13. Justin #2
“Her affinity is pretty unique, although it’s well-suited for the Eldest. She can communicate with the spirits of the bonds between living things.”
“That…that’s a thing?” Justin asked. A few days ago, his knowledge of witches and their magic had been at zero percent, and his head was swimming with concepts he only half-understood.
“Although they aren’t quite as active as my chaos spirits, each bond has a personality. Most witches can sense those bonds, but my mother can manipulate them.”
“That's why what Veronica is trying to do is so difficult,” Linda said. “She has managed to weaken the mother-daughter bond between us, but she can’t break it entirely. Because of that, it’s very hard for her to come against me.
And even so…it was fucking close. Her witches were boosting her power.
I was taken by surprise, and she almost took me out. ”
Justin breathed and sipped the warm, aromatic tea. This was so much more complicated than he had expected. At its core, this was a family spat. Freddie and Anthony had lent their approval to an alliance, and it would be advantageous, but what were they getting into?
And what was he getting into? Sebastian was…
unpredictable, and his family and the Circle had their own pragmatic way of doing things.
Ruthless. He’d been telling the truth when he’d said he was willing to try, to consider mating with Sebastian and Pavel.
But after the disaster of his romantic history, instead of wading into the shallow end, this felt like jumping into a damn waterspout.
He leaned forward, steeling himself and banishing thoughts of his two mates. He was here today to represent his coven.
“What exactly do you need from us?”
For a moment, he thought Linda was going to roll her eyes again, but instead she opened her mouth to speak. Then she immediately closed it, and her eyes became unfocused for a few seconds.
“That was the spirit I sent,” she said as she snapped to the present. “You were right. Veronica inserted loopholes into the wards long before she left. Years before. When she was a teenager.”
Linda stood, slamming down her cup on the mantle and spilling tea over the top of it .
“Dammit! Fine. What we need is security. We need people here to stand guard, to keep watch. She’d never imagine we’d ally with vampires, or allow them inside the house. I have to keep her off guard, and your covenmates are fighters in a way we witches could never be.”
Justin pressed his lips together, nodding slowly, then glanced at Sebastian.
The look on Sebastian’s face told him everything.
He was worried, and his mother was worried, and these were people not accustomed to being worried.
Justin scoffed internally. He had enough anxiety on his own; maybe they could take some of it off his hands.
“I believe Freddie is willing,” Justin said. “You’ll need to speak with him directly. I can arrange a meeting somewhere neutral. If you are worried your daughter will be back soon, we should act quickly.”
“She won’t be back tomorrow, or perhaps even within the next week or two, but she’ll return as soon as she can gather more power.” Linda grimaced. “I worry about what she’s willing to do to take the Circle.”
Justin couldn’t hold back the question any longer. Linda had not given him the most important piece of information, the one that would make any of this make sense.
“ Why is she doing this? Why is your daughter trying to take your place?”
“Because she’s an insolent little bitch!” Linda was shaking now, her voice pouring out in a hoarse shout.
“Mother. Stop.” Sebastian stepped forward, trying to put his hands on her shoulders, but she shrugged him off. She walked to the ancient grimoire on the other side of the room, gently running her hand over the cover, her fingers finding the grooves of the engraved lettering.
Sebastian sat in her recently vacated chair .
“Veronica believes my mother is too isolationist,” he said, sadness painted across his face.
“That she’s too stuck in the old ways, that she hoards secrets.
And…Vee’s not wrong. Mother is very protective.
But there are dangers in that grimoire, in many of the books in this room.
There are dangers in my mother’s memory, in the knowledge accumulated over the years. ”
“And she’s a fucking idiot!” Linda barked, not looking up from the book.
“No. She’s not. And she’s not the only one to blame.”
Linda grumbled but didn’t answer. Justin studied Sebastian’s face, which showed annoyance but also real concern.
“Why not?”
