Chapter 24 Act of Treason #3
Endure. The word echoed in my mind as I approached the pool’s edge, my heart already hammering against my ribs.
I would endure the water, endure the fear, endure whatever waited for me at Evermere.
And then, if the Devil’s luck stayed with me, I would find Eluned and ensure Mother never discovered our failure.
With one last deep breath, I stepped into the lake, feeling the cold water climb my legs like grasping hands, and surrendered myself to the journey I dreaded most.
#
The water spat me out at the edge of Evermere’s lake like something distasteful, and I crawled onto the muddy shore on hands and knees, retching and gasping.
Every nerve ending screamed from the cold, from the sensation of being unmade and remade through miles of suffocating liquid.
It was official: I hated water travel with a passion that bordered on phobia.
The crushing pressure, the disorientation, the absolute certainty with each passing second that I would never do this again.
I collapsed among the bulrushes, my sodden clothes clinging to my skin like a shroud, and focused on breathing.
In, out. In, out. The morning sun had climbed higher now, warming my face even as my body trembled with cold and delayed panic.
Ondine had warned me the journey would be difficult due to the distance, but nothing could have prepared me for the reality of it.
The water had felt sentient, malevolent even, as it pulled me down and through, twisting me along currents that seemed to delight in my terror.
I’d lost all sense of direction, of time, of self.
Only the desperate need to find Eluned had kept me from surrendering to the darkness that pressed against my consciousness.
I spat out the last taste of lake water and forced myself to focus. I’d survived. I’d arrived. Now I needed to complete my mission.
Crawling deeper into the cover of the reeds, I surveyed my surroundings.
Evermere spread before me, more impressive than I’d expected.
The manor house rose from manicured lawns in a harmonious blend of modern and traditional architecture, glass and stone married in clean lines that spoke of wealth and taste.
Around it, forest pressed close on three sides, while the fourth opened to this lake, its surface now placid and innocent in the morning light.
No obvious guards patrolled the grounds, but that meant nothing. The Cimmerians were dhampirs, dangerous and powerful. Their defenses would be subtle, magical rather than physical. I clutched at the wet fabric over my heart, feeling the small bulge of Mother’s favor token in my inner pocket.
Thank the Devil it hadn’t been lost in the water.
I needed to move quickly. The scrying mirror had shown Serafina and her husbands were away from the house, but I couldn’t count on them staying gone for long. And somewhere within those walls, Eluned was being held. If she still lived.
The thought sent a fresh spike of anger through me. Returning to Mother without her was unthinkable.
A movement on the path leading from the house caught my eye, and I froze, pressing myself deeper into the reeds. A gardener, human from the looks of him, emerged pushing a wheelbarrow. He wore earbuds and hummed tunelessly as he made his way toward a small shed at the edge of the property.
I needed to act now, while human eyes were the only ones watching.
With trembling fingers, I extracted the favor token from my pocket. The small black stone was unnaturally dry despite my soaking clothes, its crimson symbol seeming to pulse against my palm.
A summoning token was dangerous, unpredictable. The demon bound to it would fulfill one request, but often in ways that created more problems than they solved. Still, I had no choice. I couldn’t approach Evermere directly, not with the magical safeguards that undoubtedly surrounded it.
I crawled toward a cluster of willow trees that would provide better cover, wincing as my knees sank into the muddy shore. Once hidden beneath the drooping branches, I cupped the token between my palms and focused my magic into it, feeling the stone grow warm, then hot against my skin.
“By blood and bargain, I summon thee,” I whispered, the ritual words tasting like ash on my tongue. “By pact and payment, come to me.”
The air between my hands thickened, darkened, as if shadow itself was congealing into something solid.
The token grew hotter still, until I had to fight the urge to drop it.
A smell like burning hair and rotting meat filled my nostrils, making my eyes water and my stomach heave.
The token shattered between my palms, its fragments dissolving into oily black smoke that pooled on the ground before me.
The smoke churned and bubbled, rising in a twisting column that gradually took shape, not quite solid, not quite vapor.
The demon that materialized was smaller than I’d expected, perhaps the height of a child, but there was nothing childlike about its appearance.
