Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles 2)

Macon slid down the rock until he was sitting on the overhang. “That assumption is correct.”

I didn’t try to hide my anger. “Are you kidding? You said it yourself. You think we’re gonna save Lena without you—a Siren who’s lost her powers, a Mortal who never had any, a librarian, and me? Against a pack of Blood Incubuses and enough Vexes to take down the Air Force? Seriously? Tell me you have some kind of a plan.”

Macon looked up at the moon. “I am going to help you, but it will be from here. Trust me, Mr. Wate. This is the way it has to be.”

I stood there staring at him. He was serious. He was going to send us in alone. “If that was supposed to be reassuring, it wasn’t.”

“There is only one battle that awaits down there, and it doesn’t belong to me or to your friends. It’s yours, son. You’re a Wayward, a Mortal with great purpose. You’ve been fighting as long as I’ve known you—the self-serving ladies of the DAR, the Disciplinary Committee, the Sixteenth Moon, even your friends. I have no doubt you will find a way.”

I had been fighting all year, but it didn’t make me feel any better. Mrs. Lincoln might look like she could suck the life right out of you, but she couldn’t actually do it. What waited below us was a different story.

Macon drew something out of his pocket and pressed it into my hand. “Here. This is all I have, as my recent trip was rather unexpected, and I didn’t have time to pack.” I stared down at the small square of gold. It was a miniature book, held shut with a clasp. I pressed on it, and it sprang open. Inside, there was a picture of my mother, the girl from the visions. His Lila Jane.

He looked away. “It happened to be in my pocket, after all this time. Imagine that.” But the charm was worn and scratched, and I knew without a doubt it was in his pocket today because it was every day, as it had been for who knows how many years. “I believe you’ll find this is an object of power for you, Ethan. It always has been for me. Let’s not forget, our Lila Jane was a strong woman. She saved my life, even from the grave.”

I recognized the look on my mother’s face in the photo. It was one I thought she saved for me. It was the look she gave me the first time I read the road signs out loud through the car window, before she realized I could read. It was the look she gave me when I had eaten one of Amma’s buttermilk pies by myself and slept in her bed with a stomachache as fierce as Amma herself. It was the look she saved for my first day of school, my first basketball game, my first crush.

And here it was again, staring out from inside the tiny book. She wouldn’t abandon me. And Macon wouldn’t either. Maybe he did have some kind of plan. He had cheated death. I pushed the book into my pocket, next to Lena’s necklace.

“Wait a second.” Link walked over. “I’m glad you have that little gold book and all, but you said the whole Blood pack was gonna be in there, plus Vampire Boy, and Lena’s mom, and the Emperor, or whoever this Abraham guy is. And last time I checked, Han Solo wasn’t around. So don’t you think we need more than a little book?”

Ridley was nodding behind him. “Link’s right. You may be able to save Lena, but not unless you can get to her.”

Link tried to bend down next to Macon. “Mr. Ravenwood, can’t you come with us and take out a couple a guys for us?”

Macon lifted an eyebrow. This was the first real conversation he’d ever had with Link. “Unfortunately, son, my incarceration has weakened me.…”

“He’s Transitioning, Link. He can’t possibly go down there. He’s incredibly vulnerable.” Liv was still holding Macon up, for the most part.

“Olivia is right. Incubuses possess incredible strength and speed. I’m no match for any of them in my present state.”

“Luckily, I am.” The voice came out of nowhere, and she ripped through the darkness even faster. She was wearing a long black coat with a high neck and wrecked black boots. Her brown hair was blowing in the wind.

I recognized the Succubus from the funeral right away. It was Leah Ravenwood, Macon’s sister. Macon was as shocked as the rest of us to see her. “Leah?

She slid her arm across his back, supporting him, looking deep into his eyes. “Green, eh? That will take some getting used to.” She laid her head on his shoulder, the way Lena used to.

“How did you find us?”

She laughed. “You’re the talk of the Tunnels. Word on the street is my big brother’s taking on Abraham. And I heard he isn’t too pleased with you.”

Macon’s sister—the one Arelia took to New Orleans when she left Macon’s father. The Sisters had mentioned her.

“Dark and Light will be what they are.”

Link caught my eye from behind them, and I knew the question. He was waiting for me to make the call. Fight or flight. It wasn’t clear what Leah Ravenwood wanted from us or why she was here. But if she was like Hunting, and she fed on blood instead of dreams, we had to get away fast. I looked at Liv. She shook her head, almost imperceptibly. She wasn’t sure either.

Macon smiled one of his rare smiles. “Now, what are you doing here, my dear?”

“I’m here to even the odds. You know I love a good family feud.” Leah smiled. She fluttered her wrist, and a long staff, made of polished wood, appeared in her hand. “And I carry a big stick.”

Macon was at a loss. I couldn’t decide whether he looked relieved or concerned. Either way, he was stunned. “Why now? You don’t usually concern yourself with Caster affairs.”

Leah reached into her pocket and took out a rubber band, pulling her hair into a ponytail. “This isn’t just a Caster battle, not anymore. If the Order is destroyed, we may be destroyed with it.”

Macon gave her a meaningful look. I recognized it as his not in front of the children expression. “The Order of Things has stood since the beginning of tim

e. It will take more than a Cataclyst to bring about its destruction.”