24
We had done it…we had found Phineas Wolfe, and it had only taken us a few hours of searching through The Shadow.
He watched Puck with a playful grin, propping himself up on his elbows against the cobblestone street.
It appeared no one had heard the brief scuffle, and for that I was thankful.
The crow that had been watching us from above cawed out overhead, and I peered through the fabric to see it circling above.
That most certainly had to be Kenna, sent by the council to watch over us.
It had been tracking our every move since we entered The Shadow despite it being difficult to see our movements from above, with most of the view blocked off from that vantage point.
“What can I help you with?” Phineas asked, his grin still plastered across his face despite Nik snarling before him and snapping his jaw, Puck’s Katana still pointed at his chest.
He was at a major disadvantage here, but you could never tell from his countenance.
“We need your help with something,” Puck replied, his jaw set.
“I don’t help people for free.”
“You stole something that belongs to us,” Puck rephrased, his eyes darting towards me for a fraction of a second.
“You’re going to have to be far more specific, I’ve stolen a great many things in my lifetime,” Phineas replied with a wink.
I stepped forwards and joined Puck, my fists clenched. “You stole a spell from my grimoire, and I want it back.”
“You want it back, or you need it back?” He laughed, and the sound bounced off the walls of the alley, echoing as it went.
“That’s not of your concern. You have the spell, and it belongs to me.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Again, you’ll need to be more specific. You see, one steals many spells when they are in the business of…stealing spells.”
“You steal spells…as a job?” My eyes flashed with anger as I peered down at him.
I wanted to wipe that grin right off his face.
“What do you think we do in The Shadow to make ends meet? We make do with the skills we have, and I happen to be very skilled at stealing spells.” He shrugged, the movement making Puck’s Katana snag on the fabric of his tunic.
I shook my head, anger bubbling beneath the surface. “The key…we are searching for the key. It’s a spell from the Kotova grimoire.”
“The Kotova grimoire?” The man laughed, raising an eyebrow at me. “Now that would have fetched a hefty price. You know our sovereign queen belongs to the name Kotova, though she won’t claim it for herself. Any spell from that grimoire would be equivalent to a lifetime’s worth of gold.”
“Do you have it?” I asked, my fingers twitching against the knife sheath at my thigh.
“Let’s discuss a price—” Phineas started, but was cut off as I whipped Stormslayer from its sheath and bent over, pressing the blade to his throat.
I could hear Nik’s human chuckle sounding behind me, he must have changed back into his human form. He would find me pressing a knife to someone’s neck humorous.
So twisted.
“Let’s not. How about you give me the spell, and you get to leave with your life. Sounds like a good deal to me.” My voice was cold as I pressed the dagger hard enough for a trickle of blood to trail down his neck to pool in his clavicle.
“You’re her, aren’t you?” he asked, laughing. The movement made the blood come faster, and I was almost certain this man was completely out of his mind. “You’re the Stormshade witch they’re all talking about. Sister to the queen. The rightful heir, and all that nonsense.”
“Shut up,” I ground out, pressing a knee into his chest.
This was all too amusing to him. I wanted to scream in frustration.
“I would listen to her if I were you,” Puck said, sheathing his Katana. “She’s got a temper, that one.”
“Even if I had the spell, which I don’t, I couldn’t give it to you,” Phineas replied.
I released some of the pressure on the blade.
“And why not?” I asked through my teeth, my patience wearing thin.
“It was the queen herself who contracted me to steal it. That would be treason.”
“So you did have it…and you gave it to Donika?” Hopelessness swelled inside of me.
If Donika had the spell for the key, she had surely destroyed it. If Donika had the spell…there was no hope in gaining control of all of this power. I would be reduced to parlor tricks for the rest of my life, and that type of magic would not help us win this war. I needed to equal Donika’s power, and that meant I needed to draw on a tremendous storm.
“That’s not what I said,” Phineas replied, his smile sinister.
I inclined my head towards him, my eyes narrowing. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, the queen contracted me to steal it. Over a decade ago. I did steal it…but I never said I gave it to her.”
