The Wiccan Diaries: Neophyte Adept Part 60

Lennox was somehow flying through the airI remembered thinking I would have to be fledged before I experienced that. What if Ballard somehow d-died? I couldn't bring myself to face it. What would I do, then? Where would I go?

Find the other one and kill him Of course they were after Ballard. He was Head Wolf, Il Gatto, the leader of the Sons and Daughters of Romulus... but this was before that had happened. Before Ballard had won the race. Lenoir had communicated with Rayven in my dreams. It hadn't happened yet! They could just as soon have been talking about me. I was runner-up. It must have been something within Ballard, they wanted stopped; something even he didn't know about. The Grey Wolf. Do not let IT survive. It had to be.

"Rookmaaker... everything... Rookmaaker..." I whispered deliriously.

I felt ourselves land, and me being pa.s.sed over. "Take her, Manon. You were right. I will go faster."

"Halsey, you have to wake up."

Something cool slashed through me. "WAKEUP!"

"I'm herewhat is it?"

But where was I?

"We have to hurry, come on!" said Manon. Lennox had dumped me off on her. She dragged me to my feet.

Suddenly, I heard it, and Saw.

Explosions, fire in the night. The benandanti were in trouble.

Lennox, I thought.

My consciousness came back to me; Manon ran ahead. We were on the edge of Stromovka; I could see firelight in the distance. Prague was behind us. Stromovka was burning.

I battled my way through the trees after them, finding a well-worn path I knew by heart. It brought me out to the lake; from there it was a straight shot to the Hollow itself! The trees were all on fire. "BALLARD!" I shouted. If I was going to save him, I'd better do something quick. Lennox and Manon had already jumped into the fray.

Smoke rose, spreading thick about me. I coughed, putting my sleeve over my mouth.

My Mark! It was astonis.h.i.+ngly, blindingly bright blue! The only time that'd ever happened, it meant Rayven was nearby. Was he? Of course he was! The Grigori had come burning! He must've been leading them! They were the THEM his Master had been talking about! The Dark Order!

I flew down the path, feeling p.r.i.c.kers and things dig into my skin, trying to remember the spells I'd learned.

It was no good. I was doomed. I couldn't see anything. And then my feet started going downhill. The hollow was full of impenetrable, black smoke. I didn't know where I was going, but I saw spells erupting suddenly, everywhichway...

Curses flew from one figure to the next, hitting some, flying past others. I found myself vapnlauss, without a weapon, wondering what to do. Are you a witch or aren't you? Craft, I told myself.

But I couldn't just craft. Not without first finding Ballard...

His domov. I skirted the upper edge of the Hollow. A meteor struck near my feet. Rayven wanted Ballard. Maybe they were back... And Ballard was one of them... The Watchtowers... That would be it. He was my Protector, after all. If so, what exactly did Watchtowers do, and was that why Ballard seemed to be on Rayven's. .h.i.t list?

Was Lennox, or Marek, or Selwyn? But the Watchtowers were destroyed; my parents were destroyed.

A blast from someone's Mark erupted my way. "Skjotleikr." My mark flared and suddenly I began to run really fast. It couldn't be this simple... it couldn't...

"Sundr!"

I fell on my face and slid through the moist earth. It was like I was paralyzed. A Grigori stood over me, drawing back his clawed hand, dripping fangs drooling on me.

Suddenly, Laurinaitis appeared. "Come at me, small-guts," he said.

I could only watch as the Grigori prepared to strike.

Laurinaitis's face had taken on the characteristics of a jaguar. He plowed into the Grigori, bowling it over. They began to duel.

It happened lightning-fast, each brandis.h.i.+ng their spells at the otherLaurinaitis was tricky; he executed a series of blindingly-fast feints. All too soon, he dispatched the Grigori. At the same time, I got to my feet. "Are you okay, Halsey?"

But there was no time"no time..." I shouted. I raced ahead.

I continued toward Ballard's domov, Laurinaitis going the other direction.

The fighting continued around me. I stayed low, doing my best to breathe. It was around here somewhere. The flames were spreading thick and fast. What would the benandanti do without Stromovka? I couldn't believe Rome had stuck their head in the sand. They had forgotten.

I wouldn't. I couldn't. The benandanti had never forgotten. They watched and they waited. They hadn't let their guard down once... Neither would I.

Why, if things were so bad, hadn't Mistress Genevieve ever said anything about it? Was she protecting me the way it felt my landlady had sometimes done? Yet, Risky had set Ballard and I down this path. Why?