Sebastian indicated to his mother with a shake of his head. “Linda here has some control issues. And this never would have gotten this far if she’d been more transparent with Vee about the reasons for some of her actions, rather than expecting blind obedience.”
“Our traditions are traditions for a reason,” Linda said.
Sebastian sighed. “Veronica isn’t unreasonable. Or at least, she wasn’t. But then she left, and in the time since she’s been gone, she’s become obsessed with ousting my mother. She’s certain Linda’s keeping some kind of huge source of power from her.”
“Well, is she?” Justin asked. Sebastian didn’t say anything, and Justin thought he saw a tiny wisp of guilt pass over Sebastian’s face. Justin turned to Linda.
“Are you?”
“No! Well, not exactly.” For the first time, Linda sounded uncertain.
“There isn’t some talisman or amulet or something able to power bigger and better spells.
It’s more the combined weight of all the knowledge.
You can end up with more magical energy at your disposal.
But it’s not some kind of quick fix. It takes years of study. ”
“Which she might have been willing to do, if you hadn’t shut her out.” Sebastian’s eyes flashed, and Justin could tell this was a point of contention for them.
“She was only seventeen at the time?—”
“That’s enough. I understand.” Justin stood and joined Linda at the grimoire. He stared down at the ancient tome. The cover and bindings were more beat up than he first realized, almost like some kind of creature had clawed at it. And was that a scorch mark?
“I have enough information to go back to my coven master,” Justin said. “If you really want this to be a true alliance, then I think he’ll be willing.”
She nodded.
“It’s been an insanely long day,” Sebastian said. “You don’t need to go back to the covenhouse right now. Stay here for the night.”
Justin was tired. He’d always been sleepier than the average vampire, and the exhaustion of the day had seeped into his bones. He didn’t think he was bad at this whole diplomat thing, but it was more complicated than anything he did on an average day.
“Okay.”
“Hold on,” Linda said, her tone suddenly rough and stern. She took her hands off the grimoire and crossed her arms.
“We haven’t discussed your intentions toward my son.”
Justin rubbed at his eyes with his right hand. Dammit, he thought he’d escaped this conversation. He didn’t know his intentions, and their third mate wasn’t even here to speak for himself .
Sebastian bristled. “You don’t have any right?—”
“Sebastian is the oldest child of the Eldest of the Circle.” Linda took on a performatively formal tone now, like a cross between a professor and a judge.
“Wolf is the oldest?—”
“He doesn’t fucking count, and you know it,” Linda said, cutting her son off before continuing. “Sebastian stands to take over the Circle when I am gone.”
“For God’s sake, mother, you have at least another hundred years in you?—”
“Stop.” Justin put up his hands to cut off the conversation. “We have another mate to consider. And regardless, what we decide is none of your concern.”
“Let me be very fucking clear. My son will not mate with anyone who isn’t worthy of him.” Justin’s ears popped with a sudden increase in pressure in the room. There was something building, some kind of energy that might explode if it was given the chance.
“Mother, you will stop this?—”
“Certainly not a listless vampire with no pedigree and no future plans beyond a front desk job. He is worthy of royalty .”
The pressure was unbearable now, although nothing on Linda’s face indicated she was concerned about it. A loud bang came from behind them, and Justin jumped, biting his lip to stop from crying out. He turned to see the door of the library had slammed closed.
“Mother!” Sebastian was reaching into his pocket now, digging for something. Justin assumed it had to be some kind of spell thing, something to break whatever the man’s mother was doing, but he wasn’t finding whatever he was searching for.
A streak of red flashed across Justin’s eyes, his inner vampire making itself known. The demon was like a mindless creature of rage inside of him, one Justin kept on a tight leash.
“For you to come to my house ?—”
Something clicked inside of Justin, his demon and his mind suddenly in perfect sync. Something tugged at him from the center of his chest. Before he knew it, a huge book flew from a shelf across the room at the speed of a fastball.
And it struck Sebastian’s mother right across the face with a loud smack. For a second, Justin thought she would go down, it had hit her so hard. But at the contact, the pressure instantly dissipated.
