The symbol was etched into the cover, which was not made of any material I had ever seen before. It was thick and smooth, like leather, but with a consistency that felt hard like a metal. It was definitely organic … an animal skin maybe. It actually kind of reminded me of the ercho that tried to kill me in Central Park.
Baladar let out an impatient sound, so I quickly focused on the symbol. “It’s carved into the cover, and it looks like an inverted tree, gnarled and dead, roots sticking up from the top, and the branches burrowing into the ground. There is a stone in the center, the heart of the tree.”
The ancient magic born staggered forward. His face was frozen, mouth open, eyes wide. I found myself mimicking his panicked pose, part of me wanting to thrust the book away, but still being unable to remove my hands.
He spoke, barely above a whisper: “Is the stone black?”
I nodded, and in a flash he surged forward, his body shrinking into a half-crouched position. He began chanting and waving his arms wildly in the air. I looked to Violet, who was watching him with a look that was part shock and part intrigue. I knew, though, that just like me, she had no idea what he was doing.
As I turned back to Baladar, he thrust his hands at me and Kade, and suddenly a gale force wind slammed into us, knocking us both back into the wall, and in that moment the darkness that had been leaking from the book was gone.
As I straightened myself off the wall, low growls were rocking my chest. My wolf didn’t like being thrown around like that. And judging by Kade’s scowl, he wasn’t much happier about it. Baladar spoke quickly, throwing in a bow for extra measure. “Forgive me, Your Highnesses, I had to act quickly.”
Ignoring the magic born for a moment, Kade turned to me. His face was still etched with darklines of anger, but this faded slightly as his thumb traced across my cheek. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said. Which was mostly the truth. The right side of Kade’s body had slammed into mine; my shoulder and elbow were aching, but that would heal soon enough.
Kade draped an arm around me, his fingers softly stroking my shoulder. He could feel my pain and he wasn’t happy about it. Together we faced Baladar.
“What did you do to the book? How dangerous is it?” I asked, knowing he would have only acted that way if we were dealing with something serious.
The book felt lighter in my hands now, as if Baladar had chased away the darkness completely.
He stepped closer now and peered down, shaking his head. “What you hold in your hand is the origin of dark magic … the birth of evil … the opposite of all that is good in this world. If the mecca is Yin, then this is the Yang. The great balance requires both dark and light. Welcome to the dark.”
I opened my fingers and let the book crash to the floor.
Kade growled lightly, his arm tightening for a brief squeeze, before he started rubbing my arm again. “You said it was okay to approach.”
Baladar bent and picked the book up, careful not to touch the crystal. “I never expected this could be inside the wall. How the Red Queen got her hands on something like this is far beyond me. But it’s harmless now, as long as nothing reawakens it.”
A wave of tingles worked down my spine, goosebumps crossing my skin. “Reawakens it? It’s alive?” No wonder the material felt like skin of some kind. Violet had better run me one of those salt good-juju baths later, because I was feeling energetically icky.
Baladar didn’t answer me. I was pretty sure he wasn’t even listening to me. His eyes were locked on the book, and no doubt the wheels were turning in his head. That incredible intelligent brain would be running through all of the possibilities.
“This explains a lot about the changes in the Red Queen,” he blurted, as though he couldn’t keep the thoughts contained any longer. “She would have had no idea what this was. Nor Sabina or the council. No one is old enough. But she would have felt its power. That’s why she stupidly kept it close. It must have infected her … sleeping so close to the darkness, night after night.”
My breathing slowed. I had heard rumors that the Red Queen hadn’t always been so … cold. She had always been strong and merciless in war, but there apparently was a time in the beginning of her reign when she was kinder … more genial. Calista and I discussed it a few times, both of us blaming her multiple miscarriages and wars for her hard, cold exterior — the burden of being queen had hardened her. But maybe it was this.
Kade let me go, stepping closer to the book. “What’s inside?”
Baladar shook his head. “No one left alive has that knowledge, but history tells us that this book shouldneverbe opened. The information inside would turn the purest of magic borns into the devil himself. Besides, it’s not what’s on the inside that matters, it’s what’s on the outside.”
Violet stepped forward. “The crystal,” she whispered, hovering her hand over it. Nikoli was watching silently from afar. His eyes were not on the book though, but on Violet.
Baladar nodded. “There is one story, told only by word of mouth, that has been passed down to me from my ancestors. To be quite honest, I didn’t completely believe it. As a young magic born I thought it was more metaphorical, and as an adult I never saw any evidence to prove it, but … not now. This confirms it.”
Violet, who had her eyes still locked on the dark stone, lifted her head to Baladar. I didn’t like the spark of excitement I could see in herlight eyes. She was intrigued. Which wasn’t a problem in itself, but darkness was not something she needed to be close to again.
Baladar set the book down on the edge of the bed and motioned for us to join him in the living room of the queen’s quarters. It was like he didn’t want to tell the story in front of the book. We all followed him out, taking seats on the sofas. Finn curled up at my feet.
Baladar was the only one standing. “In the beginning of time, the four great gods created the Earth. They argued over which races they should create, who should have what powers, and what would govern them all. In the end, they created the humans, witches, and fae. After this, they each took a piece of their soul and infused it into the Earth as a power source for their creations. This became the mecca.”
Kade said what we all were thinking: “This is not the story we are told of creation.”
Baladar gave him a sad smile. “Creation stories get changed as the next generation sees fit. Everyone wants to put their spin on it. This is one which was lost over time, and it was one I have never believed.” When no one said any more, he added, “Shall I continue?”
Kade nodded, and through our bond I could sense that like me, he wasn’t shocked by this revelation. We had been lied to about wolves andbears being bonded mates and meant to rule together, so it wasn’t a crazy jump to expect we’d been lied to about other things as well. Still … the mecca was a piece of the gods’ souls … that terrified and excited me. No wonder the power felt limitless.
