Chapter 38

CHAPTER 38

ORIX

" W hat do you mean they vanished?" Sharniza demands.

"I can't sense her," Derek says, pacing in panic. "Nothing. Nothing at all!"

All concerns about the place being bugged are forgotten. What's the point? They have what they want. "Calm down! We need to think."

"What is there to think about?" Curi demands. "We fucked up. The faction has Serath and Cam, and we have no way of finding them."

"A tracking spell?" Palia suggests. "Flora, can you?—"

"I can't," Flora says, wide-eyed. "I don't have that kind of power."

"Then what power do you have?" Curi snaps.

She flinches, her bottom lip trembling.

"Stop it!" Ginia glares at Curi and puts an arm around Flora. "This is not her fault."

"We need to fix it," Levi says. "Fuck. We have to go to Lionel and Ivor."

"I'll go now." Derek vanishes.

Levi rakes a hand through his hair and takes up pacing in Derek's place.

The faction has Serath and Cameron. They have them, and there is nothing I can do.

"We need to find a witch or a magi who can do a tracking spell on them," Selas says from the couch.

"Did someone say they needed a witch?" The breath explodes from my lungs, hope burning a path through my veins as I turn to face the door and the one male that might be able to guide us out of this shitstorm.

Willowman stands in the doorway clad in jeans and an oversized coat. His dark hair is tucked into a cap, hands pushed into his pockets. He's obviously supposed to be incognito, but I'd recognize my friend anywhere.

He tugs off the hat, rakes back his hair, and flashes me a smile. "Did you miss me?"

"You have no fucking idea."

The pleasure of having Willowman back wears off quickly when it hits me that if the faction is still spying on us, then they'll also know he's back and that we have help.

My heart sinks. "We have to work fast. They could know you're here."

"Who?" Willowman looks confused. "The faction? Trust me, no one knows I'm here."

"This place may be bugged," Levi explains.

Willowman scoffs. "Not likely. I scoured the tower myself after we found out about Prasan. No mystical or electronic bugs. You had enough on your plate without having to worry about that. I meant to tell you but…things happened."

"So if this place isn't bugged, how does the faction know our every move?" Sharniza says.

"It doesn't matter now," Curi replies. "We have to focus on getting to Serath and Cameron."

"What happened to them?" Willowman glances around, noticing their absence for the first time.

"The faction has them." I fill him in quickly.

"Shit, I get it, hence the need for a tracker. I need hair or blood from either of them."

"I'll get Cameron's hairbrush!" Sharniza rushes out of the room.

"How long will it take?" Levi asks. "The tracking spell?"

"An hour at most. I just need a few things from my cottage."

We can't be seen entering the cottage. "Derek can get them when he returns. Did you manage to activate our plan B?"

Willowman smiles smugly. "Of course. Fifteen halfbloods are ready to fight if needed. I have them staying at a safe house. I can orb them to wherever they're needed."

"Damn, it's good to have you back."

Sharniza returns, hairbrush in hand, and Taz slips into the room around her. He pads over to me and bumps my leg.

Willowman goes still, staring at Taz intensely.

"You've met Taz. You remember, right?" Maybe the alchemists digging in his head stole some memories.

He exhales sharply. "Oh yes. I've met him. Lovely feline." He crouches and beckons to Taz with soft tutting sounds.

Taz stares flatly at him as if to say, What do you think I am? A bloody cat?

Willowman ceases his tutting and holds out a hand. "Hey, Taz, can I take a quick look at you, buddy?"

Taz pads over, and Willowman runs his hand over Taz's head and down his back. He does this twice, but the third time he stops at the neck, fingers digging in slightly, which makes Taz hiss.

"Hey!" I take a step forward, but Willowman shoots me a warning glare. "One second, sweet boy," he says to Taz. "One…more…" He plucks something out from Taz's fur: a small coppery disc that looks like the head of a bobby pin.

"What is that?" Sharniza asks.

"It's a mystiaudio receptor," Willowman says. "Still in the experimental phase from what I recall. Something the council has the alchemist labs working on."

"Why is it on Taz?" Ginia asks.

But it's obvious to me, and from the looks on their faces, to everyone else too.

Willowman straightens. "Looks like we found your information leak right here." He drops it into the plug hole, chasing it with water from the tap. "The feed's dead now, so they'll suspect something is up. We'll have to work fast."

