23. Through the Fog
THROUGH THE FOG
Irene
Alex had reacted quite well to Graves’s confession, all things considered.
He’d merely growled and grown fangs, fists clenching.
I supposed that the facts Bethlen was still at large and the fog still engulfed the palace had taken priority over his urge to punch Graves.
According to the werewolf, the sorcerer had a system of safe houses scattered around and through London—an extensive selection of different places. Storming them required a strategy.
But the most pressing matter was Raven Hall. If we wanted to catch Bethlen, keep Lucy safe, and organise an attack on Rothbart, we needed our palace back.
So here we were, watching Raven Hall from a hill from which the palace was visible. Or rather, from which it should be visible.
The fog was an impenetrable wall, seemingly made of concrete, broken only by the smoky snakes.
They kept going through it, disappearing and reappearing like a living ouroboros.
It was a disturbing sight, which didn’t escape the notice of humans.
Crowsbury was mostly populated by supernatural beings and they’d helped keep out intruders and busybodies, but The Illustrated London News had published an article about a strange fog spreading on the outskirts of London.
We had to get rid of the fog before someone came to investigate the matter.
Alex pinched the bridge of his nose. “We have to fight the strongest vampire in the world, and we don’t have a safe place to lock him up.”
Darius clicked his tongue. “The dungeon would be the perfect place. There’s a cell deep underground, reinforced with silver to prevent a vampire from escaping, and another with iron for sorcerers in case we need a place to detain Rothbart.”
I rubbed my goose-bumped arms. “Where is Carabosse? Doesn’t she need to eat constantly?”
“Unfortunately, no, she doesn’t.” Darius scratched his chin. “Carabosse’s magic comes from the outside. Mine from the inside.”
Alex and I gave him puzzled looks.
“Her magic works like a parasite,” Darius said. “It draws energy from the environment, depleting it. My magic comes from my blood. That’s why I need food to fuel it.”
“But that means…” I shivered as the smoky snakes seemed to grow bigger. “This fog will keep expanding, draining energy from the trees, animals, and people.”
He grimaced. “Yes. If we only knew why Carabosse summoned it.”
Alex pointed in the direction of Willow Grove. “She goes to the cemetery often. Did she lose a loved one?”
I perked up. “I’ve seen her crying in front of the grave of a girl called Aurora.”
Darius turned towards the cemetery. “We should take a look now before it’s too late.” He glanced at Alex. “Before Alex starts paying for his shiny new spell.”
“Thank you for the reminder,” Alex said in a flat tone. “I’d almost forgotten.”
“My pleasure.” Darius returned his attention to the hill. “The fog isn’t particularly dense on top of the hill for now.”
The only thing more frightening than a palace engulfed in snakes was a cemetery engulfed in snakes.
We left our relatively quiet spot to head for the hill.
The humidity clung to my coat and soaked my hair as we trekked along the rough terrain towards the hill.
Pale sunlight came through the fog but offered little comfort or warmth.
I searched every flickering shadow, expecting a snake to coil around me, and the unnatural silence enhanced the eerie sight.
“Look at the trees.” I pointed to the cypresses.
Their scale-like leaves were yellow and dangled forlornly from thin branches.
“It’s not just the trees.” Alex nodded towards the ground.
The grass made a crunching noise when I trampled upon it. The blades were thin and papery like old parchment.
I pulled a face. “It’s like walking on biscuits.”
Alex paused in the middle of the steep path. His shoulders stooped as if he were carrying a heavy weight.
I stopped next to him. “Was it here that you collapsed?”
“For the first time, I’d wished for someone to stab me.
I have never been that desperate, not even in the fever hospital.
” He brushed my fingers for a brief second.
“The only thing I don’t regret about what happened is that I was able to hold you and kiss you without fear.
Although those memories are poisoned by my bloodlust. I hadn’t understood how difficult resisting the thirst is until I experienced it.
I suppose the rogue feels like I did every moment. It must be horrible.”
“I almost lost you. If you hadn’t returned to your usual self, if you had gone fully rogue, we would have no choice but…” I couldn’t finish the sentence. A sickening lump swelled in my throat.
“It would have been the right thing.” He held my hand and ran his thumb over my knuckles. “I’d rather die than hurt you.”
Tenderness poured through our bond.
I stroked his thumb with mine. “You could have forced me, but you stopped. You didn’t feed from me.”
“Darius stopped me.”
“No. Before he entered, you were already withdrawing from me.” I rose on my tiptoes and kissed his lips lightly.
He drew in a deep breath. “Irene. There’s something I want to say—”
“Alex? Irene?” Darius waved his arms through the fog to attract our attention. “Where was Carabosse standing when you saw her?”
Alex went ahead for a few minutes. The fog was thinner compared to the one enveloping the palace, but that was a small comfort. I kept checking my feet and ankles, worried that one of those snakes might coil around them.
Dead flowers, dry plants, and charred grass blades littered the path.
“She was here.” Alex stopped in front of a small marble tombstone. “It’s easy to spot because, aside from the grave of Irene’s father, it’s the only clean tombstone.”
Just the name Aurora was engraved on it.
“Who was she?” I ran a hand over the stone, noticing how sparkling it was. “Cara has never answered me when I asked.”
It’d been recently scrubbed, and the weeds around it had been removed.
“One of Carabosse’s sisters? She has many sisters. Florine, Crystal, Miette…” Darius counted on his fingers. “Miette… Who is next? They’re like Father Christmas’s reindeer. You remember Dancer, Prancer, Comet, and then nothing else.”
Alex shot his gaze skywards. “Your point?”
“Parents should give simple names to their children,” Darius said.
“She loved Aurora, whoever she was.” I shivered as the fog thickened. “Does Cara see her other sisters?”
“Not that I know.” Glittering light was sparkling around Darius. His magic was coming back. “They had an argument when Carabosse realised she hadn’t been invited to a party or something silly like that.”
“How is the fog linked to Aurora?” Alex asked.
“What this fog might accomplish—” Darius’s aura twinkled so brightly I looked away. He stared at the grave then at the fog. “It makes sense. It’s a wild guess, but Carabosse might be trying to bring Aurora back to life.”
Alex frowned. “Is that possible?”
“Dark magic can do it. It’s not ethical but neither impossible.”
“And is the spell working?” I swatted away a tendril of fog curling around my finger.
“It’s difficult to say. But that’s the thing.
Cara’s magic requires a price, as some of us know very well.
” Darius shot a pointed glare at Alex who huffed.
“She must have paid a huge price to conjure this spell, which means…” He clasped his hands behind his back.
“We must find Cara. That’s all I have to say. ”
We turned towards the palace surrounded by snakes and fog.