Chapter 44
They buried Lira a week later. Morgan had taken her body away, and it rained the day of the funeral, a bleak sky to echo a bleak occasion.
Whenever Ezra saw Analise gaze off into the distance, he wondered if she was seeing the ghost of their friend.
Occasionally, he’d catch a tiny smile tugging at her mouth and wonder what Lira had said.
Analise told Jem the day before the funeral that Lira was still here.
Jem’s despair was still evident, but his expression had shifted into determination, a spark of the old Jem, proof that he was still the man he was before this happened.
The Order of the Dawn were no strangers to death, but the loss of Lira hit everyone hard.
There was a brief celebration of her life, but with all that was happening, no one was in the mood for a party.
According to Analise, Lira was offended.
Two nights after the funeral, Ezra and Jem were sitting in the bar of the Canem Club, which had remained closed since Lira’s death.
Ezra hadn’t seen much of Maddog, and Father Blackwood also made himself scarce—perhaps understanding he was not welcome in their grief, not when his focus was elsewhere.
Ezra ground his teeth. The Church asked too much, of all of them.
Jem broke the silence with a sigh and reached for the bottle of whiskey.
Jem didn’t drink. He didn’t take drugs, didn’t sleep around, didn’t break the rules.
It was honestly one of the things Ezra appreciated about his friend.
Jem was the counterpoint to his reckless bullshit, to his speaking without thinking and being a selfish prick.
But there was a darkness to Jem’s face that Ezra had never seen before, a deep-seeded worry that had taken root and was growing thorns.
Ezra’s eyes widened when Jem drank straight from the bottle.
‘Do you ever get the feeling something is being kept from you?’ Jem asked, setting the bottle down and sliding it in Ezra’s direction. Ezra let his raised eyebrows be his answer. Jem’s smile was rueful. ‘I’m worried.’
‘Obviously, and that worries me enough to sit here with you while I could be upstairs in my bed with a woman who I’m not going to see for who knows how long.
’ Ezra slid the bottle back. He wasn’t one hundred percent certain that traipsing off searching for death witches at the moment was a good idea, but Maddog was convinced the Order needed them and, right now, their plans for Asmael’s demise were the only way Maddog, or any of them, could deal with Lira’s death.
Jem took another drink. ‘Father Blackwood—’
‘Is a self-serving prick,’ Ezra cut in, watching Jem’s face closely, noting how deep his friend’s frown was. ‘But that’s not what this is about, is it?’
‘The Order of the Dawn serves the Church,’ Jem began in a low voice. ‘We always have. We have shared goals, a shared vision. Our reasons for what we do have been shaped by our belief that the Church acted for the greater good.’
‘But?’
‘But I’m not sure of that any more. When Blackwood asked you to find Analise, he did so without telling the Order. You telling me was the first I heard of it. He asked you to take Analise directly to him. Why?’
Ezra frowned. ‘What is it you’re worried about? Your Church went rogue for a moment. Maybe, with the end of days, Blackwood thought he was being proactive?’
Jem shook his head. ‘It worries me because Blackwood has developed a deep interest in death magic since the exile order. He has done a lot of research, asked a lot of questions, and has been gathering information that he hasn’t been sharing, Ez.’
Ezra’s chest tightened. ‘How long has Blackwood been the Head of the Church?’
‘He was ordained five years ago.’
‘The same year the Crown issued the exile notice,’ Ezra pointed out. ‘I’m sure it’s a coincidence.’
‘I’m sure,’ Jem said slowly.
‘When you say Blackwood has an interest in death magic, what does that mean? What’s he looking for?’ Ezra thought of the book Blackwood had given Analise, his encouragement that she learnt what she is.
‘I would have said he was looking for ways to prevent the end of the world, but …’ Jem sighed. ‘Ez, did you ever witness the execution of any of the death witches you tracked down, near the end?’
‘No,’ Ezra said, his stomach flopping.
Neither did I.’
‘Wait …are you implying—’
‘I don’t know.’ Jem shook his head. ‘There was a rumour that the executions were fake, but I couldn’t exactly go around asking questions. Tobias has tried, but he can’t find any truth to it, either.’
‘If they weren’t executed, then where are they?’ Faces pressed against the back of Ezra’s eyes.
