magic into it. It is going to take a lot of magic though. Both of us will need to do the pushing. I’m hoping your untamed magic has the extra kick that we are going to need. An Elder soul is a hell of a lot more determined than a mortal soul.”

  Fenrir rubbed against my leg. I looked down into his yellow eyes and had a thought.

  “What if we could use the power of the Overlords?” I asked. br />
  “Overlords can’t push magic like we can. It seems to have a purpose, a solitary reason to exist. It isn’t free roaming. It doesn’t change and that’s why they can’t break curses.”

  “Right, but if a Witch could tap into their magic, in some way lay claim on it, it could be used?”

  “In theory, yes,” Magnus gave me a puzzled look, “but I don’t think there is a Witch today that can do such a thing, unless you know something I don’t.”

  “Well, I’m not convinced I could do it, but I’ve channeled Gabriel’s power before. Of course, it remained Angelic, but I was still using it.”

  “Are you strong enough?”

  “Possibly.” I frowned. “Possibly not.”

  “Try pushing the soul back without channeling anyone first,” Anubis said, taking hold of my arm lightly. “We’ve already brought you back from the dead once today. I’m not sure we can do it a second time.”

  “Good point.” I looked at Magnus. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

  I opened up and let the magic begin to build. It ebbed and flowed like water, moving in and out of me like the tide. I pushed a little, felt the magic push back and gave in. It built stronger. In my mind, I could see it. It was shimmery, like heat coming off asphalt, but had a slightly pink tinge to it. Magnus’s power became visible. It was green, stronger in color than my own. I took more in, drawing it from the air. My own became darker in color. I could see all the magic in the house. It engulfed each of the Overlords in their own unique color. Even the soul in front of me had magic in it. I pulled more in, felt as Magnus’s power began to combine with my own.

  However, there was still more in the room, more to draw from. My mother’s residual magic, was wafting about trying to join in. My brothers’ as well, Daniel’s the strongest of them. I took it, mingled it with Magnus’s green and my pink. It moved faster now, no longer just drifting, it was racing towards the both of us. Filling both of us up, going in and out with our breathing.

  A black cloud came in through the open door. It pushed through the soul. The soul jerked. Lucifer’s magic joining our own. Magnus tried to stop it, but it began to assimilate into the rainbow. There was no stopping it. It seemed to have a mind of its own.

  Magnus said a few unintelligible words and we both shoved magic outward. It slammed into the soul and staggered backwards from the force. Magnus and I pushed again, forcing more magic out. Again, it hit the soul square in the chest. The soul didn’t move this time. Magnus began gathering power again. I followed his lead and began calling on the magic from around us. The room was now churning with it. Swirls of shimmering color bounced off the walls, floor, and ceiling. It ran into each and pulled apart like taffy.

  Magnus nodded his head just once. I closed my eyes and forced magic into the soul. It didn’t seem to react. Magnus forced magic into it. I watched his dark green powers enter the soul and shoved more magic outward. It was the final bit of magic for the soul. It shook and disappeared from view.

  “Well,” Magnus said as he began drawing the magic back into himself, “it worked.”

  “Yes, I suppose it did. There is a lot of residual in the house.”

  “Tons,” Magnus smiled. “Feel better?”

  “Not really.”

  “Shit happens,” Magnus shrugged. “My father once sneezed and cursed my lunch box. Everyone does strange things once in a while.”

  “Sneezed?” I asked.

  “Sneezed,” Magnus smiled at me. “I once turned an entire house to glow in the dark when I tripped over a step and busted my chin open on its porch.”

  “No offense, Magnus, but cursing a lunch box or making a house glow in the dark doesn’t seem very significant in comparison.”

  “Meh,” he waved his hand at me. “What I’m trying to point out is that the slightest thing can set off a magic tantrum. Having a cold can be a problem for a Witch. Dying is far more significant than a cold.”

  “Magnus, how did you know who it was?” Anubis asked.

  “He seems to hang close to Witch power. Up until about 50 years ago, no one knew who the Hanged Man was. We just knew that it was a general rule that he could be conjured. He was a bit of the Witches’ Boogey Man. Then, when your mother gave birth the first time, she conjured him and your father nearly had kittens. He recognized him. Went through all the myths and legends about the Hanged Man and the pieces sort of fell into place. Now, we teach Witches not to conjure him, but we still refer to him as the Hanged Man so that no one knows his real identity.”

  “Magnus,” I looked around the room, “there is still a lot of magic in this room.”

  “Yeah, I was noticing that myself. Not sure why it is hanging around though.” Magnus turned a slow circle. “Don’t know what to do with it either. It isn’t entirely Witch magic.”

  “No, the black stuff is my father’s magic. My mother’s is gold. Daniel’s is purple. Nick’s is blue. Plus, there seems to be a cloud of it hanging around each of the Overlords. And…” I pointed to the spot where the soul of Sonnellion had been. There was a cloud of sickly yellow and black magic hanging around there.

  “Yeah, but I still don’t know what to do about it. I’m not drawing it all into myself. There’s too much. I don’t think you can handle it either.”

  “Can we use it?” I asked.

  “Use it how?”

  “Well, some of it is from the Hanged Man.” I looked very pointedly at him.

  “Not sure it will work.” He seemed to get my point.

  “Not sure it won’t either.”

  “Are you sure you can handle taking in that much energy?”

  “No, but it’s here and it isn’t going to go away until something is done with it. Might as well try.”

  “Can you move it?”

  “Yes.” I began the process again.