Linda’s eyes flashed with anger, but after a moment, it was replaced with a new emotion. Curiosity.
She turned to Sebastian. “How did he do that?”
All Sebastian did was shake his head. “I have no idea.”
What the hell were they talking about? “I’m lost.”
“Justin,” Sebastian said, tentatively resting his hand on the vampire’s shoulder, “ you made the book do that.”
“That’s impossible.” Justin looked back and forth between his mate and his mate’s mother. “I’m a vampire.”
“Are you sure none of your ancestors were witches?” Linda’s tone was eager now, her intimidation tactics from a minute before totally forgotten.
“Not that I know…” Justin didn’t know what the fuck was going on.
“What exactly did you feel?” Linda asked.
“Well…I saw a flash of red, like the beginning of the crimson surge, but it wasn’t that.
If Sebastian had been in danger, it would have triggered the crimson surge and made me attack you.
But this was my demon waking up. There wa s a click, like a latch caught inside of me, and a pull in my chest, and then… you know, you got whacked by a book.”
Linda laughed loudly, and Justin flinched. This sudden change in attitude was making his head reel. If she was always like this, he understood why Veronica and Sebastian had both left.
“You used Sebastian’s power. Through the mate bond.”
“Even though it isn’t complete?” Sebastian asked. He looked as confused as Justin felt.
“Yup.” Linda stepped closer to Justin, and her perfume filled his nose, a strangely woody scent. “Like Sebastian said, bonds are my affinity. It was as clear as day. You reached through him and encouraged one of his chaos spirits to fight back.”
“How do you know it wasn’t Sebastian doing it?” This was absolutely insane.
“Because of the bond between mother and son,” Sebastian answered. “It’s not impossible to break, but I couldn’t hurt her without a full spell, and a powerful one. I thought I had a couple loose elderberries in my pocket, enough to create a distraction spell, but I was wrong.”
Sebastian turned back to Linda. “Also, what the fuck, Ma? You don’t pull that kind of shit with my people. Not if you want me to ever come back here, even to visit.”
Linda gestured dismissively. “I’m still not convinced. Especially now. If Justin has access to some of your power without the bond being solidified, it will only increase once you’ve mated. And I don’t trust him.”
“Mother, he is in the room . And we have a whole other mate. This is a conversation that won’t involve you.”
“Don’t shut me out, Sebastian.” Linda crossed to her son, inches away, and although she was almost a full foot shorter than him, she showed no sign of intimidation. “That’s what your father did. And look where he ended up. Homeless, cursed…if he’s even alive.”
Sebastian’s eyes flashed with anger. She had clearly crossed some invisible line between them.
“Father left for the same reason Veronica did. You drove him away. You know nothing about him now. None of us do. I wouldn’t push it.
One morning you’ll wake up and every one of your children will be gone. ”
Linda’s jaw set, and she crossed her arms. “If you think I don’t have the power to stop your mating, you’re stupid as well as foolish.”
“No.” Justin’s fangs dropped instinctually. There was no way he could take her on, but that didn’t matter. If someone attacked his mate, he’d risk everything. “You will not threaten Sebastian. I won’t allow it.”
“Oh, you won’t, little vampire?” Linda’s tone turned deadly. “You don’t have a?—”
“Enough.” Sebastian stepped between them, putting his arms out to stop the two from fighting.
“This still isn’t your business. We’re not in the 1600s, as much as you might act like it.
There are no arranged marriages or dowries.
And we can’t deal with any of it without Pavel.
He’s actively avoiding us, so in the end, none of this may matter. ”
For a moment Linda balled her fists and clenched her jaw, but after a moment she relaxed. Maybe Sebastian’s words had finally sunk in.
“He’s a gargoyle, right?” Linda asked. “They were built for protectiveness. The moment either of you is in a bit of danger, he’ll be right up your ass. He won’t be able to tear himself away.”