Chapter 6 Alaric
Alaric
Astomach-churning combination of necrotic flesh overlaid with a strong floral scent hit me the minute I crossed the threshold of my father’s house.
How did he stand it? Had years of illegal drug use permanently destroyed his sense of smell?
Thank fuck I hadn’t been born a shifter like Mom. A shifter would heave their guts up the moment they stepped inside this cursed place.
“Welcome home, sir. Your father is in his study awaiting your arrival.” The butler simpered and fawned before scuttling away like the cockroach he was.
Anyone who survived my father’s frequent tantrums had proven their loyalty, and Maurice was no exception. Like Rink, Maurice had been in Dad’s employ for decades. Unlike Rink, Maurice wasn’t especially powerful; but what he lacked in magical ability, he more than made up for in ass-licking talent.
I watched Maurice disappear down the dark hallway before dragging my unwilling self toward Dad’s study. It was the last place I wanted to be. Even the demon realm seemed like an attractive option right now.
“Alaric,” Dad said with a cold smile. “So pleased you could finally bless us with your presence. I know your mother has missed you.”
The reference to my mother made me freeze one step into the room, and shame coated my tongue in bile as I realized I’d barely thought about her these last few days. Not since we arrived on Sitkavus.
“You better not have hurt her!” I cursed myself yet again the moment the words fell from my mouth. Dad smiled with delight at the realization he’d wounded me.
“Son, as if I could hurt your poor, sweet mother.” The way he winked made me want to stab him with the nearest sharp implement. If not for the protective charm he wore, I’d have blasted the fucker into the hell realm many years ago.
I sucked in a calming breath, grateful for the cleaner air inside his study, and exhaled slowly. Dad lived to provoke a reaction, so the best way to manage him was to feign nonchalance.
“Your mother’s well-being is not why I called you home, Alaric,” he said when he grew bored with waiting for me to lose my temper.
“Oh?”
“Aside from the dinner party tonight, where your presence is mandatory, I need to discuss a rather delicate matter with you.”
My gaze drifted across to the photo of Brianna he kept on his bookcase, taken on the day of their bonding ceremony. What a fucking joke.
“Delicate matter?”
“Yes.” I waited for Dad to elaborate while praying this dinner party didn’t last for hours. Uncle Adam had promised me he’d arrive at Starfall before midnight, and I wanted to be there when he showed up.
“My seer received a vision.” My interest sharpened. “She claims there’s a witch gifted with necromancy.”
“A necromancer?” I nearly choked. The last necromancer, born of a cursed union between a powerful witch and a demon, died a century ago.
A necromancer had the power to raise the dead, which meant they could unleash an army of reanimated soldiers on their enemies.
The witch, whose name the vamps erased from the history books, had attempted to overthrow the vampire coven leaders. The vampire royals had barely survived, but with the aid of the fae, they eventually took the witch and her followers down.
After her death, the vampires placed her salted remains inside an enchanted box and buried it somewhere only they knew about.
“Yes, another necromancer is out there somewhere, and I need to find her.”
“Hoping to reanimate Brianna when she finally rots away?”
Dad’s eyes flared in rage and fire exploded up the chimney as his magic reacted to his temper. “Do not disrespect my wife, Alaric. Your mother won’t like it if you upset me.”
The clock on the sideboard in the drawing room ticked oh-so-slowly. Time had slowed down to an inexorable crawl, taunting me each time my gaze slid past Petronella toward the gold clockface.
Petronella’s voice grated like claws on a chalkboard.
Every time she opened her mouth to utter some banal shit, I tried not to wince.
The witch had literally nothing of interest to say, even though she attended one of the elite boarding schools in Europe, where witches enjoyed the best education money could buy.
While Starfall was the most prestigious school on this continent, some of the older witch families preferred to send their little darlings to Phoenix Academy, a witch-only school.
“I do so admire your mother, Alaric,” Petronella was saying when I tuned back in.
“Oh?” Stifling a yawn, I took a huge sip of my wine. Brianna must have caught the mention of herself because she half turned.
“Oh yes. She’s such an inspiration to me. To all witches, in fact.” Petronella’s eyes grew shiny with unshed tears. “How she stepped up and took control of the Nightshade Coven after… after what happened. Such leadership.”
Brianna’s lips curled up in a smile while I fought against my magic. And failed. Outside, thunder rumbled and a flash of lightning illuminated the trees beyond the lawn.
