Fearless Magic (13 page)

They shrugged their shoulders, and shook their heads. I turned around, hoping to find him in the flashing lights and crowded room, knowing it was impossible and hoping beyond hope that he was Ok. However, as soon as I thought the worst, he violently thrust his way through the edge of the dance floor, sweating and looking frightened., but most importantly, shimmering head to toe with glitter.

His shirt opened at the top, revealing his smooth chest, appeared as if some of his buttons had popped off. His tie was completely askew and looser than it was earlier and his reddish hair was tussled. His eyes turned from wild to relieved as soon as he found us and my instant reaction was that he had been detained by some Titans.

“Titus, why are you covered in glitter?” I exclaimed, using my fingers to try to brush it away from his exposed chest.

“There were these girls, and they were.... they were.... they were crazy!” He screamed, his eyes turning feral for a moment.

Even in the heat of the mission, that was the funniest thing any of us had heard in a long time. We burst into laughter, while Titus tried to pull his look back together and I tried to brush the glitter off his clothes.

“Whatever dude, just as long as you're Ok with carrying this thing out looking like Disco Barbie, it's cool with us,” Xavier teased him and I tried to control my laughter while Titus stared down Xavier threateningly.

“Ok, well, we were right,” I shouted, focusing their attention, “we're pretty sure they recognized me or Jericho or both of us and now that we are talking with you guys, I'm sure your cover is blown too. So let's focus, find Sebastian and get the hell out of here before Titus gets kidnapped by girls who want to glitter him to death.” I smiled, trying to keep the mood light.

“Same teams?” Xander shouted, gesturing among all of us.

“I say we all split up,” I shouted back, “if anyone finds him, get him up on the balcony where we can see you and we'll all converge. I don't think any of us will be in trouble unless we try to leave. It's going to be messy no matter how we get out of here. And if you get into any trouble, shift,” I said pointedly, looking at the three boys that were Shape-shifters, “Or send up a sign,” I turned to Jericho, “Which door is the best way to the surface?”

“That one.” Titus pointed to the opposite entrance than the one we came through, the one behind the DJ booth. Then Titus, Xander and Xavier immediately split up, disappearing into the chaos surrounding us.

“I'm coming with you.” Jericho demanded, “I don't want you to be alone in here.”

“I'm not alone,” I replied confidently, “and I'll be fine. Trust me. This will go faster anyway. Besides if I'm alone, I might distract the Guard long enough for you to find him.” Jericho stared at me for a moment longer, I could see the internal debate he was having. I made sense from a tactical standpoint, but from an emotional one, not so much. “Go!” I shouted, pointing my finger and he reluctantly obeyed, walking backwards into the crowd before disappearing completely into the black hole of the dance floor.

I entered the swaying wall of people through a different gap and forced myself in and out of impossible spaces in search of Sebastian. I hoped I would be able to feel out his magic if I got close enough to him, but the bodies pressing against me in one solid movement of celebration with a mixed frenzy of electricity suggested otherwise.

It wasn't until I literally ran right into him that I realized he was looking for me as well. “Are you here to wish me a happy birthday?” he shouted over the roar of the party. I stood up straighter, trying to take a step back from him. Our bodies were firmly pressed together in the middle of the frenetic floor.

“Actually, I did,” I shouted into his ear. I took a small step back, realizing that I was never going to be able to feel his magic, because he had none left; I had taken it. Now he stood before me a hollowed shadow of himself, with dull and lifeless eyes, in sunken black circles. He was ghostly white, and trembled while standing as if the effort to remain upright was tremendously tiring.

“Then you won't mind coming upstairs with me?” he asked with practiced politeness, his eyes menacing in their dark sockets.

“Not at all, as long as you don't mind leaving with me,” I shouted, smiling at him with the same set of manners. I felt in control. Even if Titans surrounded the room, Sebastian was weak and helpless. And that was all that I needed to fuel my vengeance.

