Chapter 21 Aurelie
Aurelie
Aurelie didn’t beg. She didn’t even cry. Instead, she locked her knees to keep them from trembling. “What have you done to
my uncle?”
Even now, even after admitting how cruel he was, Everard wore what she imagined he considered a pleasant smile. “He’s quite
well. I can take you to him now, if you’d like.”
He showed her to a locked door leading down to a basement, Kobal’s rancid breath hot on her back. Aurelie gasped when they
reached the bottom. Uncle Leopold was trapped in a cage like a wild animal. He was bound and gagged, though—to her enormous
relief—he didn’t appear injured.
“Uncle Leo!” She started forward but was stopped by Kobal’s low growl.
“He’s fine,” Everard said over the muffled cries of her uncle. “And he will be released as soon as you do what I’ve asked.”
Uncle Leopold was trying to say something to her, but she couldn’t understand him around the gag or the sound of her own blood
rushing in her ears. Hot tears coursed down her cheeks. What a useful idiot she’d proven, so eager for the praise of a stranger
that she’d allowed herself to be manipulated, allowed her own uncle to be kidnapped.
“I’m so sorry,” she managed. “I’ll get you out of there, Uncle Leo. I promise.”
He shook his head no, tears making his dark eyes glimmer in the dim room, but before she could respond, Everard was shoving her back toward the stairs.
“I’m afraid our timeline has been accelerated a bit, given the rising suspicions of the Iron Guard.
You have until the end of next week to complete the portal,” he said as he sat her down in the armchair again.
“All but the final rune, the one that looks vaguely like an open eye.”
Aurelie, still blotting at her tears, was at an utter loss. “I’ll never have it finished in time. What you’re asking is impossible.”
“Now, now. You know what they say. Necessity is the mother of invention. I think you’ll find having a deadline keeps you far
more focused on the task at hand.”
Aurelie felt paralyzed by her fear in a way she’d never experienced before. “I’m supposed to go to the Morels’ for Yule,”
she said weakly. “What am I meant to tell them?”
“Tell them whatever you like. You’ll stay on campus and work until the job is done. That’s what you’ve been hired for. That’s
what I require if you wish to see your uncle again.”
At the renewed threat to her uncle, Aurelie felt a bit of her nerve return. If she couldn’t be brave for herself, she would
be brave for him. “Tell me why,” Aurelie demanded. “Tell me why you chose me for this, when it could have been anyone.”
Everard’s lips curled in that now-familiar grin.
“Anyone? Come now, my dear. You must give yourself more credit than that. Who else could I manipulate so easily? Who else but a young, headstrong girl would be so willing to go against her own morals for her vanity? People think the best victims are the ones with the most to lose, but they’re wrong, Miss Blake.
The best victims are the ones with very little to lose, because they know how dear that little is. ”
Aurelie’s fear and sorrow crystallized into sheer hatred, and she would have lunged for Everard’s throat if Kobal hadn’t emitted
a low snarl then, baring all its sharp teeth. “I’ll make your portal,” she ground out. “And you will let my uncle go.”
“I do believe that’s what I said.” Everard rose, clearly finished with her. “Bundle up, Miss Blake. You’ll need all your extremities
if you plan to finish your work in time. And don’t forget to save the final rune.”
Cold with shock and utterly lost, Aurelie stumbled out into the snow. Somehow, she made her way to the café she’d been to
with Daisy and Des, seeking comfort in the company of other humans.
She ordered a hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and chocolate buttons, though it tasted like ash on her tongue. As hopeless
as everything felt, she had no choice but to try to finish the portal, which meant she was about to spend an entire week alone.
Even the campus guards had lighter shifts this week. There would be no one to protect her from Everard if he returned, no
one to help her when she encountered difficulties, as she no doubt would.
Around her, parents laughed as children guessed what they’d get as their Yule present. Young people with boxes and parcels
huddled around tables, none of them eager to get back to the cold walk home. She wouldn’t even have Mephisto this week. Before
she knew it, she was sobbing into her hot chocolate.
“Are you all right, Miss Blake?”
