Malevolenci Read online

  Owen chuckled. “Cat balls, we’re morbid.”

  “The Oath of Kings wasn’t my idea.” She leaned back to look up at him. “Together, we find a way to both outlast this war. Promise?”

  “You have my word, alterni.” Owen smiled and looked at her lips, then her eyes. Seeing agreement there, he pulled her close again and kissed her gently.

  To his delight, Esme apparently wasn’t in the mood for gently. She pressed her body against his and lifted her arms to wrap around his neck, kissing him desperately. Owen smiled as they kissed and ran his hands over the back of her kimono. His hands slid to the bottom and touched the lace of her nightgown, then the smoothness of her legs underneath as he slid his hands back up her rear.

  Oh, gods, she’s wearing a thong.

  Esme’s mouth separated from his, breathing hard, and she held his face in her hands. “I missed you.”

  Owen needed no further encouragement. He backed her up a step, took her hand, and led her to the staircase leading to the bedroom. They’d only made it up a few stairs when she yanked his hand to turn him around. He looked back to beg that she not make him wait, but then he saw the smile on her face.

  They didn’t make it any farther up the stairs, and Owen didn’t have to wait.

  Morning light broke through the curtains of Esme’s bedroom, allowing her to see Owen’s face on the pillow across from her. It had been a while since they’d spent a whole night together, considering lately they’d snuck back to their own hotel rooms. Now, Esme lay on her side and smiled as she watched Owen sleep in her bed.

  No more fighting it. I love this guy. I’m not ready to tell him that yet, but I already feel better accepting that it’s true.

  His eyes still closed, half of Owen’s mouth curled into a grin. “You gonna watch me sleep all morning?”

  Esme rolled onto her stomach and propped herself on her forearms to look down at him. “I wanted to let you enjoy a late Sunday morning. It’s rare we get to sleep at night – I usually pop awake at midnight to go fight malevolenci. Getting a whole night’s sleep felt amazing.”

  “That it did.” Owen’s green eyes opened, and he smiled up at her. “Not that we did a ton of sleeping last night.” He reached out a hand and trailed it along her naked back.

  She grinned, then looked at the clock. “Well, fun’s over. We’re expected at the Capiti. I’m meeting with Ada to see if she’s figured out anything in the texts. You should talk with Loukas about how the cavali are holding up, plus Lexi mentioned he has recruits you should meet. Once it’s dark, we’ll go to the new rifts. Oh, and did you want to meet with the paranormals today?”

  He paused in thought, again trailing his fingers up and down her back. “No. Tonight’s the full moon, so the werewolves wouldn’t be able to attend. We’ll leave our paranormal meeting for tomorrow night. I also want to talk with my mother first and see if she’ll agree to what we’re planning.”

  “Okay.” Esme gave him a small smile. “Books to study. Cavali to rally. Rifts to close. It’s bound to be a full day.”

  “Yeah.” Owen yawned and scratched the barrio scar on his chest. “No rest for the sleep deprived.”

  Esme climbed out of bed. “Come on, your royal lordship. You can shower first, and I’ll make breakfast.”

  The promise of food did the trick, and Owen swung his legs to get out of bed.

  Esme left him to it and picked up her kimono from where she’d tossed it over her chaise. Slipping it on, she headed downstairs.

  She frowned as she reached the first floor.

  Owen’s worried about the paranormals. He’s downplaying it as usual, but I can tell he’s worried. How can I help? Sure, I’ve been friendly with the paranormals, but will they listen to me? I doubt I can talk them out of rebelling, if that’s what they’re planning. What can I do? I still don’t understand much about the Order’s political system.

  As she reached her kitchen, she heard the shower start upstairs. Then a chipper bark drew her attention to where Bethy was entering through the kitchen’s doggie door. The smiling beagle ran over, rubbed against Esme’s legs, and hurried to her bowl.

  “Alright, alright. Guess I have to feed everyone around here.”