“Eden, if you finish what you started, I'll go anywhere with you and do anything you want,” he yelled desperately, his voice gruff and strained.

“Then it's a deal,” I agreed quietly, glancing up at the Titan lined balcony and wondering if, even with Sebastian's willingness to leave, our escape plan was suddenly good enough of an idea.

Chapter Twelve

The crowd cleared a path for Sebastian; with every step he took, the people in his way took a step back. Immortals who were wildly enjoying themselves on the dance floor, solemnly and respectfully stepped out of the way for the once-Immortal prince. They shrunk away from him as if he were poison and most of them couldn't even look up from the ground.

I felt the chill that followed him, the bad energy and the fear that if they touched him, they would become like him. I thought that would make me feel powerful, and I would find vanity in single-handedly ruining this man's life; instead I felt everything but pride. A treacherous pang of guilt crossed my heart and I too followed after Sebastian with eyes lowered to the floor, temporarily ashamed of how I humbled this royalty.

He walked proudly up the staircase, head held high, and chin jutted forward. I glanced back down at the dance floor. The music had quieted and those dancing were temporarily stilled. I spotted my team easily in the crowd and watched as they moved into position.

At the top of the stairs, Sebastian walked towards the DJ box and the door behind it. I half wondered if he was just going to walk out of the building with me trailing behind, but realized that was way too easy of an option.

Behind the DJ booth were two doors, one that led to the surface and one that led to a private office, filled with Titans waiting for me. Unfortunately, Sebastian chose door number two.

We walked into the office, and three Titans stepped in front of the door, to guard the exit. Although the room remained silent, the energy buzzing rampantly about the room was not. It screamed at me, calling me a traitor, demanding my blood to save their beloved crowned prince; it cried hungrily to avenge what I did to Sebastian.

My blood ignited with electricity, every sense at its sharpest. I looked around at the olive-toned Titans, each man different but identical at the same time. These dark haired, unquestionably strong creatures, held the keen look in their eyes of those trained and disciplined in the military style and they all, without exception wanted me dead.

Sebastian motioned to a mustard colored, velvet chair sitting in the middle of the room, across from a large, imposing, cherry wood desk. I took it, feigning unconcerned and crossed my legs to maintain the semblance of lady-like behavior. Sebastian walked around the desk, taking his seat in a high backed, brown leather chair with bronze detailing and wide, dark wooden armrests.

He didn't speak for a while. He moved papers around on his desk, stacking them neatly to the side and then rested his elbows heavily on the cleared space. He stared at me for a moment, and then his head drooped into his hands, covering his face and rubbing his eyes as if he was fighting to stay awake.

A knock at the door jolted Sebastian back to life; he sat up straighter, pushing himself forward in the chair. The door opened and in walked Bianca, Sebastian's mother and his father, Jean Cartier. Bianca's face, twisted into hatred, stared at me with enough contempt that I thought I would burst into flames. His father, too, looked at me with eyes that would kill me if they could.

“How dare you come here!” Bianca shrieked at me. She stayed near the door, clinging to her husband for support. “How dare you show your face here!”

“Mother, please,” Sebastian sighed, “we have her now. Look, it's worked to our advantage.”

“Yes, you're right,” Bianca calmed down considerably, but her tone was marred with venom. “You will give Sebastian back his magic this moment, you little tart. Right now!” She finished loudly and so forcefully that Jean Cartier adjusted his hold on her to keep her from stumbling.

“Or what?” I asked, finding my confidence, and hiding the fact that I couldn't give back Sebastian's magic, even if I wanted to. “You can't hurt me, he can't hurt me,” I motioned to her husband. “This Guard is not
enough
to hurt me. If I don't give Sebastian back his magic, then.... what?” I asked haughtily.

“Then I will rip your pretty little head off!” the princess shouted, her long blonde hair tumbling over her shoulders and shaking with ferocity. Even with her face contorted into hatred, she was strikingly beautiful. Although her perfectly poised English accent emoted a violent rage, she still remained a princess, even in a fit of fury.

