Secret Worlds (426 page)

I peered out the window, frustrated. The dark sky glowed as the morning sun began to burn the night away. Surrounding the mansion, a pine forest and jagged mountains jutted sharply from the ground, trapping me as if in a cage. I leaned my forehead against the cool glass. On every exhale, my breath fogged the cold windowpane and then disappeared. What I wouldn’t give to be back with Boaz.

Just then, a shadow moved into my view from the left side of the house. It slid across the lawn, a dark mist, until it disappeared into the forest. A ghost perhaps? I’d encountered others while playing with the dead, a game Liane and William had taught me. Ghosts did nothing but tease my curiosity.

A few hours later, after lying in bed, my eyes snapped open to the creak of the bedroom door opening. I quickly sat up. A woman wearing a silk red robe entered the room in a grand gesture, her gown swaying back and forth. She looked eerily similar to me—long blond hair, almond-shaped face, small straight nose, but instead of green eyes, the woman’s were an artic blue. They reminded me of Hunwalds. In her hand, she carried a champagne glass filled with a red liquid.

“It’s a little early for a drink isn’t it?” I asked.

“Not early enough.” The woman took a sip as she stared at me coolly. “So you are my brother’s daughter.”

I stared back, mirroring the woman’s venom. “And you must be my father’s sister. Funny. I never knew he had a sister.”

Her eyebrows rose. “And I never knew he had a witch for a daughter. We assumed you were
average
.”

I moved to the edge of the bed. The slit in my dress opened, exposing my naked long legs, which I crossed. “Hardly. Average is what my twin escorts were last night.”

The woman’s lips tightened, as did the grip on her glass. She opened her mouth as if to argue, but after a deep breath, she said, “We could insult each other all day, and as much fun as that sounds, I have a headache. I’d rather we get this conversation over with as civilly as possible so I can go back to bed.”

“You are my aunt, yet I don’t even know your name. You have kidnapped me to who knows where, and you expect me to be civil?”

“Very well. If you want me to be formal, then my name is Anne Swithin. I am your brother’s older sister, and we live in northern Vermont. Your grandfather’s name is Erik Segur the second. His wife’s name was Gertrude. She died ten years ago. Now can we have a civil conversation?”

“Why am I here?”

She strolled toward the window. Her long robe stirred the dust in the room, spinning and twirling it in the morning light spilling in from the window. “There is a matter of an inheritance that needs to be resolved.”

“An inheritance? What does this have to do with me?”

Anne turned to me. “Absolutely nothing until this year. You were supposed to have been a dud, a boring human with no abilities. At least that’s what Erik told us, but according to Boaz, you are quite the little witch.”

“Boaz?”

Anne smiled as if she were keeping a great secret. She took a long sip before saying, “Personally, I think my brother knew all along of your talent and waited until the last minute to let our father know.” She paused briefly. “His little way of getting back at me.”

“My father tried to kill me for believing I was
average
.”

Her gaze met mine. “Of course he did. Segurs don’t waste time on useless humans. I’m surprised you lived as long as you did.”

If I could’ve used magic in that small room, I would’ve shown her who was the useless one.

“How long do I have to stay here?” I asked.

“Until dear old daddy decides who is more powerful: my twin daughters or you. All his fortune will then be given to the winner’s parents and eventually passed on to their children. Personally, I think it’s a waste of time. My girls are more powerful than I could ever have dreamed.”

I stood up. “I don’t care about any stupid inheritance. Keep it. I want nothing to do with the Segur fortune.”

Anne shook her head. “You are such a disappointing child.”

I laughed, harder than I expected. “You think I care? Erik was a horrible parent who should never have had a child.”

It was Anne’s turn to laugh. “This is not about raising children. It’s about raising power. And whoever has the most will get the money.” She tipped the glass to her lips and swallowed the last of the wine. “I need another drink.” She moved toward the door.

“When can I leave this room?”

Anne stopped and looked around as if seeing it for the first time. “Anytime you’d like.”

“I can go outside?”