  Esme poured food in the bowl, and Bethy wiggled with gratitude. The kitchen floor was cold enough that Esme wished she’d put on slippers, but she finished with Bethy and walked to her cupboards. With the sounds of running shower and chewing dog in the background, Esme pulled out a frying pan for bacon and another pan to poach eggs.

  Can’t save the world on an empty stomach.

  With a smile, Esme went to her fridge.

  The Capiti library was every bit as grand as the last time Esme studied here. The tall shelves surrounding the wide room held more books than anyone could read in a single lifetime. Lamps sitting atop study tables were unnecessary during the day with sunlight pouring in through the long windows. The wooden floor had been polished, and the large rug in the middle of the space added to the homey atmosphere. The ceiling above was painted with the same mural Esme had seen in other cities’ smaller Order libraries. Colorful artwork depicted scenes of heroes and monsters, gods and demons, paradises and hellscapes.

  Ada’s voice drew Esme’s attention back to where they sat. She tapped the open page of the relatively thin Chronicle of Alterni Endi on the table in front of them. “Have you managed to cast any more alterni endi spells?”

  “Yeah.” Esme held up her hands and looked at her castorcas. “Havel’s dual castorca innovation is brilliant. Having two balances the magic’s power and makes the flow of it bearable. I can channel intense levels of magic without wearing myself out now.”

  “Damn Roman… If he’d shown you this Chronicle sooner, it would’ve saved your hands all those burned layers of skin.”

  Esme grinned to herself, secretly thrilled her mentor was as annoyed with the Master Conjuri as Esme was herself. Roman was traveling around the globe to visit different conjuri schools at the moment, and Esme wasn’t entirely depressed he couldn’t be here to join their discussion today.

  Ada adjusted the reading glasses on her face. The older woman’s black hair was cut shorter now than when Esme saw her last, giving Ada a hipper, more youthful look. But Ada was in every other way the same – tough, wise, no-nonsense, with a touch of gentleness that made her easily Esme’s favorite conjuri.

  Still, something’s bothering Ada. If I were her, I’d be pissed at Roman for not telling me sooner about alterni endi. He only showed her this book when Owen insisted. She’s studied in this library for years – it must be a weird feeling to learn something so important this late in the game.

  Esme sighed and looked at her castorcas again. “Anyway, hand spells are easy now – even the new ones I’ve played around with from the Chronicle. I barely have to concentrate when I fire off two at a time.”

  “Hmm.” Ada looked at the other books covering the table.

  Esme saw the woman’s expression and felt a flash of hope. “Learn anything new?”

  “Possibly.” Ada folded her hands under the white folds of her conjuri robes. “I haven’t found anything on the malevolenci, but I went through the paranormal histories and paid special attention to the time periods when alterni endi were with us. Werewolf history. Vampire history. Elven history. Fairy.” She nodded from book to book on the table. “And jinn, troll, goblin, and nymph. The language of the merpeople has always been indecipherable to me, so I’m sorry to say I didn’t have much luck there.”

  “But with the others?” Esme asked eagerly.

  Ada motioned across the room to a wide shelf. “Elven records are by far the most thorough, and the elves responsible for documenting events during each alterni endi’s lifetime mentioned them by name.”

  “All six?”

  Ada nodded. She pulled a book closer and flipped a few pages in search. “The elves who wrote about Devon, Cocidius, Regan, Havel, and Kayne didn’t record anything we don’t know from the Chronicle of Alter
ni Endi. But the elves were always very proud of any alterni chosen from their home world, and they wrote a good deal about them.”

  Esme guessed where Ada was headed with this. “King Wentworth’s alterni endi Boone was an elf. I remember Davis telling me stories of how agile that Boone was.”

  Poor Davis. He was a good cavali. A good elf. A good friend, though I didn’t know him long.

  She tried to focus. “Are you saying the elves wrote more about Boone than was recorded in the Chronicles?”

  “Yes, and they mentioned something interesting.” Ada spun the book for Esme to read.

  Excited, Esme looked at the page’s text, which fortunately had a side column translating the elven language into English.

