Chapter 108 : The Magic Book
*Lena*
Time passed in a blur of mingled stillness and impossible activity. I spent much of my days in Winter
Forest sitting in the library at the castle, snuggled in a plush blanket and flannel pajamas while I stared
blankly at the same page of the same book I'd been trying to read for nearly a week.
I knew I wouldn't hear from Xander for a while, likely a very long time if I was being honest with myself.
Mom did her best to lift my spirits. On the third day after Xander and Oliver left, she started reading
aloud to me in the confines of the library from books I'd loved from my childhood spent running wild in
this territory.
Maeve joined in on the fourth day, sitting with her long legs draped over my mother's lap as she rested
her head on the armrest and stared at the ceiling with the same blank expression I wore on my own
face. All three of her sons, my cousins, were in Breles. Her husband, her mate, was there too. Her
brother, my father, would be fighting beside them all.
We just didn't know when the first thundering of war would sound, and every minute waiting was a cruel
game of what-ifs.
Grandma Rosalie was the one who kept us fed and warm while we holed up in the library. Snow fell
heavily outside the frosted windows as cart after cart of tea was wheeled in, though often left
untouched, untasted.
On the fifth day, Grandma joined us in the “depression nest," wrapping a thick blanket around her
shoulders as she settled on the couch next to me, resting her hand against my knee.
But on the sixth day, my grandpa came to the library, and our self-pity party was forced to an abrupt
end.
“This is getting ridiculous," he grumbled, easing himself into an armchair with a view of all four of us.
“Why? I thought you'd enjoy a break from all of us women," Maeve yawned, twirling a lock of her red
hair around her finger.
“Every blanket in the castle is currently in the library," he continued, motioning toward the twin couches
we had claimed, which faced each other with a coffee table in between, which was currently littered
with books. The spell book sat on top of the strewn books, its leather cover shimmering in the reflection
of the fire. We'd taken turns flipping through the pages, looking for something, anything, substantial, but
had found nothing.
“Leave us be, Ethan," Grandma smiled softly.
Grandpa furrowed his brow, looking at us one by one. Maeve narrowed her eyes at him, sizing him up.
“Don't look at us like that, Dad."
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“Why not? You're all acting like infants."
“You know for a fact that if I had a choice, I'd be in Breles with the rest of the armies, not wasting my
years of warrior training trying to figure out what I'm meant to do with this!" she waves her hand toward
the book for emphasis, then tucked her hand back under her blanket, scowling. “I hate that I'm not
there."
“Me too," I agreed, and Grandpa settled his gaze on me. He'd been filled in on the situation when he
returned to Winter Forest two days ago, after a long trip from Breles with a stop in Mirage. All of the
Alphas were congregating in Breles, where news of new night attacks was starting to trickle in from the
westernmost packs in Findali.
There were no armies of vampires yet, though. They hadn't found the portal, or they hadn't figured out
how to cross in large numbers.
The elders of the pack lands, mostly retired Alphas who'd passed down their titles, or high ranking men
and women tasked with forming the committees that kept peace in the pack lands, had taken over for
the younger Alphas who were leading their warriors into battle.
My grandfather was an elder now, and a very opinionated one at that.
“Well, figure out the book and then you can go, Maeve," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “It's
that simple."
“But it's not that simple," Mom cut in, casting Grandpa a long look. “We don't know what we're looking
for."
“What about… contacting the High Priestess?" Grandma asked.
Maeve tilted her head, considering. “It's actually not a bad idea. Monica has been helpful in a lot of
different ways. Maybe she can grant us access to the records they keep in the temple," Maeve said as
she straightened up a bit.
“We should involve Mara as well," Mom added, and I immediately went rigid, remembering my meeting
with Mara, one of the refugees from Dianny and the younger sister of none other than Tasia, when she
had been overseeing the investigation of Morhan University and their damning misconduct involving
the safety of students.
“We'd have to tell them the truth of the matter," Grandma said.
“There won't be much need to explain. Word is already spreading about what's being seen in the rural
villages in Findali. Rumors are spreading. Oliver, Xander, and his Beta have been tasked with readying
the forces of the Alphas for battle–"
“You've seen Xander?" I asked hurriedly. Grandpa nodded, settling back against his armchair.
“When I left for Mirage, he was preparing to head south for Egoren, with his Beta. He brought a family
of.... vampires, to Breles. To help train–"
“Gideon and Alma?" I asked excitedly, damn near jumping to my feet. I got tangled in the blankets and
nearly tripped over my grandma, who steadied me with her arm.