Aurelie looked up to see one of the demon hunters from the first night she’d met Des, a boy who seemed far too young to be part of the Iron Guard.
She took the napkin he held out to her and dabbed her eyes, humiliated to be seen crying in public.
“I’m all right, thanks. Just a bad grade on a term paper,” she lied. “It was Gareth, wasn’t it?”
“That’s right.” He smiled, pleased she’d remembered him. “I have today off for the holiday. We each get an extra day off this
week.” His smile faltered. “Except for Des. He insisted on filling in for Daisy.”
“Of course he did,” she muttered, still wiping her tears.
“Would you like me to walk you home? Daisy told us about the attack near the university last week.”
Aurelie hadn’t confirmed it, but she was fairly certain she was in no imminent danger from the demons who had been following
her. They likely worked for Everard as well. He hadn’t explained to her how he had enthralled Kobal, or why he had a connection
to the demons he so badly wished to eradicate, because he hadn’t needed to. Everard was well aware that once she knew her
uncle’s life was at stake, she’d do anything Everard commanded. But she also knew today was the last contact she’d have with
another kind person for some time.
“That would be nice,” she said. She paid for her drink and bundled back into her coat, following Gareth outside. The snow
had started to fall again, obscuring nearly everything. There were no coaches out with such poor visibility, so people walked
down the middle of the street, appearing out of the swirling white like ghosts.
“Where will you spend Yule?” Aurelie asked as they neared the gates of Wisteria University.
Gareth was bigger than Aurelie—nearly everyone was—but his arm felt insubstantial compared to Des’s.
Des, who was tall like Everard and Miles, but who used his strength to protect people.
No wonder he despised her. She’d been making the world less safe for everyone, including him, all these years, and she hadn’t even had the wherewithal to realize it.
“A friend of my parents has invited me to spend it with his family, but I’ll be working on Yule itself. No rest for the weary,
I’m afraid.”
Aurelie didn’t tell him that she, too, would be working on Yule. She should have been at the Morels’, laughing with Kiara
about how annoying the other students could be, helping to decorate the family tree.
No. She should have been with Uncle Leopold. She should have known he’d never stay away for so long. Not from the university,
and not from her.
“If you see Daisy, wish her a happy Yule for me,” she said as they arrived at the gates.
“I will. Have a happy holiday, Miss Blake.”
“You as well, Gareth.”
He’d almost disappeared into the swirling snow when Aurelie called after him. “And wish Des a happy Yule as well!”
He turned, his smile fading into the white. “I will!”
“I’m not leaving you,” Kiara said as she sat on Aurelie’s sofa. “I’ll tell my father I want to spend Yule here, with you.”
“Absolutely not.” Aurelie was attempting to coax Mephisto into its cage with a cockroach. So far, nothing was working. “This
is your favorite holiday.”
“Which I won’t be able to enjoy knowing you’re here all alone being forced to build the damn portal.”
Aurelie gave up on Mephisto and sat down next to Kiara, dropping her head into her hands. “It’s no use. Mephisto knows I’m trying to abandon it.” The demon, sensing victory, darted into the cage, stole the cockroach, and disappeared into a hole in the wall within seconds.
Kiara spread her hands apologetically. “To be honest, I’m not sure I would have been comfortable handling Mephisto on my own
this week.”
“I know. It was too much to ask. I’m sorry.”
Kiara patted her on the back. “Maybe it’s safe here. If Des or Daisy had seen it, surely they would have turned you in by
now.”
“Maybe, but the Iron Guard has been patrolling frequently around here ever since the attempted attack near the gates.” The
male natia that escaped had been tracked down and killed before anyone was hurt, but Wisteria was on alert once again. She’d seen demon
hunters patrolling the area more than usual, though blessedly never Des or Daisy.
“I can be a lookout, then,” Kiara said. “Besides, I can help you with the portal. Another set of hands can’t hurt, right?”
Another set of hands would be ideal. But she’d already gotten Kiara far too involved in her mess. “I just . . . I can’t risk
it,” she said finally. “I don’t have a lot of people in my life, Kiara. But the ones I do mean everything to me.”
