Chapter 3 Puck #2
I’m not sure what’s changed in her, but she wears confidence like a second skin now. Used to, it was more of an act. She was strong because she had to be, not because she believed in herself. Now, it’s like she’s blossomed. And I missed it.
“Thanks,” Luciu mutters. “Halfway through the job, the liche lady approaches me about expanding the scope of the work. She spoke as if it was something they’d just come up with, but the way she acted didn’t match up.
I got the distinct impression this was part of the job all along, but they didn’t want to tell me about it until they’d seen the work.
Anyway, they had me put additional wards and stronger work on two different spaces.
The first was a deep dungeon holding cell.
Basically, a big stone pit. And the other was Treznor’s throne room. ”
“Throne room?” Gracie parrots back at him.
Vyslan snorts. “Seriously?”
Luciu grimaces. “He’s arrogant. The throne room is probably where Treznor spends most of his time and does whatever work a vampire does. If he was looking to imprison a Unique, that’s where he’d be. It’s the only space that would have a hope of holding someone as powerful as Treznor.”
“Can you show us where this place is?” I ask.
“Fuck yeah.” Luciu pulls out his phone and taps the screen a few times before laying it on the table.
“This is where we are right now, yeah? There are a lot of spells on the place to disguise how to get there. But I expected Treznor to pull something shitty. So, I might have woven some extra spells into the wards. This way, if I wanted to make my way back there or disable the security, I could. Not that I expected I’d do it.
I just… Well, I liked the idea that I could.
Anyway! Those spells lead back…” He zooms out on the map and drags the screen west a ways, then zooms in on a pin shaped like a red drop of blood.
“Here. The main entrance is carved into these rocks and goes down. There are three entrances. One you don’t want to mess with.
But the other is more of a servant’s utility entrance where the thralls can come and go.
That’s where I’d slip in first after disabling the security.
With the cameras off-line and my backdoor through the wards, we can walk straight in without anyone the wiser.
Only hiccup is if there are thralls or other security wandering around. ”
“What’s so bad about the second entry?” Gracie asks.
Luciu grimaces and wrinkles his nose. “It’s his… Well, it’s his compost heap.”
“His…?” Gracie’s eyes go wide. She throws herself back against the chair and lifts her hand to her throat.
I reach over and rub the back of her neck and shoulders as she stares at Luciu with wide eyes, processing what he’s just divulged.
“It’s really fucked up. I’m not going to lie.
” Luciu leans his forearms on the table and stares off into space.
I think this job tested his boundaries in more ways than one.
He’s clearly made of stronger stuff than I realized.
“The bodies attract all sorts of things. Some of which I think Treznor fostered or keeps around for security. Or something. That entrance doesn’t need spells protecting it.
The monsters would be enough. It is my professional and personal opinion that none of you need to see that. ”
Finally, Gracie turns toward me. Her gaze is flinty, and her guard is all the way up. “What do you know about this douchebag?”
I wish I had a better answer for her. “Nothing, actually. You could say that Treznor and I are natural enemies. We haven’t crossed paths.”
Her nose wrinkles. “How? How have you not met him?”
I know what she’s implying. Blood magic and vampires might seem like a natural fit. But we aren’t.
“Simple, really.” I lift my shoulders and decide to take direction from the others at the table. Honesty. “Treznor had his focus. I had mine.”
Gracie sighs, and her scrunched nose takes on an annoyed wrinkle. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“The only reason I was here was to find and watch over you.”
“What?”
“Gracie, I was never here looking for work, furthering a career, or chasing down some elusive magic. I’ve been here on a mission, not hunting up work or other amusements.
I was here for you all this time. The moment you were born, Darius knew.
He saw it. And I went looking. I set limits, of course. But my focus has always been you.”
Her mouth hangs open, and her eyes are so wide I could fall into them.
“Damn,” Vyslan mutters.
“Oh, boy,” Darius whispers.
“What?” Gracie says yet again. “I mean—what? Why didn’t you ever tell me that? What the fuck, Puck?”
Vyslan chuckles and reaches over, smacking Luciu’s elbow. “What the fuck, Puck? That’s a catchphrase if I ever heard one.”
Gracie abandons Darius’ hand and turns to face me. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“You were young. A three hundred-year-old fae showing up to claim a baby isn’t exactly a good look.
And besides, I know a thing or two about being groomed.
That wasn’t what Darius or I wanted for you.
We wanted…” My words clang in my head, the ironic meaning creating a discord in my chest. “We wanted you to be free to choose your path… And, yes, I am aware of how that sounds now that I’ve said it. ”
She just sits there staring at me with her dark lashes fluttering and long wisps of hair framing her face.
“For how long?” she asks.
I tilt my head to the side and frown. Didn’t I just tell her? Though I suppose it wasn’t spelled out. “I think you were six months old by the time I tracked you down?”
