You Are Mine (40 page)

The Grand Chancellor appears at the
bottom the stairs, those closest inching away from him. The murmurs
from the crowd quiet. He says nothing, but climbs the stairs.
Slowly, but deliberately. Once he gets to Zade, he takes the
book.

For several minutes, he does nothing
but study it. His eyes move back and forth as he takes in the
words. I intertwine my fingers and place them over my mouth. What
is he thinking? His expression is one of concentration and gives
nothing away. Will he stop us from using the law in my
favor?

Finally, he snaps the book shut and
shoves it at Zade. His gaze bores into me, black with anger. The
air grows cold. He hates me and I'm going to die because of that
hate. I'm sure he'll kill Zade as well for trying this. There will
be no need for a vigilante group. His nose flares, then the
expression wipes from his face and he faces the crowd.

“
It is as he says. She's
free.”

He saunters down the stairs. Zade
looks at me, a huge grin on his face. I'm free. Free as a man.
Free!

The crowd's murmuring
returns.

Zade quiets them with his words. “This
is only the beginning of the delights we have planned for you this
night. Please enjoy them.”

He raises his hands above him and
strikes them together. Black light surges from them, shooting
across the room, plunging us into darkness.

A woman screams, but I'm not
frightened. I wait anxiously for the next step. My whole body feels
light and free. No Master. No punishments.

In the darkness, a single spark
flickers. Then another. And another. White at first, then the
sparks growing in colors and brightness. They multiply quickly at
my eye level, but above the guests. Soon there are enough to fill
the room. It's as bright as a summer day. Bright as I feel
inside.

Flowers appear in vases scattered
through the room in full bloom. A scent comes to me. I know others
are smelling whatever brings them the most happiness. Another spell
I'm finding I enjoy. To me, the faint citrus scent smells
suspiciously of Zade, but I don't let the thought dampen my
spirits.

Music fills the air, slow at first,
but steadily building into a familiar dance. The sound comes from
all around.

Zade walks up a few stairs and says
loud enough others can hear, but quiet enough I feel he's talking
directly to me.

“
You're a free woman now.
Would you give me the honor of being the first to dance with
you?”

I don't know what freedom will bring,
but spending a dance in his arms sounds like a good start. “Of
course.”

He takes my hand and wraps it around
his elbow like before. We make our way down the stairs. People part
around us. A few couples head for the doors, but most are unable to
look away from us.

Once we're in the middle of the room,
I place my hand on his shoulder while he puts his on the bottom of
my shoulder blade. Our free hands clasp together. We step with the
beat. People have yet to mingle in other rooms, leaving very little
room to dance. My awareness of them fades.

The music floods through me. Zade
leads me through the steps. We work together. Moving and flowing.
Light as cotton floating through air.

The only time I take my eyes from his
is when required by the dance. I spin and twirl, his hands catching
my waist. It feels good. Right and sure. My dress and his cravat
flash to a new color. My joy bubbles up. I smile at him and move
with the music.

As the song comes to an end, instead
of standing and waiting for my curtsy, he does something new. He
holds my hand and supports my waist then dips me backward. I slowly
stretch up, wanting to keep moving toward him until our lips
meet.

A new song begins. I shake my head to
clear it.

“
Another?” he
asks.

Everyone is still staring at us. I'd
rather dance again than deal with them and the ramifications of
what he's done. What I now am. “Please.”

He twirls me and beckons me back to
him. This time, I try not to lose myself, but to watch the crowd
around me. I can't let myself get caught up in him. Even more
important now that I'm free. And he's free for Waverly. Some of my
lightness slinks away.

A couple begins dancing. They spin
past. Councilman Daniel and Annabelle. Another joins. And another.
Soon, the floor is full of dancing couples and not staring
people.

When the song ends, he brings my
gloved hand to his lips and gives it a kiss. Warmth tickles the
back of my hand. “Hosting duties call.”

I sigh and follow him to the side of
the room where those not dancing wait. We spend the next hour
mingling. Or rather, he mingles. Lots of warlocks and even more
women want to talk to him, but none want to even stand by me. Is
this change going to help save his life or make them more intent on
killing him? I thought they'd want to kill him more for it, but as
eager as everyone is to talk to him, I'm not sure.

Either way, he's safe enough with so
many enthused admirers. I drift away from him, moving in and out of
rooms and the garden. The flowers are in full bloom and the
temperature is cool, but not crisp, despite being fall. Bethany,
Cynthia, and Waverly's ideas really mesh well together. Though
people don't want to even look at me, they appear to be having a
good time, smiling, dancing, eating, talking.

A warlock next to me laughs as his
companion's hair changes color. This time they both drink from
their glasses making both their hair change colors. Then they too
make their way over to Zade. Someone squeals as one of the floating
lights plummets toward them, but the sound quickly turns to glee as
the spark transforms into a gold piece.

Nothing is like the only other ball I
attended. The more time passes, and the more spells and surprises
come, the happier everyone seems to be. I can barely see Zade with
the crowd surrounding him. What would they think if they knew it
was put together by a servant and two other women? At least the
innovative ideas seem to help Zade.

At one point I see Bethany and mother.
Bethany's hair no longer has the sparkles. Father must have
unspelled them. At least she's still wearing her dress Katherine
spent so much time on. I start toward them. Before I've taken a
couple steps, Father spots me and rushes them to the other side of
the room. Will I ever be allowed to see my sisters again? Will
Father punish them in some way over my freedom? The thought makes
me ill. Cynthia doesn't even know what happened. Will she think I
abandoned her? Suddenly, being free doesn't seem as
great.

