Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles 2)

“What have I done with him? I think the question is what have you done to him?” Abraham’s black eyes narrowed, but Macon only smiled. “An Incubus who can walk in the sunlight and retain his strength without feeding… it would require a very specific coupling to produce those qualities in a child. Wouldn’t you agree? Scientifically speaking, you would need Mortal qualities, yet this boy John possesses the gifts of a Caster. He can’t have three parents, which means his mother was—”

Leah gasped. “An Evo.” Every Caster in the room reacted to the word. The surprise spread like a ripple, a new kind of coldness in the air. Only Amma looked impassive. She folded her arms and fixed her eyes on Abraham Ravenwood as if he was just another chicken she was planning on plucking, skinning, and boiling in her banged-up pot.

I tried to remember what Lena told me about Evos. They were metamorphs, with the ability to mirror human form. They didn’t just step inside a Mortal body, like Sarafine. Evos could actually become Mortals for short periods of time.

Macon smiled. “Precisely. A Caster that can take on human form long enough to conceive a child, with all the DNA of a Mortal and a Caster on one side and an Incubus on the other. You have been busy, haven’t you, Grandfather? I didn’t realize you were matchmaking in your spare time.”

Abraham’s eyes grew blacker. “You are the one who muddied the Order of Things. First, with your infatuation with a Mortal, and then by turning on your own kind to protect this girl.” Abraham shook his head, as if Macon was nothing more than an impetuous boy. “And where has it left us? Now the Duchannes child has cleaved the moon. Do you know what this means? The threat she poses to all of us?”

“The fate of my niece is none of your concern. You seem to have your hands full enough with your own science experiment of a child. Although, I have to wonder what you’re doing with him.” Macon’s green eyes glowed as he spoke.

“Be careful who you speak to that way.” Hunting took a step forward, but Abraham put up his hand, and Hunting stopped. “Killed you once, I’ll kill you twice.”

Macon shook his head. “Nursery rhymes, Hunting? If you are planning a career as Grandfather’s minion, you’re going to have to work on your delivery.” Macon sighed. “Now then, tuck your tail between your legs and follow your master home like a good dog.” Hunting’s expression hardened.

Macon turned to Abraham. “And Grandfather, as much as I would love to compare lab notes, I think it’s time you leave.”

The old man laughed. A cold wind began to circle around him, whistling between the rocks. “You think you can order me around like an errand boy? You will not call my name, Macon Ravenwood. You will cry my name. You will bleed my name.” The wind grew around him, blowing his string tie awkwardly across his body. “And when you die, my name will still be feared, and yours will be forgotten.”

Macon looked him in the eye, without the slightest hint of fear. “As my mathematically gifted brother clarified, I’ve already died once. You’re going to have to come up with something new, old man. It’s getting tiresome. Allow me to see you out.”

Macon fluttered his fingers, and I heard a ripping sound as the night opened behind Abraham. The old man hesitated, then smiled. “My age must be catching up with me. I almost forgot to collect my things before I leave.” He reached out his hand, and something emerged from behind one of the crevices in the rock. It vanished, reappearing in his hand. I held my breath for a second when I saw it.

The Book of Moons.

The Book we believed had burned to ash, in the fields of Greenbrier. The Book that was a curse all its own.

Macon’s face darkened, and he held out his hand. “That doesn’t belong to you, Grandfather.” The Book twitched in Abraham’s hand, but the darkness surrounding him deepened, and the old man shrugged with a smile. A second ripping sound echoed across the cavern as he disappeared, taking the Book and Hunting and Sarafine with him. By the time the echo died, the shallow tides washed away even the imprint of Sarafine’s body in the sand.

At the sound of the rip, Lena started to run. By the time Abraham was gone, she was across the rocky cave floor and halfway to Macon. He leaned against the rough wall until Lena threw herself into his chest, and Macon swayed as if he was going to fall.

“You’re dead.” Lena spoke into his dirty, ripped shirt.

“No, sweetheart. I’m very much alive.” He drew her face up to look at him. “Look at me. I’m still here.”

“Your eyes. They’re green.” She touched his face, shocked.

“And yours are not.” He touched her cheek, sadly. “But they are beautiful. Both the green and the gold.”

Lena shook her head in disbelief. “I killed you. I used the Book, and it killed you.”

Macon stroked her hair. “Lila Jane saved me before I crossed over. She imprisoned me in an Arclight, and Ethan released me. It wasn’t your fault, Lena. You didn’t know what would happen.” Lena began to sob. He stroked her wild black curls, whispering, “Shh. It’s all right now. It’s over.”

He was lying. I could see it in his eyes. The black pools that kept his secrets were gone. I didn’t understand everything Abraham had said, but I knew there was truth in it. Whatever had happened when Lena Claimed herself wasn’t the solution to our problems, but a new problem all its own.

Lena pulled away from Macon. “Uncle Macon, I didn’t know this was going to happen. One minute I was thinking about Dark and Light—about what I really wanted. But all I could think about was that I don’t belong anywhere. After everything I’ve been through, I’m not Light or Dark. I’m both.”

“It’s all right, Lena.” He reached out for her, but she stood on her own.

“It’s not.” She shook her head. “Look what I’ve done. Auntie Twyla and Ridley are gone, and Larkin…”

Macon looked at Lena as if he was seeing her for the first time. “You did what you had to do. You Claimed yourself. You didn’t pick a place in the Order. You changed it.”

Her voice was hesitant. “What does it mean?”

“It means you are yourself—powerful and unique—like the Great Barrier, a place where there is no Dark or Light, only magic. But unlike the Great Barrier, you are both Light and Dark. Like me. And after what I saw tonight, like Ridley.”

“But what happened to the moon?” Lena looked at Gramma, but it was Amma who spoke up, from the rocky ledge.