Marked By Magic by Christa Wick

Chapter Nineteen

"So, this is…"Lana trailed off, her expression grim as her sweeping gaze took another look at the creature.

"Abby." Esme frowned. "That is what Quentin called her. Camille recorded a variety of names that probably match what most of the wolves here think of it. Golem, Meatsack, Resusci Annie."

"So—" Lana stopped to draw a deep breath. "Explain Abby to me."

Esme nodded at the leather satchel Lana clutched to her body.

"You first. Initially, I felt like Silantra was traveling with you even though I knew that was impossible. Now? This close? I am hearing other voices. I don't recognize most of them, but Riya is in there, too."

At the mention of the last All-Mother, a wave of fatigue and sadness washed through Esme. She stumbled back to her chair and collapsed.

Lana moved a folding chair over to where she could sit next to the witch. Unwinding the satchel from her arm, she unsnapped the top flap, then stopped.

"Whether she knew about it or not, Silantra was hiding something. Jasmine, one of the latents sent to us from the Wisconsin clan, spotted it when she was preparing the body for final passage."

Pausing, Lana pressed the tip of her thumb against the center of her forehead.

"There was a small glow coming from inside her."

"That weird little bump she had?" Esme asked.

"Yeah, only it started glowing once she was dead. No one could decide what to do, so—"

Lana made a slashing gesture with her hand.

"Well, with the utmost delicacy and respect, of course,"

"Of course," Esme echoed. "May I see what you found?"

Lana's head bobbed like it was loaded on a spring, her fingers diving into the bag to pull out a small ring box. She didn't hand it over.

"I lost it for about thirty minutes," she laughed, opening the box at last to reveal a black pearl nearly nine millimeters in diameter. "Stupid me touched it with my bare hands. I've never taken illegal drugs, no acids or shrooms, not even a little weed. But touching it was like what all of those things rolled into one must feel like. Knocked me out cold and filled my head with a whole lot of crazy. After I found where the pearl rolled to, I used chopsticks to get it into the box. Tried medical tweezers first, but zip-zap-zing. So I recommend wood, not metal."

Falling silent, Lana finally took a good look at her friend's face. Esme had rolled her lips inward and held the position. Her nostrils flared wide and the threat of tears shimmered in her gaze.

"Do you know what this is? Is it something mentioned in the artifact?"

Esme dropped her gaze to her lap. Her throat muscles worked up and down, but several seconds passed before she could squeeze out the first faltering word. "Y-eh-sss."

She coughed, swallowed, tried again. "Yes, I…know what…it is. I…think."

Reaching for the pitcher of water on a second table, she tried to lift it, but couldn't.

Jumping up, Lana put the box holding the pearl on the table, then filled a glass a third-full with water for the witch.

"Good thinking not giving me a full cup," Esme laughed as the water sloshed up the sides of the glass, her hands refusing to calm.

After a few choking sips, she returned the drink to the table and pointed at the box with the perfect black sphere swirling with all the magic Riya's gaze had once contained.

"The last time I saw Riya, the same evening she gave me the artifact, she said the cylinder was not the only pearl of wisdom she needed to give me for safekeeping. But she needed to rest her magic until the next full moon—needed me to rest mine as well. I don't think her wording was a coincidence. I think she meant to give this to me."

"How did it wind up in Silantra then?"

Esme shook her head. "Maybe Riya changed her mind."

"Don't know the last All-Mother," Lana quipped. "She sounds amazing, and I don't think she changed her mind. I guess the real question is whether Silantra even knew about it and, if she did, why did she keep it a secret from you?"

Catching Esme's questioning gaze on her, Lana continued.

"When I touched it and it basically gave me a brain seizure, I saw things you've told me about."

"Like what?" Esme asked, her fingers pushing the box around the table, then rubbing together like she'd touched something hot.

"The cave you told me and Iris about after you put Camille in that room—about an All-Mother named Meralyn. One fleeting brush of flesh against the pearl and I saw a chick laid out flat on a clear crystal slab, dressed like she was going to a Ren Faire, with long black hair. The walls, floor and ceiling were crystal, too. I about pissed myself when she opened her eyes! And I'm pretty sure a little drop or two came out when she spoke to me."

Esme tightened her grip on the box holding the pearl.

"What did she say?"

"This is not for you, human. You are not one of us." Lana crinkled her nose and mouth. "Kind of a rude bitch, if you ask me."

A small laugh escaped Esme. The sound startled her, sounding as alien as if there were a third person in the room, a person she had never met.

"You always brighten my mood," she said, reaching one hand forward to squeeze Lana's.

Lana squeezed back.

"Now for the million-dollar question," Lana said. "You have the pearl. What are you going to do with it? Take it to Disneyland?"

Bringing both hands to her face, Esme massaged the tight line of her jaw first then moved on to the tension-wrought muscles and tendons at the back of her neck.

"Study it," she answered. "I may only have one shot to make it right. I don't want to blow it."

"Do you have time to do that?" Lana asked.

Esme stared at Abby for a few long seconds before answering.

"If the infusions work, maybe."