Sharniza hands him the brush. "Derek shouldn't be long."

She's barely finished speaking when Derek materializes by the island. He sways and grabs at the counter to steady himself.

"Derek?" She rushes over and puts her arm around his waist. "Hey. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he says gruffly. "Just a little dizzy."

"It's all the traveling, isn't it?" she says.

"I can manage."

She frowns up at him, looking torn between letting it go or arguing her point. "Do you have enough juice to get to and from Willowman's cottage? If you don't, that's fine. We can figure something out."

"You're back," Derek says to Willowman.

But Willowman is focused on Derek's hand, the one braced on the counter. He approaches, reaching out to touch the bracelet that's clasped to Derek's wrist but pulls back his hand as if he's been singed. "Where did you get that?" His lip curls in a slight sneer of disgust.

"Yarrow gave it to me."

"Why are you making that face?" Sharniza says.

"What did he tell you the bracelet was for?" Willowman asks.

"To help him become independent of Cam," Sharniza replies. "So he can fuel himself and not need her and can choose to be her shield rather than be obligated."

Willowman's jaw ticks. "And how have you felt since having that thing on your wrist?"

Sharniza and Derek exchange a look before Derek responds. "Disconnected and…weaker."

"What is it?" Sharniza asks. "What did Yarrow do?"

"He gave you a dissonance band. Powerful magic that disrupts the natural rhythm of the wearer's power to weaken them. In ancient times, witches used these as punishment for magical transgressions."

"But if Yarrow gave it to him…" Curi says.

"No…" Derek's mouth turns down. "Not Yarrow."

"What are you talking about?" Flora says. "What are you saying my brother did?" Willowman crosses the room to Flora, amber eyes glowing as they rake over her. Flora shrinks from him. "Why…why are you looking at me like that? Like you've never seen me before."

"Oh, I've seen you. But never without your brother by your side, and now…now I can understand why." He drifts closer.

Flora's lip quivers. "Stop it. Stay back." She looks to Ginia then Palia. "Make him stay back."

"I'm not going to hurt you," Willowman says. "Just answer me this: Where were you before you came to the academy?"

"I was with Blake, of course."

"But where?"

"Wherever he went. I was with him."

"Uh-huh, but where? What places? What did you see?"

She blinks sharply. "I…I don't know what you mean."

"Where in the rim did you go? Who did you meet and speak to?" She opens and closes her mouth, and Willowman continues. "Flora, do you recall anything about your time before you came to the academy? Anything aside from what Blake told you to remember?"

"What? He told me? What's that supposed to mean? I…I have my own mind and memories…I…I do. I can…" She blinks rapidly again. "I was hurt. The office…Travani messed with my head, and I can't remember things now. Blake said that when I asked him. It's her fault. But before that…Yes, I could remember."

"Could you? Did you ever try?"

Her chest rises and falls rapidly. "No. Stop it. Stop this right now!"

"Flora, what did your mother look like?" Willowman asks. Flora goes still and silent. "Where did you play as a child?"

"Stop it…"

"Flora…" Willowman is close enough now to touch her. "What is your first memory?"

"Blake," she says softly. "Blake looking down at me in the rain. It's wet and cold, but his smile is warm, and he loves me. He loves me more than anything." A soft sob breaks from her lips. "I'm safe with Blake. He'll protect me. Always."

"You know what you are, don't you?"

She shakes her head.

"You've suspected for some time, haven't you?"

"No. No, no, no."

"Say it," Willowman says.

"No! It's not true! Not true!" The last part is a scream, and then she's gone.

Vanished into thin air.

"What the fuck just happened?" Curi says.

"Flora is a remnant," Willowman says. "A being created from an amalgamation of memories. Something that hasn't been done for over a century, and then only by the most powerful magic users in any coven. The practice was forbidden when a remnant took the life of its creator."

"Wait…are you saying that Yarrow created Flora?"

"Like a tulpa?" Derek says. "She's like me."

"Not like you," Willowman says. "You're Cameron's shield manifested into a human form. And a tulpa is a creature woven from a human's fear and imagination. A remnant is built from the memory of a person, living or dead."

Yarrow gave Derek the bracelet. He created Flora and… "Yarrow brought Taz back to me when he went missing. He must have placed the bug on him."

"It's Yarrow…" Palia says softly. "Yarrow is working for the faction."

Yarrow is our traitor.