The Council, A Witch's Memory (20 page)

With a chuckle, Henry tore himself from me, disappearing into the hallway.

I went to the closet and picked out one of the dresses Flora had gotten me. I was admiring the silky fabric and made my way back into the bedroom.

When I looked up a devastatingly haunting man blocked my way. He had dark brown hair and midnight blue eyes. His skin was the color of alabaster.

“Hi,” He looked just as surprised.

“Uh, hey.”

“Who are you?” he asked, amusement lacing his velvety voice. He had an accent. It was very light, almost sounded Russian.

“I’m Venna.” Why wasn’t I screaming my head off? He had strange taste in clothing too. He wore very expensive looking black pants and a red silk shirt. It was a little much for morning. Oddly enough, I didn’t feel frightened. No prickly neck.

His eyebrows pinched together and his gaze swept the room. “Why are you in here…”

He stepped toward me and I no longer felt brave. I took a deep breath, about to shout for Henry. There wasn’t any need. A flash of green light filled the room.

“Dmitri what are you doing?” Henry barked, and stood in front of me.

“Flora said you’d be in here.” His eyes went wide, “I hear only one heart.”

“What?” I asked.

“How long?” Dmitri crossed his arms. “No one ever tells me anything.”

Henry snorted. “Relax, it’s only been since yesterday.”

As unexpected as it was sudden, Dmitri flashed me a brilliant smile. “Welcome to the family.”

“Uh, thanks.” I managed to smile back, and that’s when I noticed Dmitri had fangs. Real ones. Pointy ones. Nothing like the plastic things the kids wore on Halloween.

“I’m here to deliver news.” His voice hardened and his eyes glowed midnight blue. “The trial is canceled in favor of an emergency meeting.”

Henry cursed. “Why?”

“My parents wouldn’t say, and neither would yours. Fulk was executed five minutes ago.” Dmitri strode for the bedroom door, pausing on his way out. “It’s bloody insane. The compound is in an uproar and the guards are tripled in number. I can feel something coming.”

“So can I,” Henry said.

“I’ll see that Zane and Flora are ready to go.” Dmitri let himself out. “Oh, and you might want to turn on the news.”

Henry waited until we were alone again before speaking, “Sorry, Dmitri is oblivious sometimes. He won’t come in your room again.”

“Is he a v-vampire?” I choked out.

“Yes, he is part of the Council. A prince, actually.”

“We can trust him?” and could I trust my eyes not to stray downward because Henry was currently wearing a towel…nope.

“Without a doubt,” He bent to press a kiss to my lips. “I’ll be right back.”

“Hey, I’m coming with you.” I said, thinking that I’d rather not be alone with a vampire in the house. I latched onto Henry’s arm and he laughed. The green light flashed around us, and we appeared in his bedroom. He went to the bathroom to finish his shower, and I went over to the armoire, opening the doors wide to reveal a TV. I flipped through the news channels, local and not, searching for anything that Dmitri might find interesting. There wasn’t much, weather reports, car accidents, and none of it was in Capeside. On the off chance I missed something I flipped back, and landed on one of the more popular stations.

Apparently there was a gang fight in Chicago.

“Ah,” I heard Henry come back out of the bathroom.

“What?” I glanced up at him, wondering about the concern on his face. And then my gaze trailed downward, unable to ignore the fact he was still in his towel.

“The humans blame it on what they know.” He said. “It is beneficial to us. They see only the obvious, a group of young people out to upset the balance.”

I looked back at the TV. “What is it?”

“Craven’s men,” he frowned. “Or it could be our people fighting with those they suspect are members of the Resistance. At this point, all I really know is that it’s bad.”

“What if humans find out?”

He left me to watch the news and went into his closet. It was one of those massive walk-in ones that might as well double as another room. “They won’t. We have our people working beside humans to make sure of that. In fact, one of the top newscasters is a werewolf.”

“That’s handy.”

