Mirror: Book One of the Valkanas Clan (35 page)

Then Tom’s plan sparked a related idea, and I stepped into the nearest women’s bathroom and locked myself in a stall. I was pleasantly surprised to find it was extremely clean, and I sat down on the toilet so that I wouldn’t collapse if I succeeded in calling Dorothy again.

This time I only had to think her name a few times and she was there. I also noticed that the cramping wasn’t as bad this time, and I wondered if my body was finally starting to adjust to this ability.

Probably,
Dorothy agreed, reminding me that I did have an audience.

Did you find her again? Could you tell her?
I asked, unconsciously crossing my fingers.

Yes and no. She can feel me, and feel that I wish her no harm, but she only has the traditional empathic abilities of all elves, and no telepathy to hear me by.

Can you tell me how to find her then? I need to tell her before Cesar lands.

Are you sure this is a safe idea? You have no way of knowing the extent of their bond, or what she has promised. Even if she doesn’t want to hurt you, there is no way to be certain she won’t have to do so.

I would be lying if I said Dorothy’s point didn’t send a thrill of electric fear running across my skin. But as much as I knew she might be right, I was also certain this was our best chance at capturing Cesar safely.

I have to try,
I said, while the melodramatic, overly-movie-exposed portion of my brain pointed out how much those sounded like famous last words.
Shut UP!
I snapped.

Dorothy, rather than being offended, just laughed.

You are definitely
kin
to me,
she said, still chuckling.
Wait here. I think it will be easier to bring her to you than you to her. Her empathy will be enough to allow me to lead her here, and hopefully sensing my goodwill will make her less likely to lash out at you from sheer surprise. I only pray that will be enough.

After Dorothy left, I sat alone in my stall, leaving the door locked and trying to calm my nerves. I wondered if Tom was close enough to hear my thoughts still, and if he was amused to discover that I was taking his suggestion of hiding in a bathroom, even if it wasn’t the one he was guarding. I considered actively reaching out to him, but then I realized that
Marielle’s
empathy would make that a bad idea. It was important to feel calm right now, to show Marielle I intended her help rather than harm, and getting in touch with Tom would only make me nervous.

I stood and stretched, rolling my neck and shoulders to help me relax. I’d just succeeded in quieting my thoughts when I heard the soft shush of the bathroom door opening.

“Alyson?”
I recognized
Marielle’s
voice; she sounded surprised, and slightly wary. I unlocked my stall and stepped out, my hands loose and open by my side.

“How did you bring me here? What was that I felt drawing me?” she asked.

“My great-grandmother’s spirit,” I said, wondering if I was a fool for being so open with her when I was guarding my secret so carefully from everyone else but Tom. She must have felt something of what I was revealing to her, how I was trusting her, though, because she relaxed slightly, and some of the wariness in her tone was replaced with concern.

“Once Cesar has you he will kill Ava, not release her. You should not give yourself up to him,” she said softly. “Turning yourself in to me will not allow me to protect either of you, though it is a wiser plan than approaching him directly. I will not hold you. Go before he lands.”

“That’s not why I’m here,” I said, and her delicate brow rose slightly.

“It’s not?”

“I know Cesar has promised you the
Sringara,
and I know where it is. You can break your bond with him.”

She looked surprised for only a moment, and then a brief series of other emotions flashed across her face; I caught hope, and sadness, and a few others I could not name.

“He only fears my discovery of it because he doesn’t trust our bond. I cannot break it that easily. Not unless…” she paused, and glanced sharply at me. “Did you move it?”

“Yes, it is with—”

She cut me off.

“
Shh
, don’t tell me, it’s essential I do not know the specifics. Just tell me this: is there any way for Cesar to know of its
exact
location now?”

Her question reminded me of Damian and Valerie’s hypothesis about why Cesar would leave us to find the horn rather than Temora’s people.

“Generally, yes. But I don’t think there’s any way he could know the details.”

A slow, gorgeous smile spread across her face, stunning me with its beauty. I suddenly understood why elves would figure in human myths and stories for centuries—nothing could erase the sudden miracle of that kind of beauty, not even the passing of countless generations.

“Then there is hope.” Her expression suddenly sobered again, and I felt the loss of her smile like a punch; if I’d still needed to breathe I would have been gasping for air. “Still, it’s not safe for you. If you are wrong our bond will stand, and if he directly orders me to protect him by securing you, I will not be able to say no. You must leave.”

“And Ava?”

“There is nothing I can do for her; I’m sorry.” I believed her. She looked genuinely sad, almost heart-
breakingly
so, and I wondered how she was surviving the emotional torment that surrounded Cesar without the tree we’d found in his house.

“Then I can’t leave. She’s my friend.”

“We will have to hope you are right about Cesar then. Can I at least convince you to stay out of sight until I know?” she asked.