Kiara looked at her for a long moment as though she were going to argue, but finally she tucked her hair behind her ears and
managed a tight smile. “All right, then. I suppose my parents will simply have to put up with me this week, without the cultured
Aurelie Blake to buffer me.”
Aurelie managed a laugh. “Ah yes, I’m the pinnacle of proper womanhood.”
“At least you wear your hair tied back,” she said, pressing a quick kiss to Aurelie’s cheek. “Be careful while I’m away. And if at any point you change your mind . . .”
Aurelie nodded. “I know where to find you.”
When Kiara was gone, Aurelie moved to her desk. All her sketches and work on the portal were in her other workspace, and the
thought of making the trek across campus to that old, lonely building made her want to cry again. But none of this was about
her. It was about Uncle Leo. She changed into suitable work clothing, including her dingy gray bricoleur coat, and made her
way through the snow. She had just entered the building when she heard a clanging from overhead.
Campus had cleared out last night. There was no reason for Professor Sheldrake to still be here. She climbed the stairs to
his office and knocked on the closed door.
“Just a minute!” he called.
He opened the door wearing his magnifying glasses, which Aurelie now thought of as part of his face. It was almost jarring
when he removed them, his eyes as small and blinky as a mole’s when emerging from the earth. “Aurelie! What a pleasant surprise.
What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” she said as she entered the room. It was slightly less cluttered than usual, to her surprise.
“Oh, just packing up. I’m taking my wife to the country for a few weeks.”
“A few weeks?” Aurelie couldn’t disguise the panic in her voice. Professor Sheldrake was the only one who could help her with
the runes, and with her new, impossible deadline looming, the thought of him being out of reach made her stomach churn.
“Not to worry. I’ll be back in mid-January to help you with your project. I expect you’ll have made good progress by then.”
By mid-January, Aurelie would either have completed the portal and freed her uncle, or she’d be dead. Once again, she felt
a confession rising in her throat. She swallowed it before she could drag another innocent down with her.
“I do have one question before you go,” she said, sitting on the edge of one of the desks because the chair was covered in
books. “What do you know about the demonic curse Florian put on Wisteria?” Sheldrake knew the history as well as anyone, and
he was far more willing to talk. If there was any wisdom she could glean, any hole in Everard’s story that she could use to
her advantage, she needed to hear it.
“Well, as I said, my grandfather was alive during Aciano’s reign, but I was still a child when he died. The curse has been
as much a part of my life as it has yours.”
“What became of Revenin, the court mage?”
“Beheaded, if I recall correctly.” He scratched at his bald pate thoughtfully. “Or was it burned at the stake?”
Aurelie almost growled in frustration. “Was there no one else who could remove the curse?”
At that, Professor Sheldrake set down the pliers he was holding and looked up at Aurelie. “Curses aren’t so easily broken,
young lady. And dark magic is nothing to mess with. Which reminds me. Have you finished your translation?”
“Nearly,” she said, trying to keep her tone light. “But surely someone must want it removed. Someone with a vested interest in progress.”
He shrugged, lifting the pliers again before setting them in the same exact place. “Mages aren’t kept at court anymore. Unfashionable,
you know.” He winked at Aurelie, as though the fashion amongst royalty was ridiculous. “No, no. Magic is all but dead, like
my poor runic languages. I know little of curses, Miss Blake. I’m a man of science, not mysticism. My research in magic is
purely from an outsider’s point of view. At any rate, it’s not something I’d go poking too deeply at. Some things are best
left buried.”
Aurelie nodded. If only she still had that luxury.
“If you need me while I’m away, you can write to me at the Ivy Cottage in Bodlin.”
“That’s kind. Thank you. I hope you have a lovely holiday, Professor Sheldrake.”
“You as well. And I hope you’ll take some time to rest this week, child. You’ve been quite busy, by the look of things.”
Aurelie winced. She knew how terrible she looked, with dark circles under her eyes and her work coat covered in oil and coffee
stains. “No rest for the weary,” she said, thinking of Gareth.
“The weary are the very ones who should rest, my dear. Burn the candle at both ends, and you’ll soon find you’ve run clean
out of wax.”