The Taste of Magic (15 page)

"But why? I don't understand."

"Being a teenager is hard enough without having to worry about magical abilities. I had the benefit of my mother's help. You did not, and for that I'll always be sorry. But it is time now for you to learn."

"And how long were you going to keep this from me?"

"Until it was time."

"I'm moving into his castle in two days. Don't you think that time should have come sooner?" Though she tried, Katerina could not keep the sharpness from her voice. Olga flinched.

"We must begin now. But I can't do it alone. I anticipated this and have summoned someone who will help you learn. He arrived yesterday."

"Who? Why can't you do this yourself? You froze them to begin with, why can't you just undo what you did?"

Olga shook her head. "It's not that simple. Your powers, though dormant, have grown. To simply unfreeze them at a moment's notice is too dangerous."

"So who is this man?"

"A very powerful wizard. I trained with him for a time myself, when I was much younger. He was the one who foretold of the daughter I would have, who would grow to be a more powerful witch than anyone has seen in many years. That daughter is you. But for you to properly use those skills requires training I am not prepared to offer."

"All right, so where is he?"

"Wait." Olga disappeared down the hall, and Katerina could hear voices. Anger faded to an ache. She'd been lied to. Again. How could her mother have kept this from her? All those years, those futile attempts to perform magic had done nothing but anger and depress her. Her mother had done that to her.

There was logic to Olga's actions. What would have happened if Katerina had been successful in her attempts to conjure items from thin air, or levitate an object? Or if she'd been seen while doing it? Perhaps her mother had done the right thing. Katerina only wished she had known about it sooner. Everything in the last few months started to make a strange sort of sense. Forces seemed to be working to push her to be with du Lac. And she certainly did enjoy his presence, especially when he wasn't being so…vampirish. She sighed. If she could manage to keep him from biting her, perhaps she could make the most of this. A bitter laugh stuck in her throat. She was in grave danger, how was she supposed to enjoy it? If what her mother said was true, then there was no choice.

Could her mother really help her, protect her? Adrian was far more powerful and his determination to possess her bordered on obsession. Why?

Why was du Lac so drawn to her, to want her so badly?

Was it her magic? She silently scoffed at the idea. She never even knew she possessed any magical capability. If she hadn't known about it, then how could he? Did she dare believe he wanted her simply for herself, as he claimed? He'd given up her family's services rather easily. Now, she was front and center in his world.

She would need her powers to survive what was coming. Could it be true? Did she possess magical ability? Recollections of chanting minor spells with her mother when she was a child came to her, but she never really thought of those spells as anything more than a form of prayer. Besides, if anyone had invoked anything magical, it had been Olga, not her. Could she really utter words and make things happen the way she wanted them to? The more she thought about it, the more her skepticism grew. Frozen powers, magic spells. Perhaps the reality of New York had jaded her to the more basic spirituality which guided her clan. She didn't belong here anymore. She couldn't see what her mother saw, command nature as she could. She was not of this world any longer.

Perhaps that was why she had been so determined to have her own life, away from her family. She had needed freedom and privacy, but now it seemed as though turning her back on her heritage had been a mistake. She couldn't bear giving up her flat, but instead of fleeing to safety with her parents, she had agreed to Adrian's wishes. She would reside with him at the castle, and her hard-fought freedom would be gone.

Her mother returned, accompanied by a tall, dark-haired man dressed in a magnificent velvet burgundy robe that fell from his shoulders to the floor. His dark eyes met hers, and widened ever so slightly. She recognized an eagerness in his gaze which made her uneasy.

"Katerina, this is Stefan Malinay. He will be able to teach you all you need to know."

He stepped forward and extended his hand, and when she took it, he bent low, softly pressing his lips against the back of her hand. When he released her and stepped back, there was a small, pleased smile on his face.

"Your mother did not exaggerate. You have an incredible gift, Katerina."

"Thank you, but I don't…"

"Yes, you do. When your mother and I cast the spell to free your powers, you will experience powerful energy flowing through you. I can already sense it, though it is faint. It's been a long time since your powers were frozen. But once released, I will teach you to harness them and use them properly. You cannot allow anyone to turn your powers for dark uses."

He meant Adrian, Katerina was sure of it. She shook her head. "So you're saying it's true? I do have magic?" Her fear of fulfilling this destiny started to fade. If she had powers, Adrian wouldn't be able to manipulate her so easily.

"Absolutely," said Stefan. "We must begin immediately. Your life is about to undergo a major change, and you will need all of your gifts."

Katerina didn't like the way this man seemed to know so much about her. If it wasn't Adrian dipping into her mind, it was this one. Would she ever have any privacy?

"All right, what do I have to do?"

"Your mother will help you prepare for the ceremony. After that…"

"Wait. A ceremony?" This suddenly sounded very primitive.

Stefan nodded. "Your powers cannot simply be unleashed. They must come forth slowly, or there is always the chance you could go mad from the sensation of the energy being released all at once."

"Mad? Wait a minute, if getting my powers is going to reduce me to a blithering idiot…"

Stefan held up his hand, annoyance evident in the slight scowl crossing his face. "The ceremony will prevent that from happening. It will take several hours, and your body will easily grow accustomed to the slow increase. Any other way could have serious consequences. But prior to that, you must be properly prepared. As it involves a bath and the application of body oils, I thought you would prefer your mother perform that task."

Her face flaming, Katerina nodded, and allowed her mother to draw her away. The large bathroom was inviting and luxurious, and Katerina slipped out of her clothes as her mother filled the tub. Olga turned to face her, and Katerina's uneasiness rose again. There was something more here going on, she was sure of it.

