“April?” Maeve slams her hands against the rock, again and again. “April!”
A torch beam behind illuminates the scene as footsteps approach. Jamie and Ash.
She drops to her knees and scours the ground with her hands, pushing away loose stones, and dirt rises in a cloud.
I squat beside her. “There’s no circle, Maeve.”
“No blood,” says Tobias quietly. “If April was here, she escaped. She listened to you.”
“She never listened in my vision.” Maeve pushes more stones around, and they fly across the ground haphazardly. “Call her again, Jamie.”
Tobias stands with a hand on the rock, face as hard as the stone he touches. “Can you sense the energy, Andrei?”
“I can,” says Jamie. “We can’t stay here. This is corrupt and beyond anything I’ve sensed before.”
“Touch the rock,” Ash suggests as Jamie calls April. “Use your magic.”
Jamie’s face freezes in fear and he looks at Maeve on the ground. “April isn’t answering, but if there’s no blood here, then we know she’s okay.”
Maeve shakes her head. “I’ll find something.”
I’m increasingly worried she’ll injure herself, and I grab Maeve’s hands. The palms are pink. “Don’t graze your palms,” I whisper. She blinks at me and I lift her hand to my mouth, kissing where she’s sore.
Jamie hands Ash his phone and takes a shuddering breath as he tentatively places a hand on the rock. He dips his head, hair falling into his eyes. His breathing speeds and he places the other hand, pushing himself to arms' length. Maeve pauses in her digging and gazes at him.
“I can hear the heartbeat,” he whispers.
Maeve’s expression changes to triumph. “I told you the heart is real.”
“Can you divine anything?” urges Tobias.
“No. There’s a void. That could be the barrier or my imagination or— “
“There could be an actual void inside there,” I say flatly.
“How do we get in?” asks Ash.
“Blackwood runes,” whispers Maeve. “She had black stones with the runes that matched the shapes she drew.”
“Where the fuck did she find those?” growls Ash. “Who is she?”
“Where is she?” retorts Maeve as she pulls herself up. “If she escaped, we need to take those runes from her and get behind that wall.”
Tobias chews on his lip as Maeve presses her ear to the stone, face strained. “Whatever that heartbeat is, it’s in there.”
“We need to leave,” says Jamie, voice wavering. “We don't have the spell to break in, but something might break out.”
I kick around in the stones, as lost at what to do as the others. Something catches my eye—a single black pebble amongst the grey chunks. My mouth dries as I bend down. Pushing the other pebbles aside, I take hold and turn the smooth stone over in my palm. A rune is etched in white on the underside, half-obscured by a stain.
By witch blood.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
MAEVE
I sit on the blue and white striped rug on the cottage floor, head in hands, resting against the sofa. The guys surround me in silence.
How much of what happened is real? I understand my aunt’s confusion around reality now—the first time I saw the tunnels, I experienced everything as I watched April’s actions and death. The second time, with the guys, everything felt familiar, because I’d been there before.
But I hadn’t.
Once Andrei discovered the rune, the strength I’ve drawn on vanished and I vomited.
As I sat on the tunnel floor, the world around zoned in and out as the present and future vision continued to meld. I’m justified that my imaginary heartbeat is real, but terrified what lies beyond that stone. Did April die or is she behind the rock?
I barely remember walking back along the tunnel, supported by Ash and Jamie. Andrei and Tobias investigated the first tunnel in my vision but found nothing but a dead end.
Jamie attempts to call April over and over, but she doesn’t answer. Trepidation she’s hurt turns to certainty, even with his weak assurance we can check her room when I’m composed enough to return to Walcott.
“Theodora must be told,” says Tobias.
“What will she do?” I ask. “Tell the authorities?”
He runs a hand down his exhausted face. “That’s her decision, but another pupil is missing and probably dead.”
Bile pushes into my throat again.
“I think we’re close to our answer,” he says flatly. “Something powerful is beneath the academy, held by Blackwood magic. If whatever this something is exists beneath Petrescu house, there’s definite vampire involvement.” He frowns. “But the Blackwood magic makes no sense. Why would they be involved? They’ve been estranged from the vampires for years.”
“The Blackwoods have the place sealed and without breaking the magic, nobody can get inside,” Jamie says. “I bet the witches trapped whatever lies behind there and nobody can get in apart from them. Including vampires.”
Tobias’s eyes widen. “Shit. You could be right. Gabriella and the Blackwoods—that’s why she’s desperate to reforge an alliance. Whatever exists inside there must have a lot of power.”
I draw my knees to my chest and rest my cheek on them. My head pounds but the heartbeat stopped. Why do I keep hearing the heartbeat of something malevolent—the energy in that tunnel made the Blackwoods look like amateurs?
“We can’t deal with this on our own anymore, Tobias,” says Jamie. “This is bigger than us. Way bigger.”
“Yes, and I said what happens next is Theodora’s decision,” he says tersely. “Her priority will be to protect the academy.”
“From powerful forces held behind walls?” asks Ash incredulously. “She can’t do that alone.”
“But we know now,” I say. “We’ve found the epicentre of everything.”
“Yeah, but taking out Gabriella and the Blackwoods to keep them away from the academy, and whatever the fuck that is, is impossible,” says Andrei. “Together, they’re a powerhouse. Confederacy forces can't take Gabriella down, they’ve tried for years. How could they take on both?”
I sense a shift in Tobias’s energy, but his mind remains impenetrable. His eyes meet mine for a single heartbeat before he looks away; enough time for me to catch his fear. He doesn't believe the Confederacy can win.
This will be a bigger war than anybody could imagine.
“Do you think whatever is behind that wall might break out?” I ask.
“Not without somebody using Blackwood magic to break the hold. If what you saw happened, April’s weak attempt made no difference.”
“If we keep the Blackwoods away, everything will be okay,” I say. Aware how dumb my optimism is, I cast my eyes down.
“Are you up to heading back to Walcott, Maeve?” asks Jamie. “We could look for April, in case she’s…” He trails off.
Alive.
Tobias walks to the window and looks out. “We need to work on the shifter connection to all this,” says Tobias. “Somebody connected to the Blackwoods created Vincent. We’ve taken our eye off the ball with him. Ash, you need to reforge your alliance too.”