128

Mercy

Maryanne's channeling of our latent magic left me drained, exhausted and barely able to pull my shadows. She assured us that whatever she had done had neutralized the curse, but that wasn't enough for me. Somehow, I knew that Talon was tied to this. Perhaps he wasn't the mastermind, but he was involved, there was no doubt in my mind.

Which is how I found myself here, stalking through the shadows as I tracked his movements. He's been puttering around Alistair's estate all day, muttering to himself. I haven't been able to determine what, exactly, it is, that he's up to, but I know he's up to something.

Alistair's too busy to pay too much mind to Talon, with everything going on, so it's up to me to ensure that my sadistic kin doesn't do something worse than what's already occurred.

"What are you up to, little brother," I muttered to myself as he paced along the outer wall for the tenth time in the last hour.

As much as I want to get closer, I don't dare with how spotty my shadows are.

He turns back towards the estate with a growl, racing off before I can pursue. I wait until he's well beyond view before approaching the section of the gate where he was pacing. I inspect the space, but nothing seems out of place. With a frown, I glance around, trying to determine just what he was up to. When nothing appears, I decide to instead retrace his steps from when I first found him sulking around this morning.

~

Galina

I'm practicing aerial maneuvers with Emmanuel and Emmerson when Talon, Alistair's broody younger sibling, comes barreling through the training grounds. His face is a dark mask of rage as he stalks towards the rear fields, past the well, and beyond the barracks. The barracks where Esme and Maryanne neutralized a curse last night. Is it a coincidence?

Suddenly a burst of wind from Emmerson knocks me from the air with startling force. Emmanuel shouts and races through the sky as I plummet.

"What the hell, Galina? Pay attention! Now self-rescue, like I showed you. Fan out your wings. Like that, yes, good."

I do as I'm told while Emmanuel coaches me through a rescue maneuver that we had been practicing the last few days. My wings flare out, catching the wind to slow my descent, and when I'm near to the ground, within half a dozen feet or so, I flare them out further and push down, climbing back into the sky.

"What was that, Galina? I didn't expect to catch you off guard with that one," Emmerson says, aa frown on his face.

I nod towards the barracks, flying high. The two men follow as I glide in the direction that Talon disappeared, Emmanuel propelled by wings, and Emmerson by the wind itself.

It doesn't take us long to overtake Talon, and when we do, he glances over his shoulder without looking up.

"What's he doing?" Emmanuel asks, flying close enough that the roar of the wind doesn't whisk his words away.

I glance at him but don't answer as we pursue the brooding vampire. He slinks behind the barracks, inspecting the bloodstains left from the residue of the curse, before disappearing into the gardens. We trail behind him from the sky, getting flashes of his hair as he winds through the hedges.

He slinks through the garden, stopping on occasion to inspect something that we can't see from our vantage point, before taking off again.

We follow him until we reach the edge of the estate, but when he slips through the outer gate and beyond the wards, Emmanuel forces us to land.

"I know you want to follow him, Gal, but there's a chance that it could be a trap to lure you beyond the wards. We can move on foot along the path he took to see if we can determine what he was up to, but we shouldn't leave the main estate."

I want to pursue Talon, but Emmanuel is right, it's not safe.

~

Matthew

"The preparations are ready, are you sure about this?"

"Yes. We need to make it to Esme before the equinox."

"What if the men don't like that we're working with a vampire?"

"They won't have any issues, they've worked with Alistair often enough."

"What do you mean, Dad?"

"Alistair has helped smuggle resistance members out of the camps among other things... he's acted as a safe house for us for years."

"And you didn't think to let your kids in on the secret?"

"I needed my kids by my side rather than running off to try and help where they didn't know the rules."

I clench my jaw and roll my shoulders, getting real tired of dad's cloak and dagger bullshit.

"Anything else you forgot to mention?"

"Alex is there with Esme."

I can feel my eye twitching, but rather than respond, I stalk off to get the guys moving. Dad will tell me what he wants, when he wants. There's no point in continuing to ask questions.

~

Anthony

When Matthew stalks off, I have the brief urge to call him back, but ignore it. He's mad at me, as he has been often recently, but telling him everything before he's ready is too much of a risk.

"You're as squirrely about the details as ever, Anthony," says an amused voice from the corner.

"I have to be, you, of all people, realize that."

"Yes, but I imagine that it's a bit easier for me, since nobody is as close as you with your kids."

"With so many children of your own, that surprises me."

"Yes, well, I learned my lesson with August and Mariano."

"Fair enough. Will you been joining us there for the final stand, or are you continuing to play the fence?"

"I'm still not certain that they're going to have a full frontal against the estate, Tony."

"It's the best intel we've had in years. Keep playing at being their puppet, if you think it's the best course, but I'm going to stand by the chain."

"As you should. It is my understanding that Amelie and Lucille will be joining you there soon, as well."

"That's a relief to hear, old friend. Go now, before you draw suspicion upon yourself."

He chuckles and fades back into the shadow.

"So concerned. Don't worry so much."

"I have to since you don't worry at all!"

The last thing I hear before silence overtakes me is his rasping chuckle as he shadow walks back to his own home.