Anne shrugged. “Be my guest. You’ll be stopped when you’ve gone too far.” She exited the room, leaving the door open behind her.

I took a step toward it hesitantly. Could I really just leave? When Anne didn’t return, I peered out the door and down the hallway. Voices echoed in the distance. I moved quietly, pressing myself against the wall to avoid squeaky floorboards.

Up ahead, the hall opened into a living area. I stuck my head out. The room was massive with high ceilings. Old-looking wooden beams crossed overhead, and more dark wood trimmed the rest of the room. On the far wall, a huge fireplace was encased in stone, from the floor all the way to the ceiling. Sitting areas were scattered throughout the room, positioned just right for entertaining.

The twins were sitting in the middle of the floor. They sat in the same position opposite each other: crossed legs, elbows on knees, books in hand. They were reading aloud, their voices in perfect unison with each other. By their words, it was some kind of history book.

The foyer we’d come through last night was just past them, but the only way to get there was to go into the open.

So be it.
Anne said I could go outside.

“Hello, cousins,” I said, moving into the room.

They stopped reading at the exact same moment and looked up at me with blank expressions.

“Don’t stop reading on my account. Please, go on. It sounded like a best-seller.”

Neither of them said a word. They simply stared as if they’d never seen me before.

I waved my hand. “Hello? Remember me?”

Simultaneously, they returned to their book and began to read again.

“I guess not,” I mumbled. I walked toward the exit and, after realizing no one was going to stop me, opened the front door and walked out.

Of course, I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy.

I walked, half-ran, from the house, afraid to turn around for fear of being stopped. The ground was cold and wet, winter stubbornly hanging on. Luckily, I still had my coat with me. I wrapped it tighter around my chest and kept moving until I reached the shade of the trees.

Once hidden, I let out a breath and smiled.
Freedom.
Now all I had to do was find the road we came in on last night. I hurried, making my way through the forest, but it was difficult with the high heels I was wearing. When did nature become so annoying?

I took a few more steps forward, when all of a sudden, I smashed into something, but there was nothing visible in front of me. Just sort of a pressure, similar to when the twins had created an invisible barrier. With arms outstretched, I touched the see-through wall that blocked my escape. For some time I followed the length of the barrier—it circled through the woods, the house at its center. Now I understood what Anne had meant when she said I would be stopped.

Frustrated, I placed my hands against the invisible wall. My palm hummed from the force of the electric current it contained. It felt strong, but not strong enough. Given enough concentration and time, I could break it.

I closed my eyes and let the familiar dark magic take over. Light dimmed, and the colors in the forest dulled. The smell of the magic filled my nose, but it was no longer repugnant. In fact, I preferred it to any other smell. Why hadn’t I used magic growing up?
It was amazing!

With my hands upon the wall, magic warming my palms, I became aware of a sudden stillness in the forest. Birds no longer chirped, animals no longer scurried, and the wind ceased to blow. I continued to concentrate despite my growing unease. I wasn’t alone, and whatever was in the woods with me wasn’t human.

When the pressure in the air changed, I dropped my hands and turned around. I peered into the trees, squinting, but saw nothing. I waited a moment longer before I returned to the task at hand, but stopped again when something moved out of the corner of my eye.

Floating directly to my left was the black fog I’d seen the night before. It was my height but wide, the length of two of my arms. The mist never kept one shape as it was constantly shifting and moving. But I didn’t care about its strange form; it was the dark power emanating from it that fascinated me.

The fog moved toward me, and I felt the shapeless shadow’s power grow proportionately stronger the nearer it drew. The thick smoke parted then and circled round me, rising in stature. Ever so slowly, as if not to frighten me, it crept up my body until it had entirely consumed me. I inhaled deeply, enjoying what felt like warm wine going down my throat. It was intoxicating, powerful and…familiar.

“Boaz,” I whispered.

Immediately, the black fog retreated and crossed the invisible barrier to the other side. I couldn’t help but smile as the smoke took shape into the man I craved. Boaz stood across from me, grinning back.

