Page 35 of Light Fae's Love
“But…” I think aloud now as I glance at Quinn. “How do we do the demonstration without Lucca? Without his magic in the mix… we’ll lose control of the Music, and maybe even the Revenant, if things go badly.”
“I know.” Quinn is soft as he speaks now, though his dark eyes burn. “We are commanded to go to Rome anyway, and if we do not, the Council has threatened action against the Dark Haven of Florence. Action means war, in Vampire terms. They will send their armies in to crush us. And take Florence’s Dark Haven by force… if there is anything left to take.”
“Fucking hells.” Lucca takes a breath, staring Quinn down. “So what do we do?”
“We go to Rome. You stay here.” Quinn’s onyx eyes flash with furious red and gold fire now. “Ariana and I will leave at once and get settled with Arturos at his villa before the Council expects us, so we have some time to plan. We cannot refuse this Summons, nor what they are asking of us. I had hoped to have more time before the Council found out we could reawaken Revenants, but that is not to be. Clearly, either the Council has a mole amongst the Summer Fae who was there at our demonstration before the King, or someone at the opening gala of the Meeting of the Havens is not as much a friend to us as I thought.”
“But if we go to Rome, we’re toast, aren’t we?” I ask, feeling like Quinn has something up his sleeve, but not knowing what it is.
“Not necessarily,” Quinn says as he eyes me, thoughtful now. “For us to go to this Summons and succeed in Rome, we must have some way of stabilizing the Music without Lucca present—and without him using a Bloodsign again, which would most likely kill him. I had hoped to mature our connection to where any of us could wield the Music if we are alone from the others, but that cannot be helped now. What we can do, however, is a power transfer between us.”
“A power transfer?” I ask, blinking at him. “What’s that?”
“A power transfer is an ancient but rare practice among the Fae, and Vampires,” Quinn says now as he pins me with his gaze before it slides to Lucca. “In certain cases, when a deep bond exists between two or more parties who are Fae or Vampire, one person may temporarily transfer the bulk of their magic into another. Done for safekeeping or for imminent use, this is what I do when Vampires of my Dark Haven transfer their magic and energy to me for my use in times of duress, Ariana. I can call on them to give me support, and they do, metaphysically, though it strengthens me physically as well. What we need, in this case, is for Lucca to open his power and pour it down our trio’s bound connection, hoping that you, Ariana, can hold it long enough for us to do our demonstration in Rome. Without Lucca present.”
“Why me and not you?” I ask, knowing Quinn is far more adept at metaphysical shenanigans than I am.
“Though Lucca and I share much from his and my old magical pact, Vampire and Fae powers are too dissimilar for me to hold Lucca’s magic,” Quinn says. “As a Dark Fae, your powers hold active Summer Fae magic still. Thus, my guess is you can hold Lucca’s magic when I cannot. Though we don’t know when our showing will be, hopefully, you can hold Lucca’s magic long enough… before we must do or be ripped apart by the Council.”
“But I don’t know how to hold someone else’s power.” I glance uneasily at Lucca as he simmers with wrath at everything we’re facing. “How do I do that?”
“I’ll show you,” Lucca says now instead of Quinn, as he reaches out and clasps my hand. “It’s not pleasant, but it is possible, for a time. The Summer Fae Darkwatch does it to channel their power into one of their members in a time of need. They educated me on such things when I was among their ranks. The question is: how much of my power can you take, Ariana? And how long can you hold it… before time runs out?”
“Hopefully long enough.” I am scowling now, not liking any of this, especially when I have to try an untested feat of magic I’ve never even heard of before.
“What I want to know is how did the Council get this information, Quinn, about me being the decisive factor in our magic with the Revenants?” Lucca tousles a frustrated hand through his ash-blond hair. “I mean, we just did that demonstration for my father this afternoon!”
“Whoever reported this to the Council knew your power is the lynchpin of our trio, and that without you, we are hamstrung, badly,” Quinn says, still simmering. “It shows it was not just a Master from the Meeting reporting this to them, since only our closest allies even know Lucca’s involved in our magic at all. Another possibility is that I have a spy in my Dark Haven who saw our Revenant demonstration here at the Hotel a few days ago—which is a thought that vexes me, that someone here could be so disloyal to me and hide it so very well within their minds from my discovery. It may, however, be as I previously thought: that the Council has a spy among the Summer King’s Court. That person would have to be bound to them for the news to have traveled this fast.”