When I didn’t immediately start gushing about how amazing my mother was, Petronella frowned. Not my mother, I corrected automatically. That bitch couldn’t even call herself my stepmother. She had no maternal instincts whatsoever.
The clock chimed.
Dad’s laughter boomed loudly across the room as one of his cronies told a not-funny story about the recent arrest of a prominent fox-shifter-rights activist.
“Aren’t you proud of her work on behalf of the covens?” Petronella prodded.
“Covens?” I must have missed her previous comment.
“Yes, the covens. She’s been working to improve human-witch relations. Humans are now allowed to work for the covens in administrative roles, managing spell ingredient databases, that sort of thing.”
That was news to me, but whatever. No doubt she had an ulterior motive for wanting humans nearby. Brianna never did anything without a good reason. Like my father, she was a natural tactician, ice-cold and calculating.
They were a perfect team.
I forced a smile and checked the time again. It was still early. Too early to make my excuses and leave. Petronella eventually wandered off to talk to her mother, leaving me alone for a blessed minute.
Since my father and Brianna were busy chatting with two members of the Mage Council, I dropped my glass on a nearby table and left. Only, before I was even halfway out the door, Rink appeared with an oily smile.
“Leaving so soon, Master Alaric?” The man made me ill, with his shoulder-length stringy hair and smarmy smile. He hadn’t been here the last few times I’d visited, much to my relief, although it begged the question of what nefarious tasks my father had given him to complete.
“I wanted to check on my mother,” I said in a low voice. None of the guests here tonight knew she existed. They all assumed Brianna was my father’s soul-bonded mate. His one true love.
If only they knew the truth.
“Going somewhere, Alaric?” Dad’s voice startled me. He must have spotted Rink. Damn it. Now I’d never get away.
“Yes. Is that a problem?”
My father glared at me before forcing a smile to avoid attracting attention.
“I invited sweet Petronella so you could get to know each other. It would be rude to leave now.”
“I think we’ve exhausted all topics. She doesn’t have much to say.” Two spots of color bloomed in my father’s normally pale cheeks, and the fire in the grate roared up the chimney. I half expected ice crystals to form too, but he managed to keep a lid on his ice magic.
The same could not be said of my magic. A howling wind buffeted the house, screaming as if an army of demons had just breached the portal. Maybe they had. Nothing would surprise me these days.
Rink shuffled and cleared his throat.
“Sir, I apologize, but I need to talk to you for a moment. I have some news.” My ears perked up as Dad shifted his attention from me to his trusted aide.
“Can it not wait?” he asked irritably.
“No, sir, it cannot.”
Dad grumbled but nodded. “Fine. Let’s go to my office.”
I waited a few minutes before following.
There were wards around my father’s office to prevent anyone from eavesdropping, but he hadn’t closed the door fully. Most likely because he was well into his second bottle of elkwine.
I leaned as close as I dared so I could hear his conversation with Rink.
“Public sentiment is moving against us, sir. The demon attacks are growing in frequency and ferocity.”
“Fucking demons,” my father grumbled. I heard the drinks cabinet open and a splash of liquid, followed by the chink of ice cubes. “Since public safety is apparently a concern, I think it’s time to implement the protocols we discussed.”
What protocols?
“The council will side with me on this.”
“What about Coral Delmar? She’s been outspoken in her criticism, sir.”
Coral Delmar was the Lesser Species’ Supernatural Council chair. If she wasn’t happy with whatever my father had in mind, it meant the races she represented would be disproportionately affected.
“The bitch can get fucked.” Dad chuckled. “Lightfoot will vote in favor.”
The last leader of the Shifter Council had been highly vocal in his criticism of the mages, but he died in a suspicious accident last year. His replacement, Maximus Lightfoot, was an asslicker, and I’d long suspected he was in Dad’s pocket.
“I will send a meeting summons for tomorrow, sir.” The conversation moved on to boring shit, but as I was about to head back to the drawing room, Dad said something that caught my attention.
“Was the latest shipment delivered on time?”
“Yes, sir. They are ready for you.”
“Good. We’ll be there in the morning.” We?
“If that’s all, I must return to my guests.”
Shit, I needed to move before he saw me. I couldn’t afford to get caught outside his office. He’d stop me from leaving the house if he thought I’d been listening, and that wouldn’t do. Not with Uncle Adam on his way to Starfall.
I tried not to think about the witch as I shot away and ducked into an empty room to avoid my father.
Her health and well-being were not my problem.