Chapter 35 #3
“I know a great deal about you and your merry band of supes.”
“Oh, that’s a fun one. Shit, my pen ran out of ink,” Jeremy said. I glanced over my shoulder and didn’t see him. Was he hiding around the corner eavesdropping?
“I highly doubt that,” Teague said. Apparently, we were all ignoring Jeremy.
“I know about that feral wolf pack that used to live up in the hills. If you hadn’t dealt with them, I would have.
” His face contorted as his emotions rose.
The angles of his face grew sharper. His complexion paled.
His teeth, though, with their deadly points, those were the real showstopper.
Was this how vampires shifted? How interesting. I’d never seen anything like it.
“What do you know of the wolf pack?” Teague’s magic stirred. It was as dark as Nelson’s, but very, very different. Nelson’s magic felt like home to me. Teague’s made me shiver.
The whites and irises of Teague’s eyes turned black. The vampire, obviously seeing the change as a threat, dropped his fangs and hissed menacingly at the mage.
Uh oh.
“Stop!” I jumped from my seat and put my hands out to stop anyone else from moving.
Unicorns weren’t supposed to cry, but we didn’t usually lose our cool either. An angry unicorn wasn’t quite as devastating as a sad one, but it still made people pay attention.
“Please,” I said. “I have been looking for this crystal for so long. Please. I just need to use it once. I don’t care what history you have between you.
I’m sorry, but I just don’t. Nelson said he wanted you to look it over, Teague, just in case it’s been tampered with.
But now that I’ve heard Keenan, I’m convinced it’s okay. He is telling the truth.”
Everyone stared at me.
“You can sense lies like a hellhound?” Van asked.
“Sort of? I guess. I mean, they make me itchy.”
“Adrian, go get me another pen! Hurry!” Jeremy whisper-shouted from somewhere in the other room.
“I think we have much to discuss with the vampire,” Gage said. “But I agree with Morgan. I do not believe the vampire means us harm.”
“For now,” Teague muttered under his breath.
But both he and Keenan sat back in their seats.
“I would still like to check it,” Teague said.
“I’m okay with that.” I nodded.
I was so close to getting my fingers on that crystal, I almost couldn’t contain my excitement. But I could wait another minute or two.
Teague plucked the crystal from Nelson’s palm.
He murmured nonsensical sounding words as he stared at the crystal.
As his magic rose, his eyes changed to black again, and the stench of ozone filled the area.
I’d never known a death mage, so it was fascinating to watch black fill his eyes.
It was similar to Nelson, but somehow not, at the same time.
With Nelson, I got the sense that he was still there looking at me.
With Teague, his eyes reminded me of a skull from a spooky horror show.
A moment later, Teague’s eyes reverted to a more human-like appearance. His fingers curled around the crystal, hiding it from sight. He looked up and locked his gaze on mine.
“Why? Why do you want this crystal?”
I swallowed hard. My nerves jangled. I wasn’t used to anyone but Violet knowing my business. Well, and Nelson too. But that was brand new. I cleared my throat.
“I’m looking for my origins,” I whispered.
Everyone stared at me. I wrapped myself around Nelson’s closest arm, needing to feel him. His strength.
“You can tell them, it’s okay.” Nelson brushed a kiss to my temple.
I closed my eyes to gather my thoughts. When I opened them again, everyone was still watching me.
“My Uncle Fraser wasn’t actually my uncle.
Not biologically. He found me in the woods one day.
I was…” I faltered, and Nelson put his free hand over mine where I clung to him.
“I was newly born. He thought only a few hours old at most. But I was alone. No one else was there.” I took a shaky breath.
“Uncle Fraser looked for my parents, but no one had heard of unicorns. No one had seen one in centuries. And I… I just…” I shrugged helplessly.
“And this crystal,” Teague said softly, “would let you see the moment of your birth and possibly help you find your family.” His earlier anger seemed to have faded like his ozone-scented magic.
I nodded.
Teague still seemed reluctant to hand over the crystal, but he held it out to me. With a trembling hand, I reached for it. When I touched it, magic tingled along my skin. I stared at it, unable to look away.
The crystal was mesmerizing. There was an unusual seam of lapis lazuli, citrine, and amethyst running through the quartz in an undulating line. I rolled the stone between my fingers, and the powerful stone sparkled.
I’d planned to tuck it in my pocket and use it once I was alone, but the crystal had different ideas. All the questions I’d ever had about my birth, my family, and my kin surged forward and battered at me. And still, I couldn’t look away from the crystal.
My heart thundered in my chest. It was happening. Right now.