“Then where is it if you never gave it to her, but you also don’t have it?” I asked, my frustration brewing.
I had to ask the exact right question with this man, and his smug demeanor was wearing on me.
“It simply disappeared. That Kotova grimoire has a mind of its own, if you hadn’t noticed. It was with me one moment, then it was gone the next. It was in my jacket pocket right here.” He patted the vest he wore showing the pocket was empty. “It was here, then it wasn’t. Simple as that.”
“That’s just great,” Tess moaned from behind me, throwing her arms up.
I pushed off Phineas with a frustrated grunt and he sat up, rubbing away the trickle of blood on his neck.
“Wish I could be of more help. Truly, I do,” his voice held a mocking edge, and I had half a mind to press the blade back to that same spot again but finish the job this time.
The book of shadows did, indeed, have a mind of its own. How could the spell have simply…disappeared? Someone else must have stolen it. If it was truly gone, why would the grimoire have shown me the vision of that particular spell? Something wasn’t adding up, but I wasn’t sure what, exactly, we were missing.
“Are there any other spells she contracted you to steal?” Nik asked, his arms crossed, brow raised.
“I don’t kiss and tell,” Phineas replied tightly.
“I’m not as nice and forgiving as our true queen, here. I will hurt you.” Nik’s gaze was dark as he searched Phineas’.
“I’m not sure she’s nice or forgiving. But I am sure it’s not in my best interest to answer that question,” Phineas replied with a tight smile.
Before I could even register what Phineas had said, Nik’s arm whipped back, slinging forwards to hit Phineas square in the jaw with a closed fist. Phineas fell back with a grunt, his hand cradling his jaw where Nik had punched him. He spit blood, and what I believed to be a tooth, before fixing Nik with a cold glare.
“That was highly unnecessary,” Phineas spat, his expression cross.
“I think it was quite necessary. Not only did you speak ill of your true queen, but you’re jerking us around. I’m done playing games. What other spells did the queen hire you to steal?”
“Does it matter? The Kotova grimoire hasn’t been seen in over a decade, nobody knows where it is,” Phineas replied.
Little did he know it was currently in my possession and had been for quite some time. I hadn’t noticed any other spells missing or pages ripped out, so I thought it was unlikely he had succeeded in stealing anything else. He would had to have manipulated a Kotova witch to have gained access to the spell in the first place, and deceiving one a second time would be near impossible.
“It matters,” Nik bit out. “Tell me what other spells she wanted you to steal, and I’ll spare the other side of your face.”
Phineas ran a hand through his greying hair and his eyes fell on his feet with a huff. “Only one. But as I said, I told her it was impossible. She asked me to steal a siphoning spell. But the grimoire is missing, and no one knows its location.”
She had wanted both Tyr and Phineas to steal that spell for her, but she had made do, even without it. She had still managed to create her magic siphoning Noctani.
“If I find out that you are lying to us, that the key spell is in your possession, I will not be so kind the next time we meet.” Nik’s voice was hard as he stepped forwards and glared down at Phineas.
“I don’t think you were particularly kind to begin with,” Phineas grumbled, rubbing his jaw.
Phineas Wolfe had been a dead end, so why had Alastir sent us after him?
He had stolen the spell, but somehow lost it. Or the spell left on its own…if that’s even possible. If that was the case, why couldn’t the grimoire simply show me its new location?
The visions sent to me from the book of shadows were selective, I could never decipher initially what it meant. What the book was trying to show me. We were still missing a piece of the puzzle, and I prayed that the spell hadn’t ended up in Donika’s hands in the end.
“One last thing—” Phineas started, cut short by Nik’s violent glare. “You’ll want to know this, friend.”
“What is it?” Nik asked through gritted teeth. A muscle feathered in his jaw, and I could see that he was losing his patience, too.