Its form kept shifting, as if it couldn’t decide on a single shape, but certain features remained constant: too many limbs, moving independently; a cluster of yellow eyes that blinked asynchronously; a mouth that split its face like a wound, lined with jagged teeth that protruded at odd angles.
The stench intensified. Sulfur and decay mingled with something metallic, like blood left too long in the sun. I gagged, but forced myself to maintain eye contact with the creature. To show weakness now would be fatal.
“Daughter of Arabesque,” it hissed, its voice like insects crawling over dry leaves. “The mother’s debt is called by the child?”
“I claim the service owed to my mother,” I replied, proud that my voice remained steady despite the terror clawing at my throat.
The demon’s form rippled, limbs rearranging themselves into a mockery of a bow.
“Thy wish, mistress? Thy desire? Thy doom?”
I ignored the implied threat. All demons tried to frighten their summoners; it was part of their nature. Rather crass and cliche, really
“I need entry to that house,” I said, pointing toward Evermere. “Undetected.”
The demon’s many eyes swiveled to follow my gesture, then returned to fix on me with unsettling intensity. Its mouth stretched wider in what might have been a smile, revealing more teeth than should have been possible.
“The dhampir nest,” it said, sounding almost delighted. “Their blood tastes of stars and darkness. Old magic, both vampiric and royal, guards their threshold.”
“Can you get me inside or not?” I demanded, growing impatient. Every moment I spent arguing with this creature was a moment Serafina and her husbands might return.
The demon bobbed what passed for its head in a mocking nod.
“I can, I will, I must,” it said, the words running together like spilled ink. “Thy bidding, mistress.”
I didn’t trust its eagerness, but I had no choice.
“Then do it.”
It extended what might have been a hand, a writhing mass of finger-like appendages, toward me.
“A touch to transport,” it said. “The price already paid.”
I steeled myself and reached out, letting those cold, damp tendrils wrap around my wrist. The sensation was revolting, like being caressed by dead, wet things. The demon’s eyes all blinked in unison, and its mouth stretched impossibly wide as it whispered, “As you wish.”
The world twisted around me, not unlike the water travel but somehow worse.
Colder, darker, with a malevolence that seemed to press against my very soul.
For a moment that stretched like eternity, I existed nowhere, suspended in a void that hungered.
Then reality snapped back into focus with brutal suddenness, and I stumbled forward, barely keeping my feet.
I was inside Evermere.
The demon was gone, its service rendered, but I could still feel the phantom sensation of its touch on my skin. I shuddered and rubbed at my wrist, fighting the urge to cry out as revulsion washed through me.
Focus, Amabel. Focus.
I stood in what appeared to be the main foyer of Evermere, a spacious entrance hall with polished wood floors and cream-colored walls adorned with tasteful artwork.
A grand staircase curved upward to my right, while doorways to my left and directly ahead led deeper into the house.
Sunlight streamed through windows high above, catching motes of dust that danced in the beams.
It was beautiful, elegant, and I was violating it, an intruder dripping lake water onto the immaculate floor.
Fear gripped me anew, sharper now that I was inside. What if Serafina returned? What if there were guards I couldn’t see? What if the demon’s method of entry had triggered alarms?
But there was no going back. I had to find Eluned, had to complete this mission, and get out with my own skin intact.
I whirled toward the front door, hands already weaving a spell. Magic flowed from my fingertips like gossamer threads, forming an intricate trap across the doorway. The web glimmered faintly, strands thinner than desired.
Let it hold long enough, I whispered to myself. Let them be distracted. Let Eluned prove worth saving just this once.
How long it would fool a Cimmerian was anyone’s guess, but it was what I could do.
I shivered in the climate-controlled air of Evermere. The residual feeling of the demon’s touch lingered on my wrist like an oil slick, impossible to wipe away. I rubbed at the spot absently, my mind racing through possibilities, contingencies, escape routes.
Find Eluned. That was the primary objective. And if you can’t find her, you know what to do.
Mother’s cold voice echoed in my head, and I flinched as if she stood beside me. If Eluned couldn’t be rescued, she couldn’t be allowed to talk.