‘I don’t know that, either.’ Jem sighed. ‘It’s possibly a coincidence.’
‘I don’t believe in coincidences.’
‘Neither do I,’ Jem muttered. ‘If they’re alive, can you find them?’
‘Yes, but I wasn’t about to tell Blackwood that.’ Ezra leant forward, lowering his voice. ‘Should I? If someone faked their deaths … should I be trying to find them?’
Jem hesitated, and then nodded. ‘You won’t be going alone, Ez.’
‘You’re coming with me?’
‘No. I’ve got work on my own to do here,’ Jem said bitterly.
‘Then who?’
Jem’s lips curled.
Ezra groaned.
‘I want to come with you,’ Analise said. She was curled up with her head resting on Ezra’s thigh, facing him. Droplets of sweat clung to her. They glistened like jewels in the lamp light. He touched them one by one, watching them disappear.
‘As much as I would love that, you can’t,’ he said. ‘Your magic would only confuse my senses—I won’t be able to see anything but you. That's all I can see when I look at you, sometimes. Even now, when you’re not using it, I can see your magic, like a halo around your body.’
He’d never seen that in another witch before either.
‘What does it look like?’
‘It’s like there are two of you—the real you, and then the you that is made of magic.
With you, I see all different colours. Blues and reds, gold and silver—you’re unique in that, I think.
I’ve never met a witch with more than one colour to her magic.
The night we met, I didn’t see it, and I still don’t know why. I don’t know how you hid it from me.’
‘I don’t know either,’ she said. ‘I’ve always tried so hard to keep it to myself. But,’ she pressed a kiss to his leg, ‘I do like the fact that I managed to fool the great Ezra Ives.’
Ezra smiled wryly. ‘I had no idea what you were until I tumbled into the morgue with a Familiar on my arse.’
She frowned. ‘When I’ve used my magic, why won’t you touch me sometimes, but you will other times?’
‘Because of what colour it is. When you’re angry, it’s red, sometimes black, so I’ll keep my hands to myself then, for my safety.’
‘Huh. What colour is it now?’
‘Gold.’ Ezra smiled.
‘And gold is safe?’
He nodded.
Analise chewed her lip ‘How does it work? How can you see magic?’
‘I’m not entirely certain, to be honest.’ Ezra sighed, letting his head fall to rest against the headboard.
‘Before I left the Unseen, after what happened with Agnes, I went looking for answers. I visited the convent, asked to see their record books. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for exactly—I wanted to know what connection Agnes had to my mother. ’
‘And did you find it?’
He swallowed, and let the truth out completely. ‘I did. She was my aunt, Analise. My mother’s sister was a death witch.’
‘Oh Ezra,’ Analise whispered.
‘I wanted out after that, so I got out,’ he said. ‘The rest you know.’
‘Ez,’ she said gently. ‘Your skill—is it because of Agnes? Death magic is inherited, according to Blackwood’s book. It’s a woman's gift, so it couldn’t pass to you. But what you can do, perhaps, is magic, but different—maybe it’s like that for all of the Unseen.’
‘Maybe,’ Ezra said thoughtfully. He didn’t have time to think about that right now.
Analise misread his silence. ‘If you don’t want to do what the Order is asking you to do, then don’t.’
He shook his head. ‘If I find them, maybe I can make up for some of the grief I caused. They won’t want to talk to me,’ he added, unsure whether he should mention Jem’s suspicions about Blackwood. ‘But I have to try.’
Analise sat up, stretching her arms above her head and rolling her shoulders, as if she was warming up for a sparring session. ‘How long will you be gone?’
‘I don’t know. It could be a week. It could be a month.’
Analise smiled, shifting so she was sitting with her thighs bracketing his hips. His arms slipped around her automatically and he pulled her close.
‘Don’t forget me,’ he whispered.
‘Because you’re so terribly forgettable.’ She dropped a kiss on his mouth, before kissing her way along his jaw towards his ear. ‘Were you planning on sleeping tonight?’
‘I thought I might get a few hours in,’ he managed as her lips brushed his neck.
She chuckled, then closed her teeth around his earlobe and pulled it into her mouth.
‘Or maybe not,’ Ezra breathed as sparks shot through him.