She stares and blinks, lips still parted.
“Wait, you’ve been watching over her for twenty-five years?” Luciu asks.
“Yes. Though I ensured we didn’t have contact until she was legally a human adult.”
Darius gets up and grasps the back of her chair. While he doesn’t pull, the floorboards tilt up and her chair slowly eases back from the table, making enough room for Darius to kneel in front of her and take her hands in his.
“Gracie?” he says.
She blinks at me twice more before slowly turning her head and looking down at my brother.
“This is overwhelming, isn’t it?” he asks.
She nods.
“Ever since we were born, our parents have tried to whittle away at who we are to make us into who they wanted us to be. That’s all they’ve ever wanted.
Puck was supposed to carry their hopes and dreams for power.
I was supposed to bear the brunt of all they didn’t want.
There have been periods in our lives where we weren’t who we wanted to be.
That’s something we never wanted for you.
Regardless of what the future showed us, we wanted you to have the freedom we didn’t.
Our parents were aware of you. With the bindings they put on me, I wasn’t always able to keep my visions from them.
Having Puck guard you was the only way we knew to ensure they didn’t come for you to use you against us.
You have every right to be upset with us.
But please? Try to see how we did what we thought was best to protect you. ”
“I’m not… Mad, I mean,” she whispers. “I’m just… Processing.”
“Sweet witch?” Vyslan calls out, stretching his arm over the table. “Do you need a moment?”
She shakes her head and smacks her cheeks. “No. No, in the grand scheme of things, Ezra matters more right now. I’d like to put a pin in this and come back to it later, if that’s okay?”
She looks from Darius to me and back. I don’t like how she isn’t willing to look at me most of the time or the way she’s staring at the floor. But she is right. Our past actions and decisions aren’t the issue at this moment.
“If I may recommend a plan of action?” I say to the table. Our parents trained me to lead, after all.
Vyslan waves his hand, and Gracie finally looks at me.
“Please?” she mutters.
I glance at the newest addition to this group. “Luciu will need to devise a method to assist with our entry and gather equipment. Correct?”
He nods. “Yeah. It shouldn’t take long, though. If we could get my truck, I’d have everything I need. And like I said, I kind of planned for this already.”
“Then I propose Luciu make what lists and plans he can while we’re here now.
Gracie can use that time to handle whatever new issues have cropped up with the coven, Briella, and Poppy.
Meanwhile, Vyslan, Darius, and I will prepare the cars, reinforce the property, get Luciu’s truck, and be at both of your beck and call.
I’d also prefer it if we waited until after noon to embark on this adventure.
First, Gracie needs rest. Please don’t argue.
You were awake all night. If you keep going, you’re going to have an aural migraine that negatively impacts your ability to see.
The vampire stronghold will be poorly lit.
It is a matter of your safety, not coddling. ”
“How do you know that?” Vyslan asks, sounding genuinely curious.
“My abilities allow me to more accurately monitor Gracie’s health and anticipate her needs. Sometimes before she is aware of them.”
Luciu’s brow furrows, and he scratches his chin. “Is it an active ability or a spell?”
“Passive, actually.”
His brows shoot up. “That’s fascinating. I’ve got some migraine meds if that’ll help?”
Gracie must like Luciu, because she doesn’t roll her eyes. The number of times people have offered her Excedrine and some tip about a hot or cold shower are so many even I can’t keep count. But I quickly learned that was not the right thing to offer.
“Thanks, but no,” she says diplomatically.
She picks up her fork and takes a deep breath.
“Puck’s plan is a good one. I want to eat and then take a quick stab at a countermeasure spell for the binding.
But I think it’s too late. The coven is trying to lock the three of us down as breeders.
They probably did binding spells for each of us all at once.
But because Briella and Poppy are younger than me and I put protections on them up to a certain point, those bindings won’t snap into place for a few more months.
I’ll try something, but it might just be too late. After that, I should attempt to sleep.”
“I could help with that,” Vyslan says.
“Uh…” She narrows her gaze. “No offense, but—how?”
He shrugs. “You carry a lot of tension in your neck and shoulders. Not to mention normal back strain you get by virtue of being a woman with a shapely figure. A massage would help relax you to the point I think you could rest.”
“Oh. Um, that sounds nice,” she mutters and stares at her plate.
I’ve done exactly that for her countless times.
I’d do it now if I thought she’d let me.
But I’m not stupid enough to think she’d accept that from me right now.
Up until now, my interactions with Gracie have been calculated.
I wanted her to rely on me. Need me. And I succeeded.
I just never told her the whole story. What I truly wanted from her or how far I’m willing to go to get it.
And perhaps I made a misstep in there. We are different beings from different worlds, after all.
But without her, there isn’t any reason for me to keep going.
I tried living for my brother, and it’s made me a shell of a man.
Either I fix things with her or… There really is no or for me.