Blood and Loss (Cassandra Myles Witch Series) (13 page)

Chapter 14

The ride over to the Vancouver Academy for the Magical Arts was a quiet one. Quintus greeted me with two dozen red roses. He was dressed as always
, elegantly and appropriately. He didn’t mention Declan at all and I was grateful. He hugged me tight and told me he was proud of me. Quintus was always easy to be around. I felt guilty for avoiding his calls. I hope he knew it wasn’t because I didn’t care about him and more to do with not wanting to talk about what an idiot I had been.

We parked right out front and entered the main building. My heart was pumping in my ears. I was feeling very dizzy. This building smelled like the one in Halifax, burnt herbs and
mold. I clutched at Lucius. He steadied me on my feet. The sights and smells brought me back to the night I lost my magic.

“I don’t know if I can go in. I know it’s silly, but I don’t want to be here.”
I was trying my best to look calm, but inside I was having a giant anxiety attack.

Lucius was the only thing keeping me from sinking to the floor. “We can leave anytime
, Goldilocks, but I know you will regret it. You have waited too long to walk away now. It isn’t the same. I’m here and so is Quintus and I promise you no one will bring you harm tonight.”

I nodded and took a few deep breaths.
“Okay, let’s do this.”

I walked into the small dimly lit room under my own power
. Showing weakness was not an option. A diminutive woman dressed in a white robe stood in the middle of the room. Her skin was paper thin and wrinkled. She had a kind face, one that comes from years of smiling so the creases are in all the right places.

I was anxious for more reasons than I could think of
. I had avoided other witches since losing my powers and now being around them again was very uncomfortable. I had a million questions swirling around in my head. Would I be able to perform magic again? Would my powers be different than before? Would I have to go through a whole year of training? Then she smiled and I felt immediately calmer.

The little woman moved slowly closer, like she didn’t want to spook me with any sudden movements.
“Cassandra, I am Illi O’Hearn, the headmistress of the Vancouver Academy.”

“Nice to meet you.” I was proud my voice only had a slight tremor.

“I want you to know that I championed to have the
geis
lifted from the moment I heard about it. I refused Quintus’ many requests to see me because of my shame at not being able to come through for you.” She turned and smiled at him. “It is nice to see you again, druid. We are blessed by your presence.”

“I am honored to be here. It is overdue.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” She took my hands in hers. “I wish more than anything that these walls and our presence would bring you peace and not unease. I understand why it doesn’t. Maybe in time, we can change that. Tonight will only be the first step. So let’s not delay this young woman anymore shall we.” The old woman lifted her arm and whispered something under her breath. The walls were lined with men and woman in red robes, each holding a lit candle. “Cassandra Ophelia Myles, you were passed down one of the harshest sentences we can give our kind. There was a great amount of opposition to what we are about to do today. We even had a member of the Halifax council fly here in hopes of stopping these proceedings.”

I knew it was
Morven.

“I believe the punishment
you received was unforgivable. You needed your sisters and they abandoned you. That is shameful and also why I refused to allow Morven to have any say here today.”

Nailed it.

“Fear and envy was at work when you were punished. You displayed the single most powerful use of magic in our history and instead of aiding you in controlling it, they took it from you like an envious child.”

She
released my hand and embraced me. Tears started to brim and I had to swallow hard to keep them down. I had waited so long for those words. I had never thought I would hear them. I was not just getting my powers back, but I received an apology too. I felt a weight lifted from my shoulders. For five years, I had been convincing myself that what they had done was wrong. Most of me knew that, but the one tiny voice in the back of my mind hadn’t been convinced. Now for the first time, she was silent and the relief was startling.

Her hands pressed o
nto my chest right over my heart. She closed her eyes and chanted in a low moan the same verse over and over. My body was thrumming with energy. Just when I thought I couldn’t stand it anymore, she stopped. Looking up at me, a smile spread across her face, smoothing out her features and turning her years younger in seconds. “It is my honor to have removed your
geis
. I now present you with the grey robes of a novice.”

She held out her arm towards the witches lining the walls. A very young woman in a red robe brought her my grey one. It reinforced how much time I had lost. This girl had already attained the robes of an intermediate. I had some catch
ing up to do.

“Who comes forth to mentor this young and powerful witch?”

“I do, little Mother.” Quintus stepped forward.

She beamed at him. “I hoped that would b
e the case. This child deserves the best and now I know she will have it.”

My hand was placed in his. His eyes were glowing slightly. In a vampire that meant extreme emotion. I hoped it wasn’t regret that he didn’t have his magic anymore. “Quintus Aurelius
, do you pledge on your honor to help our sister grow and control her gift, to encourage and discipline her, and to love and protect her as long as she is in your care.”

