Chapter 2

 

 

The teleportation charm spat me in the corridor of my house, my legs hitting the tiled floor. I took a deep breath and steadied myself. I was about to dash to the kitchen and fetch me something to eat—no doubt vegan, knowing my sister’s eating preferences when I heard her raspy voice, “Aiya, is that you?”

Before I could, Dara appeared, coming over.

“Oh, fates! What has happened to you?” I asked, genuinely concerned as I saw the dark circles under her eyes, her face swollen from crying. She definitely didn’t look well. “You have the look of a mortal human who just met a demon. Or a vampire,” I tried to joke but Dara didn’t register my feeble attempt at humor.

Instead, she came straight to me and pressed her body onto my chest, her arms wrapping around my shoulders, giving me a strong hug.

“Whoa, what happened, sis? You alright?” I asked tentatively, letting go of her embrace.

She sniveled and, fighting back her tears, said, “You were right, Aiya. Marc’s an asshole. I should have listened to you.”

I stared in surprise: not that I was shocked at her statement. On the contrary, I couldn’t believe Dara had opened her eyes to Marcus’s true nature. He was a sleazy incubus who always liked to sleep with many women, especially on the side. He had done the same when we were dating. About a month ago, I discovered he was with my sister. I tried to warn her or at least knock some sense into her, but she didn’t listen to me; she had claimed I was jealous of her exciting love life. I’d given up arguing with her about Marc. All was going well until now…

“It’s alright, come now. Everything will be fine,” I soothed her, gently patting her back. She sobbed woefully, gulping a stream of tears and rested her head on my left shoulder. I caressed a lock of her dark blond hair and took her by the hand, prompting her to follow me into the living room. We entered our cozy, spacious room and I slid onto the couch. Dara followed suit.

“I’m all ears. You can tell me everything.” It was on my lips to ask if he’d cheated on her, but I bit my tongue. I wanted to hear it from her if my fears were true.

Dara sniveled again and said with a shaky voice, “I think he’s cheating on me.”

Oh, she hadn’t actually caught him in the act? Part of my mind was wondering whether my sister was super naive, and the other part if Marc was really guilty of the crime.

She sobbed again and drew my attention back to her. “I saw an unknown number on his cell phone. He received a few late calls in the last few nights. When I dialed the number, a female voice answered.”

“And…?”

“That’s it. I think he’s having an affair with that woman. She had that sultry and raspy voice men adore so much,” she said matter-0ff-fact and looked me in the eyes.

I craned my neck toward her. Was she serious?

“And why in magic’s name did you decide he’s cheating on you with that woman? What if she’s his relative or a client, or fate knows what relationship they can have!”

“Oh, Aiya, darling. All his family members are logged into his contacts. This woman is something else.”

“Maybe she’s a customer of his?” I suggested. Marc earned his living working as a mechanic at the town’s auto service. Besides his dull human job, he also participated in occasional hunting of dangerous rogues that the Magic Council announced in the bi-weekly Wizards Today issue.

“No customer calls past midnight.” She shook her head, her brows knitting together in disapproval. “They’re having an affair, it’s pretty clear.”

I arched my brows, my intuition working at higher speed. Something didn’t add up. I couldn’t believe I was going to defend my ex, but crazier things had been happening lately than this.

“Okay, why don’t you just call that number and talk to the woman? It’s the easiest way to dispel your doubts.” And learn the truth, I thought but said nothing.

Dara shifted in her seat, her hazel eyes staring wide open at me, her mouth gawking in surprise. “What? Me? Are you out of your mind? I can’t call that slut. Never.”

I bit back my remark at her use of the word “slut.”

“Okay, then I’ll call her. Do you have her number?”

Dara’s mouth fell open again, this time wider, her whole expression asking me if I was insane. She snapped her mouth shut and shaking her head said, “No, the call history is on Marc’s phone. I’ll need it to pull off her number.”

Great! And he was at work now so we could do it after his shift was over. But by that time, I’d be in Inferno Hall to discuss the impending threat from Hades and Drogo. I decided to change gears and be upfront with my sister.

