My Brother's Keeper (25 page)

"Kendrick?" Meryn called his name.

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Meryn."

"Since you have three tattoos, does that mean you have three squires?" It was an innocent enough question, one he didn't mind answering because he knew she was genuinely curious and not seeking more power.

He shook his head. "No, they weren't squires, they were my best friends."

"Were?" Meryn's eyes filled with sympathy.

"A long time ago, we traveled together. When they faded from this world, they left me their power. It took me thousands of years to master each one, but it was worth it. Every time I use their magic, I feel like they are watching over me."

"Why did they fade?" Anne asked.

"I think I may know," Gavriel said quietly. "When you live for so long and you see so much pain and mindless evil, it becomes hard to find a reason to get up each day. The longer you live, the more you just feel like resting and letting everything disappear." He turned to Elizabeth and smiled. "That is why, when you find something to live for, you fight for it."

"Gavriel is right. They were very, very tired and their souls were weary." Kendrick rubbed his right wrist.

Meryn turned in her chair and poked Ryuu in the stomach. "No fading."

He nodded. "I don't see how anyone could get bored with life around you,
denka
."

"Good! Wait..." She eyed him. "Was that a compliment?"

"It was," he answered.

"Okay then." Meryn turned back in her chair and resumed eating her monstrous sandwich.

Kendrick waited until everyone was mostly done with lunch before he decided to bring up the topic of necklaces.

He looked over at the Unit Commander. "Aiden, now that the tests are finished and we know what the necklaces are, I could attempt to try and trace down the witch responsible for their creation."

Rheia turned to Noah and Jaxon. "Boys, can you take Penny to command central?"

Noah stood. "Of course. Come on squirt, when you get asked to leave the table because the adults want to talk, you get two desserts." Noah stacked up plates with slices of pie in his arms.

"Yay!" Penny cheered. She climbed into Jaxon's lap and the three of them left the dining room.

"Thank you, Rheia," Kendrick said.

Aiden sat back. "What are the risks?"

"To trace the magic to the witch who cast the spell, I'll need to break every bead in every necklace we have to get a strong enough trail. If we do that, no more different types of testing; that's the trade-off."

Everyone was quiet. 

"Let's do it," Amelia said firmly. "Now that we know what they are, there's no reason to keep them trapped. Let's set them free."

Aiden looked around the table. Everyone nodded.

Anne spoke up. "Is there any danger to you?"

Gods bless her! She always thought of him first.

He shook his head. "I'll follow the trail using my magic, my body remains here. It's safe."

"Should we alert the council to what we're doing?" Elizabeth asked. 

Aiden shook his head. "My father and the rest of the council are obligated to pass on everything they learn to the Committee. In this instance, we're better off asking for forgiveness than for permission."

"Agreed," Gavriel said.

Kendrick looked over to where Ryuu stood behind Meryn. "I'll need your help, old friend."

Ryuu bowed. "Of course, whatever you need."

"I'll need to use you as an anchor."

"It would be an honor."

Aiden stood. "Let's get started."

*****

Kendrick was upstairs gathering the necklaces when Anne placed her hand on his arm. 

"You weren't lying were you? There's no way that you'll get hurt?"

Kendrick stared down and saw real fear in her eyes. He cupped her face with his hands and kissed her gently. "I was telling the truth. When you were in danger at the clinic, how did you reach out to me?"

Anne frowned in thought. "I recalled that warm feeling I got when I touched your magic during our claiming. Once I touched it, I was able to follow it back to the house. Oh! Is that what you'll do?"

Kendrick nodded. He kissed her again before he picked up the necklaces. "Ready?" He extended his hand. She took it and they walked downstairs to where everyone was waiting in the front family room.

"So what exactly is gonna happen?" Meryn asked.

Kendrick waited until Anne was seated before he started his explanation for the group. "Do you remember the conversation we had about how higher magic works? That a witch must form a contract with a higher being or offer something of themselves up in exchange?"

Everyone nodded.