“It would be my honor.”
His voice was thick with emotion. I felt blessed to have him as my mentor.

“Then the official ceremony is over. I just beg your indulgence, Cassandra. I know we have no right to ask anything of you, but I would like you to come back here sometime and talk. Repairing your relationship with us will take baby steps and a long time. I only ask if you will think about coming here sometime just to share a cup of tea with me.”

“I will think about it. I promise.”

“I don’t ask lightly, child. I would like you to feel free to come here anytime. You can feel free to use our library. I insist you come to me if you ever need anything. We have five years to make up to you. I may not have that long on this Earth, but I intend to use the time I do have to restore your faith in us.”

“
I don’t know if that is possible, but I do promise to give you a chance. I was very happy once living on campus, thumbing through old texts. Learning everything I could. It can never be the same, though. I am not that naïve little girl who sees these walls as sacred and safe.”

“I understand
.” She turned to leave and then turned back. “I knew your grandmother. She was very gifted and a very proud and strong woman. I think you are very much like her.” She smiled. “I even held you once when you were very small. Your grandmother snuck you into the academy in Halifax. She was so proud of you. Your mother thought she had taken you for a walk around the neighborhood. Nellie was always so serious, a side effect of having visions of the future, but that day she was all smiles and full of hope.”

I thanked her for lifting the
geis
. I wanted to hug her for the story about my grandmother. When my Aunt Marie died, she was the last connection to my family. She was the last person who could answer my questions or tell me a story. I had my own memories, but they were fading with no one to share them with. I shook my head to get rid of the thoughts I didn’t want to ruin my night.

“Okay
, boys, let’s get this party started.”

Quintus took us out for supper and then for some drinks. I was feeling a little tipsy when we pulled up in front of my home. “Thank you
, Quintus. I can’t tell you how much this means to me.” I hugged him tightly.

“I know what it is like to lose your magic
, Cassandra. I have lived a long time and I still miss it.”

I hugged him tighter. It must have been hard to see me get my magic back and still he was there for me. He was truly someone I could count on. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world tonight. Life wasn’t perfect, but tonight it was feeling pretty good.

“Lucius, take care of her. I have sources that tell me the wolves will make their move sooner rather than later.”

“I expect Declan to come back as soon as he can. He knows she was getting her powers back tonight.”

“Then see that he doesn’t succeed.”

Chapter 15

I unlocked my door, still feeling a little high from tonight’s events until we crossed into my home. Knowing Declan was no longer living here made my house feel cold and empty. I kicked off my shoes and my feet were immediately happy. The heels I wore were sitting down shoes. They looked amazing, but you couldn’t really stand in them very long.

I turned to face Lucius. He had a bottle of champagne and a smal
l wrapped box. It brought a smile back to my face. God, I was easy. “Is that for me?”

“It is. Do you want champagne or
the gift?”

I pouted
. “I only get one?”

“No
, silly girl, which do you want first?”

“Oh
, how about you pour the bubbly while I open?”

He poured
me a glass. “Don’t get too excited. I just wanted to give you a small souvenir of tonight.”

I made
quick work of the wrapping. It was a jewelry box from a very nice store. “What did you do?”

“Just open it.”
He motioned for me to hurry up.

It was
a diamond broomstick pin. I couldn’t hold back my tears. It was something my dad would have bought me. He would have thought himself clever. He always thought he was very punny. Then it hit me. They would never know I had finally done it. I had graduated. Doesn’t every child deep down want to make their parents proud? I had my ability to contact the dead again, but even the thought of doing so sent a ripple of panic through my whole body.

“Whoa, no crying. It was just something I had made for a joke. If you don’t like it
, I can take it back.” The look of panic on his face was almost comical. The big bad was scared of tears.

I couldn’t even talk now. I was doing the
full-blown ugly cry. I dropped to the couch and put my head in my hands. He had it made for me. It might be the most thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for me.

“I knew I should have started with the champagne.
”

He
gathered me into his arms. I had no family to feel proud of me. Even my Aunt Marie had passed away. I was Cassandra Myles, family of one. Now instead of spending tonight with family or even Declan, I was sitting on a relative stranger’s lap, crying into his chest. Although, if I was being honest with myself, Lucius was someone I would have wanted with me no matter the circumstance.

“I’m sorry. It just reminds me of something my
dad would have bought and thought he was just so hilarious.”

“I meant it to make you laugh.”

