T*Witches: Destiny's Twins (8 page)

The twins nodded mutely.

“Unless, of course, you wish to leave the island — in which case you are free to go whenever you like. I would suggest, however, that you wait the required forty-eight hours to complete your Initiation. It will be a memorable
two days, I promise you. Tomorrow you’ll stand before the Exalted Elders of the Unity Council, who will test your talent for magick. If your mother and guardian are right, that part of the ceremony should not be difficult for you. It will be ‘a piece of pie,’ as your guardian called it.” Rhianna smiled, pleased that she’d remembered Ileana’s colorful phrase.

“Cake,” Alex corrected her.

“Your Ladyship,” Cam added nervously.

Rhianna stared at them as if they had two heads — each.

“The expression,” Alex tried again. “It’s ‘a piece of
cake
.’”

Rhianna cleared her throat and began making notes in her golden book again.

Was that really necessary?
Cam telegraphed Alex.
Did you have to be so
—

Honest? Yeah, I think so.

If their Initiation Master had intercepted their telepathic squabbling, she gave no sign of it. “The second portion of your Initiation will focus on your relationships, on how you deal with others,” she continued. “That is both more important and more difficult than tomorrow’s challenges. So …” She closed her notebook with finality. “Everything clear thus far?”

“I don’t mean to be rude or anything,” Cam said
carefully, “but I do have a general question. Why exactly do we have to … I mean what’s the good of —”

“What’s in it for you?” Rhianna snapped. “Your powers will be honed, sharpened. They will grow stronger — particularly when you use them to right a wrong or to help another,” she recited, as if reading from a rule book. “Errors of magick and judgment will be caught and corrected early — in a sympathetic setting and manner — rather than causing you, or those you wish to help, embarrassment and pain later on. You will graduate from fledgling to witch, making you eligible to pass on your knowledge and wisdom of the craft.”

“Does that mean we won’t have a guardian anymore?” Cam asked, troubled at the thought of losing Ileana’s sometimes impatient but always loving guidance.

“Of course not,” Rhianna replied. “Ileana is pledged to you for life. But after your Initiation, so is our entire community. Should your somewhat flighty guardian become unavailable for any reason, you’ll be able to call upon any other Coventry witch or warlock for help; all will be sworn to come to your aid. And you, in turn, will be eligible to become guardians, to take fledgling witches or warlocks under your wings —”

“Speaking of wings,” Alex ventured.

“Certainly not.” Rhianna headed off the inquiry — which, Alex realized, she must have been asked a thousand
times. “Your Initiation will not entitle you to wings! Only years of service and the greatest degree of proficiency in your craft will earn you even a feathery start!”

“Lady Rhianna, I don’t know if our mother mentioned it —” Cam began cautiously.

“Questions, questions, questions!” Rhianna complained, before Cam had finished her sentence. She’d wanted to tell the plump witch about the party Emily was planning; she wanted to find out
exactly
how long their Initiation would take. Would it be forty-eight hours from midnight or would their early arrival be counted? But Rhianna had had enough. “Why is it Initiates, who are expected to respond to the questions of their Elders, are always so full of questions of their own?” Their Initiation Master pulled out a pocket watch. “Late! Late again!” she exclaimed, and promptly turned to go.

Alex looked at Cam.
What about Shane?
she silently asked her sister. Before Cam could reply, Alex called out, “Yo, wait up. We want to ask you something else.”

“Your esteemed winged Ladyship,” Cam said quickly as Rhianna spun toward them. “It’s about Shane Wright —”

“No it’s not,” Alex declared. “It’s about this ‘destiny’ stuff.” She lowered her voice, fearing that their mother might hear her and be hurt. “What if we — or me, anyway — decide I don’t want to head up the DuBaer family?”

“That is not what I wanted to ask,” Cam grumbled.

As if to say, “Give me strength,” Rhianna sighed deeply and turned back to them. “I can only answer one question at a time! First Artemis. No one can force the responsibility on you. Only remember it was your own grandfather and your devoted friend Lord Karsh who devised this plan —”

“Because of the Antayus curse,” Alex said.

