A Spell of Time

“What? I already gave you a name. Stop pestering me, for God’s sake.”

I turned around and eyed Stellan, who glared back at me. Annora took the cue and scowled. “Get out, Stellan. I’ll talk to you after I’m done with Caleb.”

Stellan got up slowly, threw me another dark look, and stalked out of the room.

“Take me to Lilith.”

“I told you, Caleb—”

“I may decide not to turn,” I said.

She looked at me dubiously. “Lilith is not the type of person whose time is available to waste. If you go, she’s going to expect something in return.”

Again I burned to ask what Lilith actually was, but right now it was hard enough getting Annora to agree to take me, let alone entertain more of my questions.

“I’ll deal with Lilith,” I said. “You don’t even need to come in. I’ll speak to her alone.” I squeezed Annora’s arm. “Do this and I won’t bother you again, I swear.”

Annora let out a sigh and slumped back in her chair, rubbing her temples with the tips of her fingers. She cast me a long lingering glance, and I swore I saw worry behind her eyes. “All right. I’ll take you to see her.”

“I want to leave now.”

She rolled her eyes, folding her arms over her chest. “I need to finish speaking to Stellan. Then we’ll decide when to do this.”

I slammed my hand down on the table, making her jump. “We leave the moment you are finished with him. All right?”

She glowered at me but didn’t protest.

I stalked out of the room to see Stellan waiting impatiently outside, shuffling from one foot to the other. He had obviously been eavesdropping. He walked in the room after me. I returned to my quarters upstairs to grab anything I might need. I had no idea what might be on the other side, so I grabbed a wooden stake and a knife and fastened them to my belt.

Then I returned downstairs, and since I couldn’t hear talking, I assumed Stellan had left already. I pushed the door open.

Annora waited at the table for me and stood up when I entered. She grimaced as I fastened a cloak around me.

All traces of worry I’d seen in her eyes were gone now, replaced with resignation—something that was both relieving and off-putting.

“Follow me,” she said.

We left the chamber and crossed the entrance hall until we reached another hall on the opposite side.

She headed straight for the Chinese carpet in the corner and tugged it across the floor to reveal an old trapdoor. It creaked open as she pulled and we descended into the depths of a dungeon. This was not a room that I had frequented many times throughout my time here on the island, for I rarely travelled back to the supernatural realm—I didn’t have permission, for one thing. None of us vampires did. We had to obtain special authority from Annora if we wanted to return for some reason. But now that I was down here again, it looked the same as it always had. I inched over to the edge of the starry crater as Annora bolted the door above us.

I looked at her and she nodded. I dove into the hole, and felt her jump through seconds after me.

We both landed on a stone floor. Another dungeon. We both got to our feet and walked toward the exit that led to a flight of stairs. We climbed them and appeared in a kitchen filled with sharp utensils and black cauldrons.

I spotted an old witch in the corner, stirring deep red liquid that I was sure was blood—human blood from the smell of it. She began chopping up what looked suspiciously like a human torso.

“Annora?” She turned and looked at both of us in surprise, her eyebrows raised. She put the blood down and tucked her gray-streaked black hair behind her ears.

“Isolde, I’m sorry for arriving like this unexpectedly. But I need to pay a visit to Lilith.”

Isolde’s eyes widened even further as they travelled from me to Annora. “Whatever for?”

Annora glared at me. “Caleb would like to become one of us.”

Isolde looked incredulous enough to laugh. “He wants to become a Channeler?”

“Yes,” I said, butting in.

“No,” Annora said quickly, “There’s no way he’d be ready for that yet. He just wants to become a warlock, at least at first.”

They were talking about me as though I wasn’t present. Still, I didn’t mind as long as Annora convinced Isolde to allow us to proceed toward wherever Lilith resided in this supernatural realm.

“Don’t waste Lilith’s time,” Isolde said sternly, looking at me. “Her energy is limited, especially these days.”

Annora gripped my arm before Isolde could say another word and led me out of the dark kitchen. We walked through to an entrance hall, very much similar to that of my own castle, and exited the building through a large oak door. We descended a set of steps overlooking an endless ocean. The waves lapped precariously close to the base of the castle.

“So Lilith doesn’t live on this island?” I asked.

“No. She lives a few hundred miles away. There’s a gate linking her island to the human realm I suppose we could have traveled through. But I wanted to warn Isolde what we were doing first. Now, no more questions. Just follow me.”

I followed Annora forward and as we reached the edge of a rock, she said, “Close your eyes.”

I did as I was told and we both vanished from the spot. We hurtled through air at the speed of light. Our feet hit solid ground a few moments later.

I opened my eyes to find myself standing on a large black boulder. Above us was the entrance to a cave. I looked up and down the pebbly beach we’d appeared on. There wasn’t any sign of life other than a group of vultures that circled overhead. I looked down at Annora who was now looking directly at the cave.