Once he was dressed we headed down to breakfast. It was safe to say the house was turning into a zoo—two warlocks, two witches, a vampire, a Saint Bernard, and the promise that a pair of werewolves would be joining our group before the day ended.

The freak show at the circus had nothing on us.

The gown I ended up wearing was a deep purple, shimmery fabric, with cap sleeves. Henry come up behind me with a wide piece of black ribbon and tied it around my waist. At first I didn’t think anything of it. But embroidered on the front of the ribbon was a black half moon and three stars.

The sash, Henry called it, looked so official.

So…now I was part of the Council too, and nervous as hell.

Henry looked absolutely amazing. He wore black pants tucked into shiny black boots, and a tunic-style coat with large gold buttons. On the right side of his coat the same moon and stars adorned the fabric. Attached to a black belt around his waist was a gleaming sword.

If I thought he was even the slightest bit intimidating before, it didn’t touch how dramatic and imposing he appeared now.

“Everyone ready?” Dmitri asked. He’d changed too, into an outfit exactly like Henry’s, complete with sword.

“Yes.” Flora was in a pink gown this time, with ruffled sleeves, and a black sash adorned her waist with the emblem on it as well. She looked pretty, and my brother couldn’t stop staring.

Zane’s was the biggest transformation. He wore an outfit similar to Henry’s, but the color was a deep, royal blue. And he looked so handsome, not like a little boy anymore.

Thankfully, he didn’t have a weapon strapped to his side.

“Okay, you two come with me.” Dmitri held out his hands and formed a circle with Zane and Flora. “Hold on.”

There was a cool breeze, and they disappeared.

I gazed up at Henry and he took my hands. “Don’t let go.”

I held him tight and felt weightless. The cool air and green light whipping around me. We materialized in a long hallway. The springy carpeting was a deep burgundy, contrasting the creamy eggshell walls. Dmitri, Zane, and Flora were ahead of us, entering a door on the left. I glanced behind me and found another door.

“Come on,” Henry said, pulling me in the direction of the first door.

“Where are we?”

“North Dakota. This is the home of the Council. It is where we rule from.”

I held tightly to his hand, feeling terrified, excited, and apprehensive. There were so many emotions running through me, I couldn’t believe we’d been in his house a few seconds ago, and now we were in North Dakota?

The door opened as Henry and I approached. I took a deep breath to steady myself, praying that I didn’t say anything wrong. I mean, now that I knew Mr. and Mrs. Langley were royalty…how was I supposed to act?

“Hey, it’s alright.” He kissed my cheek. “No need to panic.”

“Who’s panicking? Me? I thought that was you. I’m cool as a freaking cucumber.”

“No, that’s all you. Trust me, you have nothing to worry about.”

I bit back a hysterical laugh as we entered a circular room and inhaled the sweet smell of roses, maybe some lavender and honeysuckle. Mrs. Langley loved her flowers. They were everywhere. On tabletops and shelves and windowsills sat small vases, large pots of plants. Dried flowers hung by the window.

Flora looked like she was in heaven, surrounded by so much greenery. She flitted by a large window, watering can in hand. Zane hovered over her shoulder, watching the flowers bloom. Literally.

“Venna and Henry. My dears, I am so happy you are here.” Mrs. Langley made her way across the room. I tried not to be rude and stare at her elaborate gown. She wore the black sash around her waist, over a sleek ivory silk and lace dress. The style was almost Grecian, the draping loose at her neck and shoulders. It was stunning. She looked so much younger than I remembered. Last time I saw her the hair at her temples had started to gray, and laugh lines creased her face. Now her skin was smooth, her hair the exact sandy color of Henry’s. On the top of her head was a beautiful diamond crown. It was small, just a little sparkle. But it demanded attention.

At first I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to bow or do something formal. But she pulled me into a hug, and my nerves calmed. Mrs. Langley had always treated Zane and I like we were family; it was silly for me to be worried about acting the wrong way.