“Maybe. I didn't ask their names."
I felt a flood of relief wash over me. Xander was leaving Breles. He was going to Egoren. He'd be safe,
at least for a little while longer. I wondered if Abigail had gone with him, and then prayed that she had.
Maybe Adrian would force her to stay in Egoren, out of harm's way.
Grandma stood up and stretched her arms over her head, and I caught Grandpa's gaze as he watched
her. Even after over forty years together, there was still a flicker of longing in his eyes. He hid it well,
and it was gone in an instant as he braced himself and rose from his chair, his hand wrapping around
the head of his cane.
“That little girl," he asked Grandma, “is she still coming to dinner tonight?"
“Sasha?" Grandma asked with a laugh. “Yes. Why do you ask?"
“I got out the old train set for her to play with, the one that the boys used to love. She looked rather
bored when they came to dinner last week–" Grandpa's voice faded as he walked out of the library with
Grandma.
I sat still for a moment as I was hit with a sudden realization that, hopefully, would change things for the
better when it came to the book.
“Sasha's mother, Clare. Did she tell you about her history?" I asked my mom and Maeve, looking
between them.
Maeve looked at Mom, the two of them looking confused.
I took a deep breath, choking on a laugh. “Clare's a seer. Her mother was Lycennian. She… she might
be able to help us."
***
Clare walked a wide circle around the table the book was sitting on, her eyes narrowed into slits. Sasha
was playing in the dining hall just across the foyer from us, her blonde pigtails bouncing as she jumped
up and down with excitement as Grandpa put together the train set for her.
Clare's powers of sight were different from what Mom and I could do. She didn't have visions. She
didn't really see anything at all. But she could feel things, which seemed significant to me, since we'd
looked and looked through the book and were obviously missing something substantial.
“I don't like this," Clare huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, her golden brown hair trembling as
she shook her head. She was dressed in a cream colored turtleneck sweater and jeans, and had the
same scowl on her face that I remembered her by. She hadn't bothered to tell me what happened to
her after the fall of Cedar Hollow. I wasn't even going to ask. Xander was convinced that Hale had died
in that battle, and I didn't want to bring up her brother's death, not now.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“What do you mean?" Mom asked. Clare pursed her lips, taking a step toward the book with her hand
overstretched, then pulled her hand away, clenching it into a fist.
“This is dark, whatever it is. There's some kind of… barrier around it. It hurts to even come near it," she
said. “It… burns."
“It burned Xander, too," I said. “And he's of Lycaon's line."
“But do you see anything?" Maeve urged.
Clare sighed, motioning toward the book. “Open it for me."
I stepped forward and opened it to the title page. Clare stepped forward, her jaw flexing as she leaned
over the table to get a better look.
The font was incredibly small, almost hard to read, and was handwritten.
“That's Morrighan's name," she said, and I nodded.
“This book belonged to her."
Clare closed her eyes for a split second, then opened them wide, shaking her head.
“Again, this is very dark stuff, old stuff."
“Mommy?" Sasha said as she skipped into the room.
Clare leaned away from the book, looking in Sasha's direction.
“He is taking a long time with the twains," Sasha shrugged, pointing a finger across the foyer to the
dining hall, where Grandpa was sitting on the floor, piecing the wooden tracks together with the
calculated precision of an engineer. He probably hadn't even noticed Sasha had left the room.
“What is that sound?" Sasha said before any of us could reply to her. She put her hands over her ears,
pouting.
“What sound?" Clare asked, looking around.
We all looked around, but it was quiet in the library.
“Someone singing, right there!" Sasha pointed to the book before putting her hands over her ears
again.
“Singing?" I said, glancing at my mom and Maeve before turning back to Sasha.
Clare's brow furrowed as she reached for her daughter, guiding her toward the book. “What are they
singing, sweetheart? Do you know the words?"
“They're howling," Sasha said, screwing her face into a grimace.
Clare and I met each other's eyes.
“Howling?" Mom said, but Maeve stepped forward, closing the book and gathering it in her arms.
Clare turned Sasha toward the foyer and led her away, glancing back at us over her shoulder with a
look that said she understood what needed to happen next.
But I wasn't totally sure what was happening.
Maeve ran her tongue along the inside of her lower lip, looking thoughtfully down at the book.
“This is supposed to be read… I think–I think I need to shift to make sense of this."
“Why did Sasha hear howling when none of us heard it?" I asked.
“Magic, I guess," Maeve sighed, her eyes lost in thought. “I'll try after dinner."