I pass by Annabelle and Waverly at
different times. They seem to be having more luck, chatting with
lots of people. No doubt their spelled ball gowns are the
attraction. Hopefully, the dresses will gain interest in Katherine
designing more instead of casting a negative light on it like I'm
doing. I hope she doesn't regret making it for me.

Others are wearing dresses Katherine
clearly had a hand in making. A few are even spelled in some small
way. Wonder how they talked their husbands into that. They also
seem to gain much attention. It may be enough to offset the damage
I've done.

A servant passes by with a tray of
glasses, more drinks to change hair color or a potion that leaves
you with a high pitched voice for several minutes? Maybe something
else entirely. There are more potions and spells than I could have
ever guessed. I wonder if Katherine has had a chance to try them.
Plus, she may not know that I'm free. And even if she does, it'd be
nice to know what she thinks of it. I might as well take her some
treats.

I stop by the refreshment room. The
food is so unfamiliar, I don't know what it is. I recognize some
fish and a bowl of strawberries, but mostly I'm left to guess.
Nothing looks appetizing in my current mood, but I grab things for
Katherine. Hopefully a few of them are spelled in a way that she'll
enjoy.

Despite the spell to keep the perfect
temperature, I'm hot and thirsty. Maybe the spell isn't working or
I'm nervous. Either way, I grab a drink for myself and an extra for
Katherine. It sparkles on my tongue, somehow feeling like the
sparkles on my dress. I make a mental note to ask Zade how he did
that later. If he's still alive. I glance at him. He's laughing
with a group of warlocks. He'll be fine.

Where will I live? I don't know. Not
here. And I can't be a burden to Katherine. How will I make money
and support myself? I don't know, but I can't stay. Maybe I should
pack when I finish with Katherine, or sneak into mother and
Cynthia's room. I really want to talk to Cynthia about what's
happened. Father probably set a spell to stop her from leaving and
people from coming.

With two glasses squished in my palm
and the plate of food in the other, I set off to find Katherine. I
traverse the stairs I stood on earlier. A woman coming down smiles
at me, and I think there's hope of conversation, until her husband
rushes her off toward the dance floor, which has just begun to glow
a faint blue. I sigh and continue upward.

When I get to the top, I go to the
doors, but a clang stops me. As I turn toward the gathering, the
room falls eerily silent save for the music.

Warlocks, cloaked and hooded in black,
form a wide circle around Zade. I was wrong. It doesn't matter what
others think of him, of course Father wouldn't take the price off
his head. My stomach cramps.

Smoky light moves from one cloaked
figure to the next. Zade is encircled by the warlocks. Trapped. A
few people are caught with him.

“
Our quarrel is with the
Envadi,” a raspy voice says. “The rest may leave our circle
unharmed.”

The trapped people hesitate a moment,
their shadows enhanced by the glowing floor. Zade says something I
can't hear. A man steps forward, hesitates in front of the light a
moment, and crosses the spell. When nothing happens to him, the
others scurry.

Zade stands alone.

“
You've broken too many of
our ways and have no right to free a woman,” the voice says. “For
that, you will die.”

Chapter Forty

T
he plate and drink I forgot I was holding crash to the floor,
soaking my feet.

For a moment, Zade looks at me. In
that brief moment, my heart feels as if it's been ripped from me.
I've failed to help save him.

“
I haven't broken any
laws,” he says.

“
You break the spirit of
the law. Too many people have complained. Now those gathered will
see you pay the price.”

They step closer to him, light fanning
out from their circle toward him.

“
No,” I whisper. I can't
watch this happen.

The crowd is knotted together,
especially thick at the bottom of the stairs, preventing my running
to him. Watching, but not anxious to be close to the action. They
were so eager to talk to him before, was it all for show? Why
doesn't anyone help him?

Waverly spurts from the crowd. Maybe
she'll be able to distract them until I can get there and help.
Though I don't know how I'll help. She dashes toward the circle.
One of the robed men's hands darts out and knocks her to the
ground. He zips a dark spell at her. She tries to curl away from
it, but it slams into her back. Her body goes limp. She doesn't
move. Is she dead?

“
Don't hurt anyone else.”
Zade throws his suit coat on the luminescent floor, his gaze
avoiding Waverly's motionless form. “I'm the one showing women they
have a chance at freedom.”

One of the cloaked figures growls. The
spell creeping toward Zade intensifies. Suddenly it bursts,
springing for him. An azure light zips from Zade's hands,
surrounding him, shielding him in a dome from the attacking
spells.

The steel light smashes against it,
sparking. The warlocks raise their arms. The spell crashes and
pounds against Zade's shield. A loud creak sounds. A fissure
appears in the dome. The gray light pounces on the
crack.

He's not going to make it. I can't
just watch. I've caused it. I'll stop it or die trying. The knot of
people is still too much to get through. They're tightly packed,
standing as far from the fray as they can while not leaving the
room.

Blast.

I kick my shoes off, pick up my green
skirt, and dash for the railing. Without stopping to think, I
thrust myself onto the railing and propel myself as far forward as
I can. Toward Zade. I don't have to reach him, I just have to get
close enough to cause a distraction. Maybe more if I don't
die.

Air rushes past, my dress flapping.
The engagement ceremony flashes through my mind, but I shove it
away. A few faces of the crowd turn toward me as I hurtle down.
Then a few more. And more. I'm almost to the ground. Tucking my
legs and arms in, I brace for impact.

An amber light shoots from somewhere
in the crowd. I plead it's not for Zade. My plea is answered.
Instead, it sails toward me. Just before I collide with the floor,
the spell reaches me, cushioning me. It lowers me several feet
until I'm lying on solid ground.