“Yes. Antayus warlocks were sworn to kill the patriarchs, the male leaders, of the DuBaer family. No female, no witch, has ever fallen prey to the curse.”

“Okay, so Cam and I are supposed to be immune. But what if we don’t want to live at Crailmore and —”

“Do you still not understand? You have a choice!” Rhianna shook her finger at them. “It is your
decision.
But remember, your decisions govern your actions; your actions guide your life —”

“Is it my turn now?” Cam broke in.

A frightening flurry of ruffled feathers greeted the interruption. “The Wright boy,” Rhianna said.

Alex rolled her eyes. “The wrong boy,” she muttered.

Cam pointedly ignored her. “Yes, Shane. He used to be one of Lord Thantos’s fledglings —”

“Yes, yes. I’m familiar with the boy and his family. And I have pressing business elsewhere.”

“But you’re the only one who can answer our questions,” Cam complained.

“If I so choose,” Rhianna informed them. Then she sighed. “Surely you’ve read Lord Karsh’s journal. You already know what he had to say about it.”

“He didn’t say anything about Shane,” Cam said.

“Yes,” Rhianna insisted, “he did! Have you not been listening to me?” She glanced at her pocket watch again. “That’s it! I’m hungry as a bear and I’ve missed the early-bird dinner again! Is your family trying to see that I starve?”

Cam and Alex looked at each other, perplexed. By the time they turned back to Rhianna, their Initiation Master had retracted her impressive wings and marched out the door.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE DAY HAS COME

The tapping woke her.

Cam opened one eye and squinted into the light.

Behind the sheer lilac curtains, Shane Wright was drumming his fingers on the glass.

She rolled over, looking for Alex. The bedroom they’d shared was bright with sunshine, and her sister was gone.

With her back to the window, Cam closed her eyes — as if that would get rid of Shane, make him go away — because already her heart had begun to pound; her promise not to fall for it, for him, was slipping away, like the quicksand he’d once lured her into.

“Cam.” He knew she was awake. “I heard you were
back. I mean, everyone knows you’re here — for your Initiation. I just… I couldn’t wait to see you. Turn around. Come on, open the window. Let me talk to you.”

She fought the temptation to put her hands over her ears. Too lame. Too weak a move. She rolled over angrily. Pulling the comforter around her, she set her feet on the carpet. “If you want to talk to me, wait out front,” she ordered him, then turned away and, trailing the comforter, shuffled into the bathroom. And slammed the door behind her.

Alex, where are you?
Cam sent a telepathic message.
Help. I need you. Now!

Minutes later, as she was rinsing toothpaste from her mouth, the bathroom door burst open and her sister charged in — wielding an iron fireplace poker.

Cam almost choked. “Ease up,” she sputtered, after spewing the foaming herbal concoction into the sink. “I’m okay. I just wanted to talk to you about Shane.”

“And the word
help
in your shout-out? That was what, just a hiccup?” Alex groused.

Cam turned off the tap. “He’s here.”

“I know. I caught a whiff of him: peppermint, cedar —”

“And cloves,” Cam said, realizing that her sense of smell had seriously improved.

“And skunk, I was going to say,” her sister declared.

Cam let it ride. “I just want you to … to be with me when I go out there to talk to him.”

“Which you’re going to do … why? After the disgusting, to say nothing of near deadly, way he treated you, treated us, actually,” Alex reminded her. “Why bother? Or are you still jonesing for the boy?”

“So not! I just want to find out —” Cam stopped in midsentence. She looked away from Alex, then turned back, flushed, her cheeks burning. “Maybe,” she said softly. “I’m not sure.”

Alex was impressed. “That ought to move you up in the honesty sweepstakes,” she teased.

“Which is not why I said it,” her sister snapped defensively. “Als, don’t you want to find out about him, about his relationship with Thantos? Don’t you feel… don’t you get a sense that there’s something smarmy going on there?”