I didn’t want to draw any more attention to us, and I certainly didn’t want to leave a reputation behind of causing trouble in The Shadow. As it was, people knew we were here now. Phineas knew who we were. Word would get around that Diana Kotova, heir to the throne, had been in The Shadow. We didn’t need trouble, and we didn’t need people searching for us. Especially those loyal to Donika, or those in her army.
“There’s one little piece of information I’ve left out…” Phineas grinned, moving to stand and dust the dirt off his leather riding pants.
“And what might that be, friend?” Puck’s voice dripped with sarcasm as he moved to stand beside Tess.
A figure appeared at the mouth of the alley, and they didn’t appear very happy. We needed to get out of here…now.
“You wouldn’t be able to perform the spell anyway, even if you had it in your possession.”
“And why is that?” Puck asked, scorn thick in his voice as he pushed Tess towards the other end of the alley. Towards a crossroad that would lead us up and out of The Shadow.
Another figure joined the first, and Phineas’ grin deepened.
“It’s a binding spell. In order to bind it, you need two generations. A bloodline. Afraid you’re fresh out of luck where that is concerned,” Phineas replied with a shrug.
I wanted to cross the space between us and strangle him with my bare hands. Even if we found the spell, it would be useless to me because Donika had killed my mother. The only other witch in my direct bloodline that was still alive was Donika.
I bit back the tears that stung the back of my eyes, and Nik moved to block my view from Phineas.
“Run along,” Phineas cooed, moving closer now that he was flanked by a few of his men, his confidence renewed. “I hope we meet again soon.”
“Let’s go, Diana,” Nik’s voice was soft in my ear as he placed a hand against the small of my back to guide me.
We moved towards the mouth of the alley where Puck and Tess waited, and Phineas and his men followed suit.
“Faster,” he urged in my ear as he pushed me to walk before him.
He turned his back towards us as we retreated. As if he would fight all three men by himself. But after one long glance at Phineas, Nik took off after us.
We rushed through the streets at a clipped pace, following Puck’s lead as he appeared to know where we were going. I recognized the long, dark, tunnel and the spelled door on the other side of it. We raced up the steps and out of The Shadow, and it wasn’t until we were safely a block away from the staircase that I allowed myself a relieved sigh.
I bent over, my hands on my knees as I caught my breath. Nik had made sure we weren’t followed, but there was no way we could enter The Shadow again any time soon. Phineas and his men would spread the word, and it would be one of the first places Donika and her men would search for us.
“Well…that was a bust,” Tess’ voice was ragged from running. “I’m sorry, Diana.”
I shook my head to clear my thoughts, turning my face towards the sky that still threatened rain. “We will have to find another way. Another spell. It can’t be the only way. It can’t.”
Tess nodded in agreement.
I couldn’t give up so easily. There had to be another way, and we would find it. Maybe my grimoire would sense our change in direction and show me a new vision, guide us on a new path.
I let out a heavy exhale, and with it, my disappointment. As Alastir had said, I was hardly the first Stormshade to be granted an unnatural amount of power. There were those that came before me that struggled to control their magic, and I was no different. If there were answers to be found…I would find them.
I moved to unclasp my cloak around my neck, suddenly hot, when I felt something rustle in my jacket pocket. I patted it lightly, and it made the sound of crumpling paper.
Tess raised a brow in my direction, a smile on her face. “What is that?”
“I’m not sure,” I replied, reaching into my jacket and taking out a folded piece of paper.
It was brown parchment, aged by weather and time. I unfolded it carefully, a gasp escaping me.
“You have got to be kidding me.” Tess laughed, the realest laugh I had heard in a long time.
“What?” Nik asked, moving to see what it was that I had in my grasp.
On the paper before me was the key, a little worse for wear, but it was right here. “What the hell?”
“That was in your jacket pocket?” Puck asked.
I nodded. “It obviously hadn’t been there the whole time…”
How had it just…appeared there?
“Phineas had said the spell simply disappeared. Maybe it hid itself, sensing his intentions or that he wasn’t a Kotova. If it was still on his person, because he didn’t know it, it might have sensed you, too. The grimoire chose you after all, and that is a part of the grimoire,” Nik pointed out.