“Look, sweetie, often our problems only live in our heads, they are not real at all. Why don’t you talk to your boyfriend and ask him directly? Men are usually upfront and if you are, too, they’ll tell you everything you need to know,” I said, applying my best persuasion skills. Of course, I wasn’t as good as the fae were.

Dara arched an eyebrow but eventually agreed with me, puffing out a big sigh from her lungs. “Fine, maybe you’re right. I’ll talk to Marc once he’s back from work. He texted me and will take me to the art gallery this evening.”

Marcus and the art gallery?! I nearly choked when my sister spoke the words. Thank magic I wasn’t drinking or chewing on something.

“I know, I know. It’s very unlikely for Marc to go to such events, but he claims he knew the main artist. Besides, he said there would be an auction tonight. And not just a regular auction, but this one will involve magical objects.” She looked meaningfully at me and I was more intrigued than puzzled. What was the old devil planning? Being an incubus, he naturally belonged to the Black Court, but being the lazy ass he was, he sucked at being of use to the dark supernaturals. Of course, he sucked at the whole relationship thing, too.

“Wish me good luck, sis!” Dara stirred in her seat and clapped her hands energetically. “I’ll follow your advice. I need to know if he’s having an affair with that woman or not. Maybe it’s all in my head. Oh, I don’t want to have my hopes too high.”

I nodded absentmindedly and she kept blabbering. I glanced at my watch and nearly jumped as I saw the clock show 11:30 a.m. I needed to take a shower, sort out my clothes and closet, and finally put some order into my magical weapons. I hadn’t used any of them since I claimed my full Nephilim powers, but I still needed to tidy up my belongings.

“Okay, see you later. I need to sort out some clothes and stuff, then get going and meet Jeff. What day is it?” I asked before I exited our living room.

Dara gave me a puzzled look. I hadn’t told her, time moved faster in Angel’s City than here, in the human world.

“It’s Friday, duh.” She shook her head as if I were the biggest idiot and stared at her cell phone, scrolling at something.

I suppressed a laugh and went to my room, climbing up the stairs. Raphael and I had spent only last evening and night in his cozy cottage in Angel’s City, yet six days had passed here. The experience of being there was incomparable: the soft, yet powerful magical vibrations that permeated the White Court’s realm had rejuvenated my whole body, uplifting my spirits, and healing any emotional traumas I had accumulated so far. Healing, positivity, and bravery: these were the White Court’s keywords.

Entering my room and taking off my clothes for a quick shower, I ruefully thought that I had recharged my batteries there only to be able to endure this evening’s high-profile meeting. Lucifer himself—the big, bad leader of the Black Court would be present. It was he who had called this meeting. Durga had briefly filled me in on the state of affairs in the supernatural community. Being a Nephilim had made me an outcast: a misfit who didn’t belong to either court. Before the skin-walker community appeared and wreaked havoc in our world, I was scheduled to start work for the Magic Council. But the events of the past months went against my plans, and now we had to defeat Drogo and his abominable ally Hades right away. There was no time to negotiate with Neil Murdoch, the Magic Council’s CEO, though he owed his life to me.

Durga had explained to me that Lucius—this is how she was referring to Lucifer, though I didn’t know why— had been scared for his position, the future of the Black Court, and for the state of the supernatural world since Neil’s and my account of the past weeks surfaced and reached his ears. The Black Court leader was one of the prominent high-profile guests at the celebration party we threw in McManus’ after we defeated the skin-walkers, Drogo, and Hades a few weeks ago.

“Lucius is finally afraid for his ass, and this is great,” Durga had told me last evening at Angel’s City. She, Shiva, Michael, Raphael, and I had met for a brief talk in the lavish gardens that encircled the administrative building of the White Court. Through a secret passage and Sanskrit incantation chant, Eden Hall—the meeting place of the Council of Nine - nestled in that building, too.

“How is this great?” I asked, furrowing my brows. I couldn’t follow her logic.

“For the first time in a while, the stubborn Lucius is starting to listen to us and realize the threat Drogo, and now Hades, pose to all of us,” Durga explained. Her speech began accelerating at higher speed while she waved her hands emotionally in support of her statement.