She let me go to hug Henry, and stepped back to sigh and smile with such joy. I had to wonder if she knew there was a crazy man trying to overthrow her family.

“It has come to my attention that you are bound to my son.”

I gulped, “Uh, yes.”

She smiled, “Venna, it’s alright. We all love you so much. Before you can join us in the Council, I must ask you three questions.”

She pulled me across the room to a table. There was a jewelry box, the lid opened.

“Wow.” A tiara glimmered up at me.

She turned back to me “This is all very rushed, and I’ve not given you any time to adjust to the fact of who you are now. So if you would like to wait out here, we can proceed into the meeting without you.”

It was a lot, but I also didn’t like the idea of being out of the loop. “I am bound to Henry, this comes with the territory, right? Going to Council meetings, being here?”

“Not like you’re thinking. You will be his soul mate, but if you decide not to be inducted into the Council, you will not be his princess, and you will not be queen.”

Oh, well Henry had left that part out. But so much had been happening, he probably wasn’t thinking about inducting me into the Council. “So I have to decide now?”

“Only if you wish to. We can wait, but I wanted you to know the option is yours.”

I took a deep breath, knowing I had one option. Well I had two, but only one clear one. I couldn’t be with Henry and not be apart of his life. That idea was absurd.

I stepped closer and lowered my voice. “Do I have to say something official to tell you I want to join? Can I just say yes?”

She trilled with laughter. “Yes works just fine.”

“Okay, yes. I’m ready,” mostly. The rest of me was spinning, but I’d deal later. Besides, it’s not like I didn’t have time to adjust. Being queen wouldn’t happen for a really long time.

“Venna Charlotte Greer, my dear girl, three questions I shall ask.” She cleared her throat, taking the tiara, which not only had diamonds, but also tiny sapphires, holding it over my head. “Will you forever be loyal to the Langley family?”

“Yes,” I said, feeling some of the tension fade when Henry settled his hand at the small of my back.

“Do you vow to take your place in the Council, beside Henry James Langley, and rule to the greatest and fairest, of your ability when the day comes?”

Really? Do I? Crap, what a time to freak out. “I do, yes.”

“Do you love my son?”

“Yes,” I glanced up at Henry. I hadn’t told him yet. Not out loud. I knew he knew how I felt, but saying it was so much more important. “More than you can imagine.”

She sniffled, setting the tiara on my head. “Then I welcome you, Venna, to the Council and to our family.”

“Wow.” I breathed.

“You will do fine. Don’t worry,” she insisted, hugging me again.

Henry winked at me, “Are you ready?”

“For what?” I asked as he took my hands and lead me across the room.

A door opened behind him that I hadn’t noticed before.

He stepped back into the room, pulling me with him.

Chapter 25

It was pitch black. I held tightly to Henry. He maneuvered me around, and I stood where he put me next to the wall by the door. Not daring to budge an inch. I could see out into the other room fine. Everyone filled past us, Zane, Flora, Mrs. Langley, and Dmitri came last with Quinn. He helped Henry shut the door. It was stone, and it slid into place. I gasped, all light extinguished, wishing Henry still had hold of my hand. I couldn’t see at all. Nothing. But then he was there again. Arm slipping around me and urging me forward. Light filled the room suddenly. Torches on the walls crackled with life. The room was a perfect circle, and so was the massive table in the middle. Its white marble gleamed in the dim light. I noticed that Henry’s father and two other men were in the room, already seated. Henry sat me next to his mother, and then he sat beside me. Followed by Flora and Zane.

“It is grave we gather here. I had hoped a meeting like this would never have to happen.” Mr. Langley said. His voice shook with anger. “I am in shock, furious one of the men I trusted was working for the Resistance. Davy will temporarily take Fulk’s place until a suitable candidate for the job is found. Even if it takes a few years.”

Maybe it was me, but I could have sworn Mr. Langley looked appraisingly at my brother when he said this.