I found Ballard's tree, and was just about to scale it, when a voice behind me made me turn fast.

"Mine at last."

I whipped around and Rayven was standing right there. If he was a Grigori, why didn't he look like one of them? He was scary, but essentially a wizard. They were monstrous. I didn't get it.

"WhatdoyouwantRayven?" I said. Whinybut so what.

He came forward, appearing from the smoke. I looked and saw my Gambalungapity I couldn't just jump on it and ride away. Being in his presence, I saw why he had been a Watchtower. There was something smooth, urbane, about him. Yet, he had been corrupted. How?

"You truly are alone," he hissed.

I snapped. I formed my W and thought of the worst feiknstafir I could imagine, before uttering it. It wasn't enough. Rayven blocked it easily and sent his own spell shooting my way. "N for Neophyte. For not ready yet," he said. His eyes lit up. "I don't believe it..."

Out of the darkness, the tungleskin had crept. It was the grey wolf. But it wasn't evil... It wasn't even there to kill me...

"That's one of the Lares," said Rayven, astonishment coloring his features.

I looked at his Mark; back to my own. Both of ours were glowing. There was no telling what Rayven's Virtue could be. Did he even have one? We were connected somehow, to the grey wolf, there in Stromovka.

Rayven stepped forward and its fangs flashed. What was going on?

Figures were appearing out of the smoke, dragging the woundeda great cry went up and the full blaze of the bonfires lit up my face. What was it that I wasn't getting? Who could make me understand? My Harm None ring flashed.

I don't know what made me say ithe was withdrawing, maybe that was itbut I said, "I'LL BE WAITING FOR YOU, RAYVEN. DO YOU HEAR ME? I'LL BE WAITING FOR YOU!" I shouted.

He turned and was gone.

Quickly, I went to check on Ballard. The room was empty. Had he been gotten? When I came back down, they were all coming into view, including Ballard... the fire was following them. Oh no.

I would like to say we magicked our way out of it. But there are some things that not even the best intentions can solve, and an out-of-control fire burning through the forest is one of them. A great smoke overhung Stromovka, much the way a veil of something evil overhung Prague. I would find out soon enough. About everything.

I quickly made a list of to-dos. Do find out about Selwyn. Do find House Rookmaaker. Do get back to Rome. Do the things Houses are supposed to do. The trouble was, I didn't know what that meant, exactly. The only thing I could think was what St. Martley's had taught meabstinence, control It had been a place where young witches were educated, but not in magic.

Quickly, an idea began to forma sense of what House Rookmaaker could become. A place far from Prague, and all its rulesa place hemmed in by powerbecause I had the wolvesa place for anyone.

House Rookmaaker would become a place for New Magic. A kind of oriflamme around which the Eclectics could rally; after all, I was uneducated too. Perhaps not knowing any better was a virtue. Did Ballard know any better when he became Head Wolf? Would I, when I led House Rookmaaker? Besides, my parents would've wanted it that way. The problem was thirteen-or-greater. I had no idea whatever else Houses had to genuflect to.

Perhaps the idea of a House was what was wrong.... Perhaps there should be no Houses at all! Did I ever think of that?

Ballard and I grabbed our motorcycles. The benandanti would make their way to Rome. I informed them of the letter I'd sent Lia, explaining what had happened to Ballard. "Don't be surprised if they expect your visit," I said. Then Ballard and I prepared to depart. We were still going to Prague.

Manon came running over. "We'll look for you, Halsey, and Ballard."

"Blessed beor something," I said.

And then Ballard and I were off. It was a short drive to Praguebut we pa.s.sed through a wasteland of ash. This was what happened to Houses that did not get along. Certain rogue ent.i.ties were sent to destroy them. Somehow, I imagined it would be much harder to send Rome up in flames, but it had been done before, and others would try.

Chapter 13 The Council of Magic.

Was Lenoir the necromancer I had fought with? If so, could he bring back all the dead? Perhaps the Dark Order would rise again.

My mark was silent now, free of the shooting stabs of pain I had been obliged to endure since turning eighteen; one would think, given a place such as this, where the Grigori were prevalent, it would be acting up, but no, it was either connected specifically to Rayven, or something else was going on.

Coming around the bend, the entrance to the Districts of Magic appeared. Not a soul was in sight. "So this is it, huh?" said Ballard, unimpressed. "And what's-his-face will be there?"

Two misshapen figures in cloaks were huddled in a corner looking at us. Ballard unraveled his bandages, brus.h.i.+ng himself off; for the first time, I saw his scar. It was worse, somehow, than when I had seen it before. Badly-knitted flesh disappeared down his neck, to hide in his unders.h.i.+rt. What was this strange precognition that enabled me to see things before they happened?