  72nd Generation – Thirtieth year of King Wentworth’s reign

  Rarely is a candidate from the same paranormal race chosen as alterni within so few generations, but once again the king has selected an elf as his partner. Like our brother Dal only three generations ago, an elf is now alterni to the king. King Wentworth has already had twenty-four partners, and we elves fear for our brother’s safety in these tumultuous times. The conjuri say malevolenci haven’t attacked this frequently in years, and the king himself seems afraid this Boone won’t last long.

  We’ve tried to reassure our new brother and welcome him as we have every elf alterni before him. Boone delighted us with stories of the home world, and we’ve shared with him how our people have thrived here. We hope to give him every advantage in his battles ahead.

  72nd Generation – Thirty-second year of King Wentworth’s reign

  Boone has defeated the demonic beasts once more! He brings our people much pride, for he’s the most powerful alterni in centuries. Not even our brother Dal possessed magic so strong. In Boone’s most recent battle, he arrived at the rift just as chiroptorx and crustacox charged into this world. As if controlling nature itself, he created a wall of magic to hold back the malevolenci. It was far stronger than a barrio, as this wall of magic was visible, like a shimmering wave of vertical light. Boone shaped the wall to curve around and above the open rift like a net, trapping every demon that crossed. He then squeezed this net smaller and smaller, which pushed the malevolenci back into their hell.

  Once all demons were back inside, Boone smoothed the wall of magic over the rift. The malevolenci tried to break through, but the wall held like a dam. Cavali who were there say King Wentworth wanted Boone to perform the termino and close the rift immediately, but Boone paused.

  “If I use my casting hand to draw the termino, I’ll lose my wall spell,” he told the king. “The malevolenci will charge right back out before I can perform the termino.”

  The cavali say a look of concentration came over Boone’s face, and he stretched his other hand toward the magical wall covering the rift. While the herd of crustacox crammed against the far side of the shimmering wall, Boone drew a termino on the wall with his off hand. Once the symbol was complete, it sparked and lit up the night tenfold. Focused, Boone used his castorca to hold the wall in place while he used his other hand to activate the termino. Magic sparked from the symbol, and inch by inch the wall and rift were sucked into the termino. Once the termino was gone, the rift had disappeared as well.

  Everyone here at the Capiti marveled when we heard this story. The conjuri were particularly interested in Boone’s new wall spell. Boone told us later that the Master Conjuri interviewed him in private to record his account of what he’d done. He said the Master Conjuri encouraged him to continue his exploration of “creation magic,” though Boone didn’t know what this meant. However Boone performed this magical feat, his magic is strong, even for an alterni.

  Esme looked at Ada in surprise. “I remember this story from Wentworth’s volume. And it was in the Chronicle of Alterni Endi too, but not this last bit about the Master Conjuri pulling Boone aside. This is the first time I’ve read the phrase ‘creation magic.’ This Master Conjuri must’ve known this Boone was an alterni endi, but any idea what he meant by ‘creation magic’?”

  “I suspect it has something to do with the magic only you alterni can tap into. It’s different from our magic because you alterni can create your own spells. And as an alterni endi, your spells are even more powerful.”

  Thinking on her early battles, Esme realized this made sense. “We create spells… I’ve often wondered how conjuri came up with the termino and senso symbols in the first place, considering those spells don’t work for you natives. An early alterni must’ve created the symbols centuries ago, right? That’s how we got the termino and senso.”

  “That’s what I suspect, yes.”

  Esme sighed. “So much is shrouded in myth and legend. It’s hard to find many solid facts.”

  And to win this war, I need answers.

  She looked at the elven record of Boone. “Thanks for finding this, Ada. At least this account offers something new. I’ll have to ask Roman if he knows anything about creation magic.”

  “Assuming he’s willing to tell you.”

  Esme made a face of agreement.

  Ada smiled. “I’m sorry I can’t be of more help, but the power is in your hands…quite literally. I’m not sure I have much left to teach you.”

  Esme smiled back at her mentor. “You might be done teaching me spells, but I still need your guidance.”

  Ada gave a nod of appreciation. “I’ll always help any way I can, alterni.” Her smile wavered. “But perhaps you should talk with Roman and see what he can tell you.”