“How are you doing, love?” he asked.

“Better now that you’re here.” I smoothed back my tangled hair. “So you can turn into smoke.”

“Only when I need to, but if I cross this barrier as myself, those inside the house will be alerted.” He looked me up and down and frowned. “You haven’t changed your clothes. Are they not taking care of you?”

I laughed. “Is that what you’re worried about? I could care less about my clothes. I just want to get out of here.”

“Eve, listen to me. You must treat this place as if you are their queen. Do not allow them to treat you any less. Do you understand?”

“Last time I checked, I’m their prisoner. I highly doubt they’re going to give me what I want.”

“Demand it. You must not appear weak in any way.”

“Are you going to help me get out of here or what?”

He glanced away. “I’m sorry, but I can’t. You must stay.”

“But I want to leave. I’ll
demand
it.”

“Anything but that,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

“I refuse to stay here a second longer, and if you won’t help me, then I’ll do it myself.” I raised my hands to do just that.

“Stop! Don’t you want to prove to your family, to your parents, that you are more powerful than all of them?”

“I don’t care about proving myself. I know what I’m capable of, so what does it matter what they think?”

“Trust me, it matters. Do this for me, Eve.” He leaned forward, almost on his tiptoes, as if any moment he might reach across the invisible wall and shake me. “Show them what you can do and don’t hold back. They must witness your power.”

His passion surprised me. “It means that much to you?”

“It’s all I ask.”

I lowered my head and sighed. “Fine. I’ll do it, but on one condition. When I get out of here, will you tell me why this was all so important?”

“Deal.”

“Do you want to know what will be the hardest part of all this?” I asked.

“Tolerating those twin horses?”

I laughed. “That will be difficult, but not as hard as being away from you. What am I going to do for fun?”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“And what exactly am I supposed to do with an intangible ball of smoke?”

“Sorry, love. It’s the best I could do under the circumstances. I’ll come visit you whenever I can.”

“I guess it will have to do.” I glanced back through the trees and toward my grandfather’s home. “How long do you—”

I turned to Boaz, but he was gone.

***

I waited a little longer before I returned. The twins were sitting outside on the steps, looking much younger than their actual age. They wore identical pink floral dresses and held a sucker in their right hand. Both heads turned as I approached.

“Grandfather’s been waiting,” Helen said.

“For hours,” added Harriet.

“Poor grandfather.” I walked past them and through the front door. I headed straight for my room despite hearing my name being called. Inside, I searched the closet but only found a couple of plain dresses. If I was going to be here for a while, there was no way they were going to treat me like my parents had. I was done with that life.

Taking Boaz’s advice, I stormed into the living room. My grandfather, sitting in a high-back Queen Anne chair, watched me curiously. Anne stood next to him with another drink in her hand. She still had on the same robe from earlier.

Anne swayed slightly. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

“I need clothes.”

“You have some,” Anne said, clearly upset she was being ignored.

“I’m not wearing those rags in that hole you expect me to stay in. If I’m going to be here for a while, then I want my own clothes. And speaking of my room, I demand a new one.”

My grandfather remained expressionless, but Anne’s eyes grew wide and her nostrils flared as she sucked in air. “You will have no such thing!”

My grandfather raised his hand, silencing Anne. “Another room is not necessary. You will not be here long enough to warrant that, but you may have better attire. Anne, fetch her a new and much nicer dress.”

Anne looked down at him her mouth open and eyes narrow slits; her drink spilled over its glass edge. “But father—”

“Do it. Now leave us before you pass out drunk.”

Her ivory face turned a deep scarlet but she obeyed.

“Sit down, Eve,” he said after Anne left.

“I prefer to stand.”

“I said sit,” he repeated. A chair from across the room magically slid behind me, knocking against my legs. Startled, I sat down.

He spoke, a loud deep voice: “I appreciate your boldness, but do not forget who you are speaking to. I will not be trifled with.”

I clenched my fists and tried hard to keep my voice even. “You take me, unwillingly, from all that I know and then demand my respect?”