I shook my head, amusement cutting through me. “That doesn’t surprise me at all.”
It took us a few minutes to hurry through the town, and while I was stressed about what Louis was up to, I still took the time to really see the simple but architecturally intriguing buildings and small city center. I understood now why Louis had decided to settle here.
There was magic here. Energy that was almost intoxicating.
It felt like home. Something I had not truly experienced for a very long time.
Shouting broke through the tranquility then, and whatever peace I had was stolen away as I started to run. “Did you send word to the others?” Jacob asked as we full-on sprinted.
I nodded. “Yep, I let them know what’s happening and that we were on our way.”
Jacob’s face was tense. “Let’s just hope we make it in time.”
Power swelled across the town, and even Jacob flinched. Both of us picked up speed, and I knew he was holding himself back to keep pace with me. “Hang on,” I said, before I opened a step-through right in front of us. On the other side we emerged right at the fountain before the town hall.
To find absolute chaos.
8
Louis
Ifelt her energy the moment she arrived in Stratford. The new power I’d embraced was giving me heightened senses. I was finding that whatever magic I used was stronger, whatever path I set out on was clearer, and if I knew a magic user very well, their power was like a beacon that I could tap into at any point.
Tyson was there as well, his magic swirling so strongly inside him that I was almost impressed. His energy was raw and reminiscent of the original gold from Faerie. The original magic I had spent so much of my time studying. The moment I was finished bringing the American supernaturals under control, I would be visiting my old friends in Faerie. It was time for them to release the power that lay there, unused.
When I was finished at my house, the ancient book I’d kept locked away firmly in my grasp, I strode out the front door, ready to head to the town hall. That’s when Elizabeth’s power smashed into me. Despite the fact she was using her old trick of mimicking animals nearby, I would be able to pick her out anywhere. She appeared to be alone, or at least she was managing to hide her companions. But she could never hide herself from me. I knew her. I knew every inch of her power. I’d trained her to be the sorceress she was.
Hiding from me was a waste of her time and power. She should be embracing the strength that lay deep inside of her. From a young age, she’d had a very slight fascination with the darker energy that was part of all magic, but I’d convinced her that she was powerful enough without delving into that side of magic. I’d been young and naïve myself.
Maybe it was time to talk her back into it.
Knowing she would follow, I decided to just take a step-through right to the town hall. Truth be told, I barely even needed a step-through now. I could visualize where I wanted to be, and in the next instant I was there.
The moment I appeared on the front steps, supernaturals scattered around me, which was definitely the reception I was hoping for. The reception I expected. Fear kept them under control, made them obey without thought.
Fear controlled them.
I controlled them.
“Inside,” I ordered, my voice low. Power followed each word, as it always did when I spoke, but this time I let that power snap out. It would have physically hurt some of the weaker around us, but that was not my problem.
I strode into the darker room, not at all worried that I would be disobeyed. I could crush all of them with a simple snap of my finger, and they knew it. There was no way they would risk my wrath.
“Louis!” A familiar troll came into view. “What’s going on? The supes are very frightened by your behavior.”
I paused, my eyes dropping to the demi-fey before me. Jerak was the leader of the demi-fey; he sat on the council and held the power of his people. But to my eyes he was nothing more than the final dying embers of a flame. Frail, the fire of his energy flickering with just enough life to produce a mild warmth.
“There are going to be some changes in Stratford,” I told him. “It’s been growing weaker. All supernaturals have been growing weaker. I think it’s time that we showed the world what we’re capable of, and to make that happen, we need to strengthen our powers.”
My people were done with hiding.
Jerak tilted his head to the side, the woodiness of his features extra-defined. “What has happened to you?” He breathed in and out noticeably, his eyes wide and glassy. “You’re not Louis—what have you done with Louis?”
I laughed, and silence descended over the room. I took in all of the frightened faces, and I was pleased. “I’m the same Louis you’ve always known, but now I have the power to bring us into a new era. I have embraced all of my sorcery. Iamthe strongest mage in the world. And you all better sit the fuck down so I can explain what’s about to happen.”
I dismissed Jerak, walking right past him to take my rightful place on the dais. Every seat was quickly filled, and I was pleased that no one had thought to disobey me. Except, of course, my pack—none of their familiar faces were here. No doubt they were off somewhere trying to figure out how to deal with me. They didn’t stand a chance, but it amused me to let them think they had one. Just for a short time.
Focusing on the crowd, I let my gaze rest heavily on them. With nothing more than a thought, the book of power, which I’d been the keeper of for most of my hundred-plus years, appeared in my hands. I’d had it hidden so that it could be revealed at the right moment. Gasps and screams rang out, and I knew the book’s reputation was solidly intact. No one had forgotten the destruction it had wrought the last time it was in someone’s hands. Someone who was a little dark like me.