He held up the necklaces. "When I break these beads, the piece that the witch offered up will be freed and temporarily connected to the witch. I will follow that connection back to the caster. With any luck, they won't be too far away, and I'll be able to identify them. Worst case scenario, I'll have to do a sketch of the person I see, but at least it's a start."

Aiden stood next to Ryuu. "It's more than we have now."

Kendrick winked at Anne, who rolled her eyes. Smiling, he walked over to Ryuu. "I'll need you to attach your magic to me so that I can find my way back. There's no telling how far or how fast I'll fly when these beads are broken."

Ryuu reached out and encircled Kendrick's right wrist with his hand. Where they touched, blue light flared. "I am ready,
heika
."

Kendrick took a deep breath, and using his magic, he crushed the beads in his hand. Green light flared and he concentrated on finding that sliver of magic. He saw two strands, one thicker than the other. He grabbed onto their faint pink glow and raced after the receding light. He flew past trees and through the woods. He was surprised to see that he was heading right for Lycaonia. As he whizzed past businesses and houses, he had a sinking feeling he knew where he was heading. He looked up as the pink strands snapped in front of him. He could go no further; the building where both strands disappeared into was warded.

He turned and tugged on the blue light that secured him to his body. Ryuu began to reel him back. Buildings and streets raced by, and trees were nothing but a blur. Suddenly, he was back in his body.

Gasping, he opened his eyes and stepped back from Ryuu. "Gods!"

Aiden appeared beside him and helped him to a chair. "What did you see?"

Kendrick took a deep breath. "I wasn't able to see their faces; there are two of them."

In the background, Kendrick heard a cell phone ringing.

"Two of them? What does that mean?" Colton asked.

"It means that there was more than one witch creating necklaces," Kendrick answered.

Anne took his hand. "Why couldn't you see their faces?"

Kendrick looked up at Aiden. "Because the building is warded. I ended up at Council Manor."

The room was silent except for the faint ringing sound.

"For the gods' sake, Aiden, answer your damn phone! You never answer your phone!" Meryn exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

Aiden growled and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "What!" His face instantly cleared. "Father, I'm sorry, I... What! When?" Aiden swallowed and collapsed into his chair. "Father, I'll have to call you back." He ended his call and stared at the floor.

"Aiden?" Gavriel called.

Aiden looked up. "Elder Adalwin is dead. They were in the middle of a meeting when he began to scream and age right before them. Father said he looks like a dried up mummy. The other committee members are in an uproar. They believe that he was murdered using black magic and they want units out there ASAP to start an investigation, and of course to protect them."

Kendrick nodded. "That would make sense. If he was one of the witches who had cast the spell, then when the beads are broken, the years of his life he offered up would be collected." Kendrick looked over at the broken beads. "He must have created a majority of the ones we broke."

Elizabeth frowned. "But you said there were two threads."

Kendrick nodded. "That means there is still one more rogue witch in Council Manor, and we have no idea who it is."

"Well, fuck a duck," Meryn exclaimed, throwing herself backward on the sofa.

Kendrick couldn't have agreed more.

*****

"I'm telling you it has to be that douchebag, Réne!" Meryn said, coming to her knees on the sofa.

Elizabeth pulled her back down. "Meryn, we have to look at this from every angle."

Meryn gave her friend a flat look. "Douchebag vampire is evil bad guy. We kill evil bad guy, save the day, come home, and eat cake!"

Kendrick found himself siding with Elizabeth. "Meryn, we have to go in with an open mind. I'm all for getting rid of the bad guy, but I want to make sure that we're getting rid of the true evil one, not the guy that just acts like a douchebag. Besides Réne is a vampire, not a witch."

"I think it's Daggart," Elizabeth suggested.

Meryn became thoughtful. "Damn, now that's difficult. He was a douchebag, too. I bet they are in on it together."

Anne cleared her throat. Kendrick looked to her immediately. "I know I'm new here, but do you think that's why Adalwin wanted to know if the ferals would accept anything else in trade for the hostages? What if they never really expected the perimeter to be lowered? It's like when you're a kid--you ask for something completely outrageous, so when you're told no and suggest something reasonable, the parent is more inclined to say yes, since they shot down your first idea."