‘Do you want to know what I plan to do tonight?’ Her voice was low, a purr that made every muscle in his body turn to liquid. She ran her tongue along the underside of his jaw.
‘Care to enlighten me?’
‘I plan on making you miss me before you’re even gone.’
Ezra lost his words somewhere in the furious pounding of his heart.
Every time she touched him, his blood burnt and his stomach clenched in anticipation.
It didn’t matter if it was the first or tenth time in an hour, it always happened, the sensation taking his breath away, like her hands had been created to touch him.
Analise kissed her way down his chest. ‘Ez,’ she said softly. ‘Look at me.’
He did. Her eyes were dark, filled with desire and promise. She held his gaze, making sure she had his full attention.
‘Don’t take your eyes off me. Can you do that, Ezra, for me?’
He nodded, gasping as her nails dug into his flesh.
‘Say you understand.’
‘I understand.’ Right now, he’d do anything she asked.
Her lips curled in cat-like satisfaction. ‘Good boy.’
Analise was watching Ezra dress. The sheet was half draped over her, the curve of her hip and a pale thigh sticking out.
Muted light spilled into the room through the window.
It was well after dawn, later than they were supposed to be leaving, but no one came hammering on the door demanding Ezra hurry up, so he could only assume someone else was enjoying a long goodbye.
‘If you don’t stop looking at me, I’ll never get out of here,’ he murmured.
‘But I like looking at you,’ she declared, her gaze dragging over him so thoroughly she might as well have been touching him.
He sat to put his boots on and Analise’s arms slid around his waist, her face pressed against his back.
For a moment, they didn’t move, then he sighed, squeezing her arm gently.
‘I have to go.’
‘Do I get a kiss goodbye?’
‘No. I’ll kiss you hello when I get back,’ Ezra said, standing and giving her a wink. ‘Do think of me when you’ve got your hand between your legs, won’t you?’
‘If you’re lucky, I’ll tell you all about it,’ Analise purred, shifting her hair and exposing a milky breast. She trailed her finger over it, looking up at him.
Ezra groaned. ‘I’m pretty sure that’s attempted blackmail.’
She chuckled. ‘Lira says good luck.’
‘She’s not here right now, is she?’ He glanced around the room. Analise shook her head, smirking. Ezra slung his bag over his shoulder, then changed his mind and climbed onto the bed, taking her face between his hands and kissing her deeply. She shoved him away with a small smile.
Tobias and Jem were waiting downstairs.
‘You look like shit,’ Jem said gruffly. ‘Did you get any sleep at all?’
Ezra yawned. ‘Nope. Figured I’d sleep on the road.’
Jem gave him an incredulous look. ‘You’re walking, Ez.’
‘Oh. Well, no regrets whatsoever.’
Jem shook his head. ‘You have teeth marks on your neck.’
Ezra’s grin was smug. ‘You should see where else they are.’
Tobias groaned. ‘Am I seriously going to have to put up with this shit for possibly weeks?’
Ezra laughed, and threw Tobias a wink.
‘Shut up,’ Tobias ordered.
‘Careful, Toby. I’ve recently learnt I quite like being told what to do.’
‘Call me Toby again, and I’ll kill you. Listen, you’re arrogant, you’re not funny, and I don’t like you, but for fuck’s sake, Ezra, you’re good at what you do.’
‘Did,’ Ezra corrected. ‘What I did. After this, I won’t ever do it again.’
‘Noted,’ Jem said. ‘Thank you.’
Tobias picked up his pack and stalked off.
Ezra gave Jem a smile, but couldn’t hold it for long. ‘I’m going to assume that while we’re gone, you’re going to be looking into the Crown and the Church’s activities?’
Jem nodded.
‘Be careful,’ Ezra warned. ‘Izellan will see you dangle before he lets you point any fingers, Jem. You know that.’ He paused. Tobias was standing in the street outside the club, arms folded and a grim look on his face. ‘You trust everyone in the Order?’
‘Yes. It’s Church and Crown I’m concerned about here. If you find them, don’t tell Blackwood, not yet.’
Ezra nodded. ‘Listen, promise me you’ll look after her and I’ll look after lover boy over there. He’s not that bad, and you do like him. So, deal?’
Jem took the hand Ezra held out. ‘Deal.’