I deliberated, but again refrained from telling Ballard about my Wiccan House. When I had ironclad proof, when I found the place, then I would tell him about House Rookmaaker.

At the Sign of Magickal Objekts & Wonders, an old thrift store, a witch sold Ballard and I a Star Wheel ("For my Luminarium," he said), an eight-sided wheel remarkably like the website I had visited; "Spin it to know which virtue thou shalt be," said the old crone, spookily.

We spent the day catnapping on benches, going through shops, or else lollygagging around, waiting for when it got dark.

Golden Lane had become a wasteland. Leering gargoyles stared down at ustheir mouths opened in silent screams. The ground began to slither and shake. It was like my body was in scales. Fire spewed from the earth and an orb of white light surrounded me.

What is happening to me? I wrote in my Diary, when I woke up.

I had gone down the street as it twisted out of sight, willing myself not to panic, when a voice behind me had called my name. "Halsey!" Ballard continued to snore beside me. I had no idea how long I had been asleep.

I woke Ballard, who clutched at the Star Wheel, wiping the drool off his mouth. "What is it?" he said. "I was having a dream. We were running..."

Was he having the chase nightmares like I had been having?

"I think I may know how to find Selwyn," I said. I explained to him what I was thinking about.

"I don't know if that'll work," said Ballard. "I've never done it on purpose before."

"But you will be able to?" I asked. Now that I'd had the idea, I couldn't think of anything else. A note of desperation was in my voice.

"What if I hear them?" he said, dropping his voice so that only I could hear. "It's like a CB radio. If I turn into a wolf, and use my powers to detect Selwyn, I might hear him, sure; in which case we can find him; but there are others out there, Halls, who might hear me. It works both ways. When I'm turned, I hear the Grigori, and the benandanti. It's like this shadow world. How else do you think I knew where to find you when Rayven attacked? He may not have s.h.i.+fted, but his mind was on the hunt."

"I thought you had a feeling-thingy?" I said, remembering when he used to get bad vibes.

"This is my feeling-thingyonly it's getting powerfullerpowerfullestwhateverI'm becoming bada.s.s," he said. "The true Head Wolf."

Was I a fool? Ravenseal was after me.... But I had provenance, a birthright. The red marker was in my bag, along with my diploma from St. Martley's. "We can't fight them all," said Ballard, "the Ravenseals and the Grigorithere's no telling how many of them there are in Prague... I'd be giving our position away or something... Plus, Selwyn would have to be in cat-form," he said. "I dunno. It seems awfully risky. What we need is backup."

We couldn't use telepathy to find Selwyn for fear others would find us. In which case, Ballard and I would be in deep trouble. First things first, I went to the hotel room to fetch out my bag. Ballard waited in the lobby. I left the Star Wheel on the table, along with a good-bye note to Lennox, telling him where we'd gone. The concierge was most helpful. "Ravenseal? Hum. You might want to check the Directory," he said. He slammed a behemoth red-leather volume on the counter, flipping it open. "Here you are. Ravenseal... with an R. Big House on the left. You can't miss it," he said. His finger slid down the Directory; on every page were lists of Houses... Wiccan Houses...

"Are these all real?" I asked, staring at the list with my mouth hanging open.

"Certainly, they're real. The Directory is no laughing matter, Miss. It's kept very up to date, according to the solstices. Why?" he asked.

"N-Nothing..."

"Halls, what is it?" said Ballard.

"And this holds every House? Even the ones that are extinct?" I said.

"Especially the ones that are extinct," said the concierge. "Otherwise, how would we know which ones are still alive? Honestly, it's like you aren't even a witch." He looked on sadly. "If you want, the new one's just come in, you can keep this one if you want? The Directory gets shorter every year, almost as though Magic were dying."

"I really appreciate this, sir, really!" I said. I stuffed the Directory as quickly as I could into my backpack along with the Everything book.

"It's past the Master House. You be careful, Miss."

"You know they're after us, right?" said Ballard. "Ravenseal. And you want to go there? To their House?"

"Lux can help us, Ballard. He's a Styles Master."

I felt giddy. Here was a way to find my House. The Directory revealed instructions not just to find the secret location of House Ravenseal, but all Houses, including my own.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm sure they're a great House!" said Ballard. "And Ravenseal would be the perfect vantage point from which to spy on the Master House, but I don't think you should go there, Halls."

"Why not?"