“Before we found you existed, through Augustine, we tried to negotiate and explain the situation to Lucius, but he wouldn’t listen. He refused to acknowledge the danger of Drogo’s cult, though the old devil knew about it,” archangel Michael added.

I squinted my eyes. “Oka-ay, I see your point. Lucifer is somehow going to join our team or at least unite powers with us, for now at least. But why the hell, pun intended, do you call him ‘Lucius’?” I couldn’t help but ask them straightaway. First, it was Durga who referred to him in that way, and now Michael, too. It wasn’t a mere peculiarity or a quirk; there had to be some reason behind the way they had nicknamed the leader of the Black Court.

“Oh, dear. Didn’t they teach you about this at the Academy?” Shiva turned to me, his voice laced with pity, his eyes turning a shade darker.

I fidgeted in the spot I was standing and shook my head. My eyes instinctively drifted away, falling on the golden fountain sideways from us. Next to me, Raphael squeezed my hand in his, his lips caressing my neck as he whispered into my ear, “It’s okay, darling. Not so many supernaturals from the White Court know about this, either.”

“Every day I am amazed by how little useful stuff they teach young supernaturals at that academy,” Durga commented. I stifled my remark that at the time I’d been a student there, I posed for a low-level mage with minimal magical abilities.

“Anyway,” she continued, “we, the Council of Nine, and every high-profile White Court member, call him Lucius. Calling him by his full and proper name has the power to awaken his negative, dark powers and unleash them on everyone who dares to repeatedly utter his name out loud. Names have power, so we have to use them carefully.”

“Names are really a type of mantras. The more you say them, the more they serve as a form of invocation. They form a mystical circle and higher powers are channeled and summoned this way,” Shiva clarified and gently touched his dark chocolate-brown rosary as if the item would confirm his words.

I had never thought about this possibility, but it all made sense.

“We came up with the name Lucius as a means to neutralize his dark powers,” Michael added and flashed me a smile.

“I see,” I muttered. Suddenly, I felt stupid for not figuring it out myself.

“This is why humans, and most religions, rely on chanting or repeated meditations on our names,” Durga said, her eyes glowing with pride and magnificence. She went on, “Our greatest power is magic and the few humans who appease us receive our gifts in the form of supernatural abilities.”

“But Lucius and his minions have their own magic, and his devotees can obtain his superpowers, too,” Michael said. “In order to distance ourselves, we always recommend not to pronounce his name, especially more than once.”

“Even if you say it aloud once, a negative circle builds in the quantum field and a barely perceivable dark portal is being created. Many dark entities can come out of this portal, influencing and possessing humans and lower level supernaturals,” Shiva said.

“But wait a minute,” I turned to them as the thought crossed my mind. “You call Hades and Drogo by their proper names. How come?”

Michael cracked a smile and replied, “They’re not the big boss. They’re powerful and dangerous, too but they don’t possess his range of powers.”

“This is true,” Shiva added. “Lucius is the most dangerous of all the Black Court members.”

“Maybe that’s why they made him their leader?” Durga joked and the others chuckled. I nodded in agreement.

“Wow, I never thought Lucius would be the original Lord Voldemort. I mean, you-know-who,” I clarified seeing the others’ puzzled faces. Durga arched a brow but didn’t say anything. Obviously, they didn’t enjoy my attempt at humor.

Jokes and pop culture aside, after the newly revealed knowledge I’d received from the Council of Nine’s chiefs, I reminded myself to address the Black Court leader as Lucius. Especially now that I would be meeting him face-to-face, in his own place in Inferno Hall. Shivers ran down my skin, setting my insides on fire only by the thought of the upcoming meeting. I didn’t need the information from my Academy classes to realize few supernaturals had been in Inferno Hall. I hoped my body could handle being surrounded by so much negative energy. Durga had showed me how to create a specific protective shield on myself to shield any negative magical vibrations off Lucius. I couldn’t wait to put this knowledge into practice, but before this high-profile meeting I had to meet my former boss, Jeff in his pub. I’d also figured out I’d need a few strong drinks before I met Lucius and his minions. For some arcane reason, I was more stressed out about facing him than I was upon meeting and defeating Drogo Rothstein a year ago.

What the hell was wrong with me?