"Gods, I did that to my uncle so many times!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

"Réne backed the idea to give up the necklaces," Colton growled.

Gavriel tuned to Aiden. "What do we do?"

Aiden stood and reached for his phone. "I'm going to request a council meeting with just father, Rowan and Celyn. Since Réne was picked up to be the Lycaonian committee member, we can justify his exclusion since his loyalties are divided. Gavriel get on the phone. I want Beta and Delta here at the house guarding the women, and I want Gamma to go in with us. They've been included in every meeting thus far; we can use that as an excuse to get them into the council chambers."

Gavriel stood and pulled out his cell phone as Aiden made the call to his father, requesting a meeting.

Anne went to him. "I'm not going to ask if you'll be safe, because I know you won't be. But I am going to make you promise to come back." 

Kendrick stood and pulled her close. "Not even death could keep me from you," he whispered in her ear.

Grinning, she pulled back. "I know you meant that to sound romantic, but after all these talks about souls and mummies, it was kinda creepy."

"I can always rely on you to keep me grounded." He kissed her forehead.

"I'll be waiting right here for you to come back. That means you walking up those stairs unhurt and very much warm and alive. None of this 'not even death could stop me' stuff." She shuddered. "You know how I feel about zombies."

"You have my word," he vowed.

Aiden tucked his phone away. "Gamma will be here in five minutes. Let's get our gear on."

Kendrick kissed her forehead again and joined the men as they headed to the door.

"You gonna gear up?" Colton asked.

Kendrick shook his head. "No, but it's always amusing to see how much stuff you manage to cover yourselves with to go into battle."

Behind them, the women giggled. Colton gave him a grateful smile and a thumbs up.

Keelan, I swear, we'll all make it home this time.

*****

Heads turned and people whispered as the two units jogged from the parking garage to Council Manor. Kendrick's long legs ensured he was able to keep up. Elder McKenzie met them at the door, a grave look on his face. "What's this all about, son?"

"Let's talk inside, Father." Aiden walked side-by-side with his father through the halls. They passed the normal meeting chambers to a smaller room meant for more intimate conversations. Sascha closed the door behind them, and Kendrick cast a soundproofing spell.

The Gamma Unit arranged themselves toward the back of the room while Alpha stood in front of the three council member chairs. Elder Vi'Ailean was already seated when Elder McKenzie sat next to him.

"We're just waiting on Rowan; he had to talk Daggart out of the rafters when Adalwin, uh, petrified." Elder McKenzie explained.

"Elder McKenzie, I ..." Kendrick stepped forward.

The elder held up a hand. "Please, Kendrick. While we're in this room, let's not be so formal. I've had enough of formality to last me into the next century," Byron said sourly, referring to the recent meeting with the Committee.

"Of course sir. I..." The door to their right opened, and Elder Airgead hurried forward. Kendrick watched as he made his way to his chair. His normally dark hair looked lighter at the temples and there were more lines on his face than when they had met earlier.

Kendrick recalled how haggard Adalwin had looked as Aiden's voice rang through his mind. 

We've already broken a few. One by accident and the others because they were hurting Amelia.

Kendrick felt his heart stutter as he stared at the witch elder. The second trace had been to him! Rowan must have been the creator of at least one of the necklaces he had broken earlier, that's why he looked older.

Rowan caught him staring, and his eyes widened.

Kendrick growled. "It was you!" He raised his hand, but he wasn't quick enough.

Rowan raised his hand, "
Debilito!
"

Kendrick felt his awareness freeze within his own mind. He couldn't see or hear anything. He struggled to bring his magic to the surface but couldn't. Every time he thought it was within reach, his mind clouded and it slipped away.

What was Rowan doing? Was Alpha safe? Kendrick screamed internally, until even the feeling of helplessness began to fade away.

Kendrick.

Who is this?

Réne Evreux, I got suspicious when Rowan called a meeting and I wasn't invited.