“You think it was invisible until another Kotova came along to claim it?” I asked.
“It’s not the most outlandish thing to consider.” Puck shrugged. “The Kotova grimoire does have a mind of its own, right? As your magic does. There is a lot we don’t know about your bloodline or your magic. I think the spell chose you, the same way the grimoire did.”
“I think the most outlandish thing about this whole situation is that Phineas wore the same vest for over a decade…” Tess replied with a grimace.
I couldn’t help but laugh. A swell of relief filled my chest—until I remembered the last thing Phineas had said.
“The spell may have hidden itself away in my jacket, but that doesn’t change the fact that we need a bloodline to bind my storm magic. A bloodline we don’t have.”
“Maybe there’s a loophole?” Tess offered.
“Maybe,” I replied, biting my lip.
I studied the words on the page and quickly realized a translation would be in order for this spell. The key needed to be physically removed from the paper, as I had seen in the vision the grimoire had sent me.
I folded the paper carefully and tucked it back into my pocket, shaking my head. The grimoire certainly was magical. To think that Phineas had the spell in his possession for the last decade and didn’t know it brought another smile to my lips. Maybe Tess was right, maybe there was a loophole.
“I’ll have to return this to its rightful place later, we need to update Isaac and the council on what’s happened.”
“Agreed.” Nik nodded, motioning towards the road that would take us to the safe house.
I prayed no one had followed us up and out of The Shadow, and that we weren’t tracked as we made our way to the safe house. I hadn’t seen Kenna since our spat with Phineas, and a string of unease unfurled in my gut. I had half expected her to meet us once we had come back up the stone steps, but she was nowhere to be seen.
We took a roundabout way to get there—to be sure we weren’t being followed. It took twice as long as it normally would, but there was a sense of relief that had settled between us that we had at least found the spell Alastir sent us to search for. Alastir hadn’t steered us wrong. That was the first step, the rest we could figure out later.
The closer we got to the safe house, the more a sensation of uneasiness settled in my chest. The sky overhead still hadn’t cleared, but it also hadn’t stormed yet. It had been teetering on a precipice all day, not moving one way or the other.
I thought I might have heard a scream in the distance, but searched the faces of the others and shrugged it off when it appeared they hadn’t heard anything themselves.
As we drew closer, I felt a swell of magic. As we turned the corner to see the safe house a few blocks away, my blood ran cold.
Witches filled the streets, magic swirling angrily in the air. The sound of screams and clashing metal and iron filled my ears, sending a chill down to my bones.
I exchanged an alarmed glance with Tess, but Nik and Puck were already off running. We were close on their heels, pumping my fists harder and harder as I pushed myself to keep up.
The first thing I saw was Isaac, blood smeared across his face, his sword clashing fiercely with a Nightshade guard from Donika’s army, her seal proudly displayed on his breast plate.
The rest of the resistance was out here, too.
Fighting.
They were fighting for their lives.
Dusk had ascended over Prins and smoke filled the streets, making it hard to see who was fighting who. The only relief I allowed myself was that I didn’t see any Noctani among the chaotic fray.
I pulled Stormslayer free and dove after Nik into the melee, my dagger tight in my grip. He shot me a glance that told me he knew there was no way to keep me out of the fighting, and that I better keep myself safe.
I nodded at him before he disappeared into the smog after Puck. I scanned the entrance to the safe house which had now turned into a raging battlefield, blood and bodies strewn about. Bile rose in my throat, but I quickly swallowed it down.
There was no time for second guessing. No time to be afraid.
This was everything I had trained for, and whether I was ready or not, the time to fight had come.
I stopped dead in my tracks when my gaze snagged on a familiar face. It wasn’t the one I had been expecting, but it sent a shiver down my spine all the same. His lips stretched into a menacing grin as he caught my eye, moving towards me with his sword raised.
Fletcher had found us, and he had brought an army.
The sky was on fire.