“Or Arturos or Eiseth reported it.” I hate to say it, but I know it’s something we have to consider as I glance at Quinn. “They were both with us when we did the demonstration here at the Hotel. They both know Lucca is instrumental in our bond, not to mention us wielding the Music and returning Revenants with it.”
Though Quinn pauses now, considering my words, at last he shakes his head. “Arturos and Eiseth have been my allies for many ages, Ariana. We have all fought together, bled together, and schemed together on countless occasions. I trust them like I trust you and Lucca… though they are not bound to me, we share a bond of a kind—a bond of ideology, which runs deep. Either way, this is far sooner than I had hoped for word to reach Rome, though I knew it would, eventually. We cannot delay. We need to work the transference magics fast. And for the sake of us all… we cannot hold anything back.”
“If I don’t hold back, transferring my magic into Ariana… I could kill her, Quinn,” Lucca says as I feel a deep fear rise inside him now. “You don’t know what you’re asking of me.”
“I do know.” Quinn is earnest as he stares Lucca down. “You must whip your magic to the screaming point, Lucca, and pour it into Ariana, as much as she can stand. For we have only one shot at this—and I need you to trust that she is far more powerful a Dark Fae than any of us imagine. Trust in her power, and yours; and in my ability to balance your Light with darkness if things get out of hand. For we are all in it now. If we do not achieve success at this new, unforeseen endeavor, we die. There is no coming back from how the Vampire Council would punish us should we fail. I fear that even if it is but one of us they punish, with a connection like ours… it would surely drive the others mad. Even unto death.”
Quinn’s subtext is not lost on either me or Lucca; we understand to our bones that he fears he is the one the Vampire Council will punish if we fail, and therefore drive both Lucca and me insane as we feel what’s happening to him. Not only that, but Fae can die from a broken heart.
And our hearts would surely break if Quinn was sundered from us.
As I stare at Quinn, my lips fallen open, I feel his connection to us surge now. I feel Quinn flood a mind-sending to all the Vampires of his Dark Haven—that the imminent danger is gone from the Hotel, though everyone is to remain at maximum alert until he tells them otherwise.
It’s like a hornet’s nest that’s been kicked, as his entire Dark Haven of Florence, nearly a thousand members strong, sends a wave of readiness and fury back. I understand in a flash of thought from Quinn that he told them the Vampire Council sent messengers to us. He was the one who shut down all mind-chatter until the emissaries were gone, since they were both messengers and spies from the Council and could have picked up on any errant thought while they were here.
Quinn’s magic in our bond roars now as he turns to Devi and Curio, leaving them succinct instructions for the care of the Dark Haven of Florence and the Hotel in his absence.
Especially if it proves permanent.
“Devi, Curio, hearken to me,” Quinn says. He speaks softly as he leaves his two top lieutenants what very well could be his last wishes for the Dark Haven of Florence. “Devi, you are now head of the Red Letter Hotel Florence, and Curio is your Associate Hotel Head. This change is permanent, unless I return in person and you both agree to surrender the running of this Hotel back over to me. The papers for this transfer of leadership are in my desk, signed and sealed already, in case something like this happened. Remember that when our Dark Haven Vampires are on Hotel grounds, especially if they are Hotel employees, they are untouchable to the Vampire Council of Rome, by Red Letter Hotel law.”
“Yes, Quinn,” Devi says. She is quick to respond, though I feel a dark crimson wrath boil from her as I see her aura flood the room.
“Understood.” Curio is just as quick, as his ice-cold winds seethe around him.
“Summon our entire Dark Haven to the Hotel, immediately, whether they live in the city or further away,” Quinn says with his last instructions. “Put them up in any room you can spare, double or triple, if you have to. The Hotel is closed until further notice—refund any guests for their current or scheduled stay and get them out of here, today. I want all our Vampires in this building, protected under Hotel law. Because I feel in my heart, the Council will try to take them whether we win or lose in Rome. And the Council will do everything they can to make us lose.”
With that, I feel Quinn do something I never thought he’d do. With a terrible in-breath, and a sundering roar of his magic that seems to slice all around him like a blade, he cuts himself off from the Dark Haven of Florence.