“I will, but there are other vampires here, some of whom don’t know about the horn. And only one of them knows I came to find you. They will try to seize Cesar as soon as he enters the airport. They plan to kill him as quickly as possible in the hopes that will break your bond.”

She laughed, but it was not a pleasant laugh—it sent chills running down my spine.

“Idiots.
I am bound to vengeance as well as protection. And now that I know the threat they pose, I am obliged to prevent it.”

I froze in shock and fear. Had I just written all our death warrants out of misguided trust? I’d just begun congratulating myself on finding her, telling her, too. As a literature professor, I, of all people, should have known precisely what happened to those burdened by hubris.

Apparently, my fear caught Tom’s attention; answering my earlier question of whether he was near enough to hear me.

What’s happened? Where are you?

I’m with Marielle—her bond calls for vengeance as well as protection—if we kill Cesar she is obliged to kill us. But now that she knows of the plan to kill him, she’s obliged to protect him first.

You told her we planned to kill him? I thought you were just planning to tell her about the horn?
The implied judgment in his question caused anger to flash through me so hot and quick that I instantly lost contact with him. And then that anger faded, replaced by depression at how right he was to judge me. Hadn’t I just been thinking the same thing? I’d been an idiot—a
  naive
, prideful idiot no less.

No you haven’t
Aly
. You were right, after all. If we’d killed Cesar it only would have signed our death-warrants, and no-one thought about that besides you.
Tom was back, sounding soothing and concerned, but I could barely register his presence. I was too busy drowning in self-pity. 

“Stop,” Marielle gasped. “We’ll find a way around it. Just please stop.”

I looked up from the crouch I’d unconsciously sunk into. She stood stiffly erect, her arms tightly crossed and clasping each other as if warding herself, her eyes filled with pain. Curiosity edged into my despair, and I stood slowly, watching her arms just barely relax.

“My emotions have that much of an effect on you? How on earth can you function if that’s the case?”

“You are an unusually strong projector, and I am unusually susceptible with the loss of my tree and constant exposure to Cesar,” she said, her voice slowly returning to normal as my despair lifted further. “I only hope this works. I do not think I could survive several more years with Cesar if he were to capture you and leave you that miserable all the time.”

“You only hope what works?” I asked.

“There are other ways to neutralize the threat to Cesar besides killing your companions. But it will require you to be my hostage.”

“Your hostage?
But I thought you wanted me to hide,” I said, ignoring the sudden clamor Tom was making in my head, demanding to know where I was so he could rescue me from her. I knew I had to work with her if I was going to keep everyone safe, even if I didn’t understand how yet.

“I did,” she replied. “And it would still be safest for you to do so. But then I would have to kill everyone else who came with you.”

I stared at her, numb, hoping my silence would be enough to entice her into continuing since I found myself suddenly unable to speak.

“If you are my hostage, your fellow vampires cannot attack me or Cesar without putting you at risk. I know they will not do that, so keeping you hostage protects Cesar as surely as killing
them
does.”

“But,” I paused, brain racing to find a problem with her plan beyond the utter terror I felt at being the hostage of the powerful elfin servant of a cruel vampire who wanted to claim me for his own. “You said Cesar would kill Ava the instant he had me,” I suddenly remembered.

“He’s not foolish enough to kill her in front of crowd of humans; he’d wait until we got to his hacienda. If I can break our bond immediately, however, he should never get the chance. Once the bond is broken, I will release you and your friends can do as they wish.”

It was a terrifying plan, but I could see no other way to protect everyone’s lives. I relayed the plan to Tom so he could warn everyone to back off.

No, I won’t let you do this,
Aly
. It’s insane—you’re going to get yourself killed.
He was panicked; he didn’t understand.

If I don’t, everyone
but
me gets killed.
I replied.
I can’t let that happen.

Tell her we’ve changed our plans. Tell her we don’t pose a threat to Cesar any longer,
he pleaded.

I knew it wouldn’t work, but for his sake I tried.

“I’m sorry, Alyson, but a simple assurance from known enemies isn’t enough. This is the only way,” she said, confirming my suspicions.

When I relayed her response to Tom, it almost felt like his mind was breaking for a moment. And then it was as if I could see him pulling himself upright, setting his spine and locking his jaw.

Fine,
he told me, moments after I’d concluded he wasn’t going to say anything else.
But if you get yourself killed…
he trailed off, and I was relieved not to know what would fill the second half of that thought.

I won’t—Marielle thinks she’ll be able to break the bond. As soon as it’s broken I’m free to go, and we can grab him. Just make sure to protect Ava, alright? And keep everyone out of sight until then.

And then I allowed my anger at the mess we were all in to simmer up just enough to break our connection. Maintaining it, feeling his alternating concern and enforced numbness, was simply too painful. Marielle turned to me.