“I know you meant it as a joke, but it means much more than that. It was so thoughtful. I can’t believe you had it made.” I kissed his cheek. It was cool and smooth. I lingered a little longer than a quick peck. A flash of waking up in his arms brought me back to reality. “So champagne?”

“Yes
, I thought you might want to toast yourself and your accomplishments.”

“Oh
, I do. I have waited a long time for this. If I had graduated when I was supposed to I would have had a lot more than a glass of champagne.”

“Oh
! Really?” he asked.

“Yeah
. I was a bit of a wild child. Mama liked her drink.” I cringed at some of the silly things I had done as a teenager. Of course, wasn’t that when you did those things?

“You don’t seem like a woman to overindulge.”

“I may be boring now, but I was known to overindulge on a lot of things.”

He arched his eyebrow
and looked me up and down. I took a deep swallow of champagne. I tried not to look away, but his stare was burning me.

“So tell me.” His voice rumbled through my head.

“Well, I drank too much. If you asked my parents, I pierced too much. I probably partied too much, but I was young and I had fun.” I shrugged my shoulders, trying to look more casual than I felt.

He just smiled. “So where were you pierced?”

Wow another gulp. “Let’s see, above my eye, my lip, my ears, of course. Hmmm. My tongue.” He raised his eyebrow. “My bellybutton and both nipples.”

“You took them all out?”
He sounded disappointed.

I laughed.
“You should know; you’ve seen all of me. I thought about keeping my nipple piercings, because they hurt so bad to get done. I just felt silly having them, so I took them out a few years ago.” Sitting on his lap, I could feel his hardness poking into my thigh. It was making me wet to feel how excited he was. His hand idly stroked my back and I felt the need to take a couple more gulps of champagne.

“So tell me something about you.”

His voice was even lower than usual. “I have no piercings.”

“No
, something else. I don’t know anything about you. What do you do in your spare time?”

He actually rolled his eyes at me.
I put my hand up to stop his answer. “No, wait, let me guess. You crochet doilies and collect snow globes.” I thought that was just too funny. I got a mental image of Lucius in a little apron, dusting his snow globes. I couldn’t breathe.

“Aren’t you a laugh
riot?”

“Sorry, but I can picture you dusting row after row of
snow globes with a little feather duster.”

“I can think of much more interesting things to do with a feather duster.”

“I think I need a fill up for this conversation.” I wiggled my empty glass in front of him. He filled it and laid his hand on my leg. His thumb stroked my inner thigh over my pantyhose. I automatically parted my legs and mentally urged his hand to go higher.

In my alcohol haze, I thought of something very important I needed to ask
. As with most things you feel you need to ask when you are drinking it is either too important to discuss while under the influence or too stupid to ask at all. The down side of this wisdom is you don’t remember it when you are drunk. “So if we are going to do the deed, I need to know if Luscious Lucius has a woman. I won’t be an adulterer.”

Even though he wasn’t drinking
, he choked a bit. “Oh! Goldilocks, I am going to remind you of that remark tomorrow and enjoy your embarrassment.” He was looking very superior and it made me want an answer even more.

“Now
now, don’t avoid my question. I don’t want some vampire vixen coming after me because her man is sleeping in my bed.”

He nuzzled his face into my hair and whispered into my ear
, “There is no vampire vixen for Luscious Lucius.” My core flooded with heat. His hand slid higher, his finger almost touching my underwear.

“So what are we waiting for? Don’t you want to taste all my sweet crevices?” I turned to face him, straddling his legs. His neck was cool to my lips as I laid kisses from the edge of his collar to the corner of his mouth. “I want you, Lucius.” Oh, I had to be drunk because there is no way I would have done that sober.

“Okay, drunk girl, it’s time for bed.” I wrapped my legs around his waist and he carried me to my room.

“
I thought you would never ask.”

“Not tonight
. Luscious Lucius doesn’t have sex with drunk girls, especially ones who seem fond of alliteration.”

“Not even sexy ones who want to fuck his brains out?”
Okay, I really needed to stop talking.

“No
, not even those ones, but if you still want to when you’re sober, I’m your man.” He dumped me on the bed.

“Hey
, watch it.”

“You settle in and I’ll go get you some
aspirin and a glass of water.”

“Okay
, but don’t be long.” I hadn’t given up on him yet.

I
tried to take off my dress, but it was hopelessly complicated. For some reason it had gotten way too tight to get off. There was no way out. It had gone on so easily I couldn’t figure it out. I started to panic, trapped with the dress over my head. I twirled around, struggling to get free. Then, strong hands were helping me lift it off. I didn’t have time to feel relieved. Declan stood there, smiling.

He covered my mouth before I could scream. His other arm went around my waist and everything went black.