"Mama, why did you wait so long to tell me about this?" she asked. Olga turned back to the tub and fussed with some jars on the shelf, carefully arranging the bottles. "I didn't want you to be frightened by all I have learned. There are forces at work, and we must be strong to understand and deal with them."

"Does this have anything to do with why Adrian paid my way?"

Olga once again moved the bottles, but finally faced Katerina. "No."

The unsettled feeling in her stomach grew. Her mother's eyes were shuttered, revealing not a trace of emotion. Something about the release of her powers wasn't right. Katerina felt as if she were in the eye of the storm, the false calm and serenity before nature's violence picked up once again. As she lowered herself into the tub, Katerina could barely focus coherently on one thought. Images of Adrian collided with flashes of fear, and excitement over what was to come. She would need her mother more than ever, but turning to Olga for help seemed wrong. And Stefan Malinay was too intense. She sensed an underlying urgency in him, and briefly wondered why. Why did she have the sense this would end up being more dangerous than any threat Adrian posed?

When she returned to the other room, her nerves calmed somewhat from the soothing oils Olga had massaged into her, she was dressed in a long white tunic, which clung to her hips. The long sleeves had elongated cuffs, much like a medieval gown. Stefan stood at the end of the room, before a small altar and an array of cushions on the floor. The altar she recognized, her mother had often prayed before it, or cast spells, when Katerina was a child. She glanced at her mother now. Clearly, she still kept up the old practices, but somehow Katerina had managed not to think of what her mother did with her time and powers.

Olga pushed her forward until she stood before Stefan. She glanced at the thick cushions on the floor.

"What are they for? And what happened to the furniture?"

"There is no reason why we can't be comfortable while we do this. I prefer cushions to traditional furnishings, so I transformed what would be needed."

"Transformed?" Katerina shook her head. His English was good, no hint of a specific dialect. She thought back to Adrian's flowing manner of speech, his sometimes wordy turns of phrase, and his elegant, Rumanian accent. She'd gone weeks without hearing it, and until she'd faced him yesterday, she hadn't realized how much she'd missed it. Soon enough, she would be hearing it all the time.

Stefan directed her to make herself comfortable. As she lay across the cushions, she couldn't help feeling silly, as if she were in a harem in a sultan's palace. Stefan and her mother conversed for several minutes in quiet tones. She couldn't make out the words.

Her mother turned to her and held a small jar and a goblet in her hands. As she neared, she poured the contents of the jar into the goblet and recited words unfamiliar to Katerina. When she held out the goblet, Katerina hesitated.

"Drink. It will allow you to relax and for the powers to start to break free." Stefan's voice reached her, seemingly from far away, and she took the goblet. Eying the strange purple liquid carefully, she took a snip. It smelled like grapes. Shouldn't be too bad. She put the goblet to her lips and swallowed the potion in one gulp.

Almost instantly, a feeling of serene peace came over her. She lay back against the pillows, her arms suddenly too relaxed to hold her up. Her mother knelt beside her, Stefan on the other side and they held their hands out over her, palms open and down. In unison, they began to speak, an incantation in a language unfamiliar to her.

Warmth grew in her belly, spreading outward to her limbs and head. The warmth soon grew into a strange vibration coursing throughout her, like the gentle hum of a well-tuned car engine. She closed her eyes, and gave herself over to the sensations.

She was flying. At least, that's what it seemed like. The sensations flowing through her left her breathless and suddenly feeling as strong as if she could literally move mountains. Above her, the pair continued to chant, and Katerina savored each new pulsing tingle as it spread through her. Sometimes it concentrated in one place, and sometimes it was everywhere at once. She'd never felt as free or as light as the energy throbbed through her, and slowly became a part of her, melding with her body.

By the time she started to truly feel comfortable with the sensations, the chanting slowed, then faded away. The sensations settled back to a low hum, distant, but still there. The knowledge the heady feelings hadn't left comforted her. She felt energized, and somehow even more herself, as though this was a missing part of her which had finally been put back into place. She opened her eyes.

Her mother grinned down at her, and Katerina couldn't help her own responding smile.

"Is that it? It's over?" she asked. Olga nodded. "Yes. For now."

Katerina eased herself to a sitting position. "I definitely feel different, but how do I know if I really have powers? All I feel is this incredible energy. It makes me feel like I can move buildings."

"Not buildings," said Stefan. "But look."

Katerina turned to look at Stefan. He levitated several feet above the floor. Her eyes widened in astonishment.

"How did you do that?"

Stefan shook his head. "It's not I. This is your energy. Look at your mother, yourself."

She did as he suggested. Both she and her mother also hovered over the cushions. Katerina clapped a hand to her mouth.

"This is why you must learn control." Stefan's voice was low, a whisper, as if he feared to startle her. "And you must learn it now, so we can all get down."

Katerina wanted to shout with laughter, but was afraid to move, lest they all tumble to the floor. "Okay, show me how."

"Concentrate on the energy. Instead of letting it run through your body, you must force it back, so it does not interfere with your daily actions. It must become a part of you, like your arms and legs. And you must control it the same way."

Closing her eyes, Katerina focused on the force of the thrumming sensations, and willed them to ease. Nothing happened right away, but after a few moments, the roaring in her ears quieted, and the throbbing settled to a slow steady pulsing, comforting and warm. When she opened her eyes, they were all firmly on the ground once more.

She grinned. "I did it. This isn't so hard."