“Smarmy?” Alex replied. “Yo, let me think. There’s Thantos, who’s been trying to off one or both of us since we were born. And there’s Shane, who lies like he breathes. And you want to know what — if there’s something smarmy going on? Dude, if you check
Webster’s
for the definition of
smarmy,
you’ll see their faces. But what are we going to do — ask Shane to tell us all about it? The one thing we know for sure about the boy is: Shane and the truth? Not friends. Not even acquaintances. To say
nothing of the fact that as a Coventry warlock, he’s got the perfect out. He’s not supposed to answer any of our questions.”

“Out loud,” Cam added pointedly. “But if we can pick his brain — come on, Als. We’re getting good at lots of things we couldn’t do before. I tapped into Amaryllis’s head when she was trying to lock us out. If I could do it, it should be a piece of … pie,” Cam teased, “for you. It’s worth a try, isn’t it?”

“Sure. And we’ve got all day to do it. Not. Did you forget, today’s the day we get tested on Applied Magick —”

“Perfect,” Cam said. “Let’s apply some … to Shane.”

He was waiting at the front gate. A sudden breeze stirred his glossy pale hair. It fell over his azure eyes. The warlock tossed his head to clear his vision — and saw Cam coming toward him. His face lit up with pleasure at the sight of her.

Don’t be so sure.
Gripping her moon charm, Alex was a few steps behind her sister. She, too, had caught the swift change in the boy’s mood but was not as convinced as Cam that it was all about joy.
His thoughts are locked down tight,
she told her twin.

How can he be so bad and look so good?
Cam mused.

Alex frowned with frustration but Shane grinned broadly. He’d heard Cam’s thought, too, Alex realized.

He can read you,
she warned her twin.
Grab your sun charm and use the peephole.

Cam’s cheeks reddened with embarrassment, but she couldn’t stop smiling. Even as she slammed an imaginary door shut on her thoughts, her feelings were loud and clear. She was hopelessly happy to see him.

And the tall, strapping warlock who was staring intently at her knew it.

He’d have had to be blind not to, Alex thought.
Your sun charm!
she reminded her smitten twin again.

But Shane wasted no time getting his arms around Cam. He lifted her off her feet and twirled with her. “It feels so good to hold you again,” he murmured. “What happened the last time you were here, Cam … happened at Crailmore — it couldn’t have taken place anywhere else. I’d gotten free of Lord Thantos, but he lured me back. It was being there with him that made me do what I did. It’s Crailmore. It’s an evil place. You’ve got to stay away from there,” he was saying, his eyes holding her as forcefully as his arms.

And Cam’s eyes — her extraordinary gray eyes that could cut through walls, start fires, see the future — were glazing over. She couldn’t tear them away from Shane’s insistent stare.

He was casting a spell over her, Alex realized.

Cam … Apolla … Yo!
she was practically shouting through the peephole in her mind.

Nothing.

Cam’s hands were on Shane’s powerful shoulders. Her sun charm dangled uselessly at her throat as he spun her around.

Her sister might be helpless, Alex thought, but she wasn’t — and she wasn’t going to just hang back and watch the scheming warlock play Cam one more time.

For starters, she could follow their plan, find out what was on the rude boy’s mind. Which should be easy, since he hadn’t even acknowledged her!

Alex closed her eyes and tried to zero in on Shane’s thoughts. At first she saw nothing, only heard a crackle of static and disconnected, barely audible words that meant his thoughts were scrambled. Then in the darkness jumpy lines appeared, zigzagging wildly, as if the static had become visible.

She concentrated harder. Focused all her senses.

The jerking agitated lines filled suddenly with blinding colors. A molten river of red, violet, yellow streamed behind her eyelids. The colors were random words, escaped sounds, hidden thoughts.…

Alex clutched her charm so tightly that the edges of the amulet almost tore into her palm.
“At Crailmore, I’m powerless around your uncle,” the dishonest warlock was telling Cam, making excuses for the last time he’d turned against her. “He commands and I obey.”

But soon the tables will be turned. Destiny will be done.

Alex heard it — so plainly that at first she thought Shane had said it out loud.

Then he
was
speaking aloud again, telling Cam: “He’s dangerous. Stay away from him. Now more than ever, stay away from Crailmore. Promise me.”

For my ancestors must be avenged.

Alex’s eyes opened. What was he thinking about?