“Mother, please calm down,” Sebastian soothed with a replica of his mother's accent. He stood, walked over to the princess and laid a gentle hand on her forearm. “We have to take her to Uncle Lucan, you know that.”

Sebastian stood taller than his mother. He towered over her and came close to his father's height. She looked up at him and her expression immediately changed. She turned from an angry woman who promised my death to a loving, caring mother broken by her son's suffering. She reached a trembling hand to his face, caressing it gently; he bent down to kiss her on the forehead.

“Kiran is dying, and I am not. Eden is meant for him,” Sebastian whispered compassionately. “I will take her to Lucan; he will know what to do, I promise. He will not let me suffer like this forever.”

Bianca's eyes flickered with uncertainty. The frown lines around her mouth returned and I could tell that she did not believe Lucan would do anything for her son. Her eyes flashed to mine for a brief moment, but instead of hatred, for the briefest of seconds, I saw hope.

“All right, take her to my brother. Go now. I want our entire Guard to travel with you though.” She looked up at her husband who nodded his agreement.

“Not all of the Guard, but very well, I will only leave a few.” He smiled down at his mother and his father patted him on the shoulder. Apparently, the Grand Duke of Canesburry was a man of very few words. “We will leave immediately.”

“I have a team of people with me, they will never let you take me,” I spoke up, pretending to protest. I needed to include the other guys and get them to the surface. Once there, we could easily escape. Or at least, I was confident we could escape.

“They are already in our custody, you stupid girl,” Jean Cartier announced, his French accent thick with hatred.

I shut my mouth, biting my lip to keep from spitting something sarcastic back, and then crossed my arms defiantly. I would play this game until I was safe, until I was back on the streets of Paris.

“Leave us,” the princess suddenly demanded. “I would like a word with her before you go.” She leveled her clear blue eyes at me, and I squirmed uncomfortably in my chair. I wasn't afraid of her magic, I knew that I was stronger. I was however, a little uncomfortable with her callous determination.

“Darling, you can't be serious.” Jean Cartier tensed his grip on her arm. “She is a monster; I will not tolerate you being alone with her, unprotected.”

“She cannot hurt me anymore than she already has,” Bianca whispered huskily to her husband and I looked away before my face betrayed the guilt rising inside of me.

Jean Cartier tipped her chin up towards his mouth and kissed her sweetly before leaving the room without another word. She waved her hand at the Titans lining the walls of the office and they too filed out, although reluctantly. The last was Sebastian who stopped at the door and turned to me. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but instead took his mother's hand and kissed it, bowing respectfully before closing the door behind us and leaving the king's sister and I alone.

She stood staring at me, her blue eyes turning to ice, and sending a chill down my spine. She wore an elegant silver ball gown with diamond detailing. A small, matching silver crown sat centered on top of her head where a giant ruby glinted and shined, reflecting the golden glow of the above light fixture. Her apparel reminded me that she was royalty, and I was not.

“Is there a way to save him?” she asked coolly, her words and demeanor carefully controlled.

“No,” I answered quickly, but then thought of the leverage I had in Avalon and immediately retracted the word with my concrete sincerity, “Maybe. I haven't had reason to try.... yet,” I finished, hoping to sound not only convincing but confident as well.

“My son is a reason to try,” Bianca appealed. Her eyes melted into sapphire orbs of sorrow.

“So you say,” I remarked slowly.

“You were friends with him once; surely there is a shadow of goodness still left inside of you.” She fell to her knees at my chair, gripping my hand between the two of hers before I could react and pull away.

“I am not the one that has lost my moral compass,” I accused harshly, hardly able to comprehend her pleading. “Your family destroyed mine; they have murdered or taken everyone I have ever loved! How dare you ask me to spare your son, when here he stands
with
you. I cannot have the indulgence of being surrounded by my family!” I half shouted at her, pushing her away and moving to the far corner of the room.