  Never a huge fan of the Master Conjuri, Esme made a face but nodded. “Okay. Hopefully Owen and I will still be here when Roman gets back.”

  “Yes, I assume you won’t be staying long.” Ada pushed her chair from the table and stood. She smiled encouragingly. “You have much work ahead, but I’m glad we had this time together today.”

  “Me too. Thanks again, Ada.” Esme rose from her seat. “I’d better go find Owen. I think he’s in the cavali gyms looking over Loukas’s new recruits.”

  Ada smirked and turned with Esme to walk toward the door. “Yes, I met with Loukas’s newbies myself. They’re bubbling with energy and eager to prove themselves. Can’t say I blame them. I was a cavali once myself, and there are times I’d happily trade the library for a gym.”

  As they reached the exit, Esme smiled. She’d heard stories about her mentor’s years as a cavali. She’d seen Ada’s conjuri skills for herself. It wasn’t hard to picture the woman as a badass fighter in her younger days.

  I wouldn’t want to fight her even now, thought Esme with a grin, and I’m the freakin’ alterni endi.

  They exited into the long marble hall that stretched the length of this floor of the Capiti. Esme waved to Ada as the white-robed woman walked to the door leading to the vault of relics. Then Esme turned to the elevator, pushed the button, and waited for the doors. Upon entering the empty lift, she selected the floor of the training gyms.

  While the elevator descended, Esme lifted her castorcas and traced the golden rings and chains connecting each finger to the bracelet on each wrist. The alterni stone embedded in each bracelet caught the elevator’s light and twinkled with bursts of red as she tilted her hands.

  The alterni endi spells are amazing. Do we have limits? Or can I create any spell I want? Creation magic… How might this help me destroy the malevolenci?

  The elevator reached the correct floor, the door dinged open, and Esme stepped out into the busy halls of the cavali training level.

  Okay, time to put on a brave face.

  Owen stood in his cavali gear between Tank and Benja, facing the swirling rift that hung above a dumpster at the back of a grocery store. They were in Lee’s Summit, a town east of Kansas City, but this shopping strip was vacant due to the late hour. Under the light of a full moon, Owen and his team had already traveled to the three other rifts.

  We left this one for last since it was easy for conjuri to hide from the public. Still, the sporadic swarms of spindlox must�
�ve been a nuisance to put down.

  Three teams of new cavali recruits swept the back parking lot with guns drawn, scanning for any spindlox they’d missed.

  Esme, her silver hair catching the security lights behind the building, stepped forward and reached out her dominant hand to draw the termino across the smoking rift. Owen had watched her do this a hundred times, but the speed with which she created the sparking, glowing symbol was still impressive.

  Doesn’t hurt she’s a natural artist with a photographic memory. None of her alterni were this good. Not even her origini.

  “You talked to Piper?” asked Benja in a low voice.

  Owen nodded, his arms crossed for warmth against the cold fall air. “She told me the fairies are questioning the Order’s truthfulness. It’s like she told Hakim – the fairies want to return to their home world.”

  Benja rolled her eyes. “That’s ridiculous. We’ve known for centuries that the conjuri can’t send anyone back except the original people they bring here. There might be original vampires still alive, but the rest of us are descendents of our alt-world ancestors. We can’t leave.”

  “I know. But fairies will be fairies. I’m not sure anything I say will convince them.”

  Benja shook her head in annoyance. “And Joe? What did he report about these rebellion rumors?”

  “Fortunately, Joe said the nymphs are all pretty chill – they just want everyone to get along. But he also has that lovely nymph quality that makes people comfortable talking to him–”

  “Yes, I’ve been under his charms myself.” Benja made a face.

  Owen debated asking about this, then pushed on. “Anyway, an elf woman told Joe that the elves would love to return to their home world if it were revealed that the fairies were right and the conjuri could send them home. A werewolf told Joe their alphas want better status in the Order. In one of those dens Joe frequents, he shared a…drink with a vampire and saw the vamp’s memory of a meeting where young vamps angrily discussed the slavery of the healers at the Capiti.”