Shane glanced at her questioningly, momentarily unsure.

“Put her down,” Alex demanded. “We have to go. We’ve got things to do.”

Does it matter so much to you?
the smirking warlock silently challenged her.
He’s done you nothing but harm.

Who?
Alex wondered.

“Put me down!” Cam suddenly said. Shane had broken eye contact with her, and she was coming out of her stupor. “I… I’m dizzy … I feel sick.”

“No problem.” The brash blond boy spun to face Cam again. “I’ll take care of you,” he promised.

Alex stepped between them and put an arm around Cam’s shoulder. “Thanks, but no thanks,” she told the treacherous warlock. “You’ve done way too much already.”

They were due at the Unity Dome at noon. To face possibly the most important exam of their lives. And Cam was struggling back to consciousness while Alex was hung up on Shane’s secret thoughts. They needed to snap out of it and get ready.

Two gowns had been laid across their bed. One was gold threaded through with vibrant pink-and-red highlights, the other was a shimmering blue-gray. There were hooded robes to match. And velvet slippers that reminded Cam of the ones their beloved Karsh had always worn.

“You pick first,” Cam forced herself to say, though even with somewhat blurry eyesight, she’d already fallen for the glam gold gown.

“Like I care?” Alex rolled her eyes. “You choose. And don’t let the fact that one is the color of moonlight and the other the gold of dawn influence you too much.”

“How cool is that?” Cam laughed, realizing that her sister had nailed it. The sunny gown was meant for her; the one that shone like silver moonlight was Alex’s.

Once they’d had a delicious bath in scented salts
and soothing herbs, then dressed, there were two more rituals they needed to perform before setting out for the Unity Dome.

One was to rid themselves of ill will. According to
Ceremonial Preparation and Purification Procedures,
this meant making and burning a list of those who’d caused them grief. Two was to do a purifying meditation.

Cam expected the first to take longer than the second, given the list of villains who’d messed with them. But like so much on the island, the opposite of what she’d expected happened.

Agreed, a posse, a pack, a plethora of bad guys had tried to do them in. To name a few: Thantos, their depraved uncle; the ever-devious Shane; toxic Sersee and her crew, the Furies; and, of course, Amaryllis; their idiot uncle Fredo and the freaks that were his spawn, Tsuris and Vey … But listing them and trashing the list per Coventry tradition took less than a couple of minutes.

It was the purifying ritual that took longer. And, in the end, felt more centering and soul-strengthening. They did it separately.

Cam chose the rose arbor at the entrance to Luna Soleil as her meditation place. The summer blooms were gone, but nuggets of bright red rose hips dangled from
the tangled, thorny branches. Whether flowering or hardened for winter, the rose represented love, which was, Cam thought, what she wanted to think about.

She sat under the arbor, closed her eyes, and let her thoughts wander. They went to Shane. Cam fought the urge to banish his image and allowed herself to feel shame, frustration, longing.…

When she’d questioned Rhianna about him, the Initiation Master had said that they already had the answer. That it was in Karsh’s journal.

Karsh.

Lord Karsh Antayus.

The old warlock’s image came into her mind. As always, he was dressed in black. His odd vest, a doublet it was called, and his trousers and slippers were all of black velvet, sleek and soft. His papery brown scalp showed through his thinning nappy hair, and through the white ointment he’d worn to preserve his ancient skin.

The pale paste had terrified Cam the first time she saw it.

Ileana maintained that Karsh wore it like war paint. The combination of herbs and powders that went into the ointment fortified the old tracker’s strength and courage.

Tears poured down Cam’s cheeks. The sight of his
face didn’t strike fear in her heart now but melted it. She was so glad to see him again.

“
So the day has come
,” he said softly in his raspy voice.

Alex sat cross-legged in the center of a stand of evergreens behind Luna Soleil. The soft rug of pine needles under her, the sweet scent of earth and trees, even the autumn chill — she might have been back in Montana with her beloved adoptive “Moms.”

Back, back when Sara was young and vibrant… before cancer ate away at her lungs. This was the image of her protector that came to Alex’s mind. And spoke to her.

“
So the day has come,”
Sara whispered.