Page 26 of I Am the Storm

“She told me about you all,” she says.

"Only believe the good things," Derek says, with a grin.

Kaya laughs. "It's all good things. She cares about you a lot."

"It's mutual," Sebastian says. "She's family."

Kaya nods. "Well, Eve Oliver and Lily's Uncles…tell me what you need, and I’ll see what I can do. For Lily.”

Elijah explains where we need to go.

“A two-way trip, huh?” Kaya strokes her chin, thinking. “Better make it fast. I have somewhere to be.”

We follow her to the center tree, the largest of the grove, and we all lay our hands upon it. The bark feels rough against my palms, but I have only a moment to notice it before everything begins to spin and my vision is filled with a blinding light.

We appear under a different sky, dark and filled with thousands of stars. It's a strange sight after being away from the mundane world for so long. I miss the colors of the Dragon's Breath, but it is good to see the stars and a brilliant full moon again. The air is moist and fresh and smells of recently fallen rain against earth and grass. There's familiarity here, this world that I'm from, but it no longer feels like home, I realize. The Otherworld has become my home. The Night brothers, my family.

"Be quick," says Kaya, leaning against the trunk of her tree and lighting a pipe that she takes a deep inhale from. "Time’s a ticking."

I turn to follow the Night brothers, since they seem to know where we are and where we're going. We’re surrounded by trees on all sides, deep, shady forests that have come alive with the sounds of the night, of creatures scurrying under brush and birds flitting through the branches.

We walk down a narrow dirt path that leads to old stones peeking from beneath the dirt and moss. The ruins of an ancient building.

"What happened here?" I ask, looking at half-broken columns and empty fountains.

“Time,” says Elijah. “It did to this place as it does to all things.”

“Not all things,” I say. “Not you.”

“We, too, are ruins of what we once were.” He flexes his hand, and a cool gust of wind picks up. “And yet, for some reason, our powers are returning.”

Sebastian nods. “I felt it, too. When I lifted the rocks off Derek.”

Elijah glances down at his hands again. “Perhaps Dracula’s compulsion was affecting us in more ways than we realized.”

Maybe Dracula was limiting their powers, but why? What did he have to gain?

Derek moves to walk by my side, pulling me from my thoughts. “Here is where new apprentices would sleep,” he says, pointing to a ruin to the left. More broken columns and shattered walls. “And here used to be the baths. A part of me wishes I could go back in time. Sink my feet into the warm water.” He closes his eyes and inhales deeply, and for a moment, he seems somewhere else, a smile on his face.

I notice three statues ahead. Large robed figures, their faces devoid of features, one face broken off. The detail is exquisite. Though they are carved of stone, the fabric on their bodies looks as if it could blow away in the breeze. What artistry and craftsmanship.

When Sebastian sees the statues, he bows his head as if in reverence.

“Who are they?” I ask.

“The three Fates,” says Derek. “The Maiden, Mother, and Crone. They were the leaders of our Order.”

Elijah nods. “It was said that the Crone could see into the past. The Mother things of the present. And the Maiden things of the future.”

I freeze, thinking of Adam and his claims of future sight. “I thought you said no one could see the future,” I whisper to Derek.

“No one but the Maiden,” he says. “And even then, I have my doubts.”

“Where are they now? The Fates?” I ask, my heart thundering in my chest as I try to make sense of what Adam said in relation to this new information. Could there be a connection?

“Gone,” says Derek. “Most likely dead. You see, when our brother was imprisoned, it was the beginning of the end. His actions, though deemed a crime, inspired the Maiden to pursue a different course. She became obsessed with stopping the horrible things she would foretell at all costs. Even if it meant doing horrible things in turn.”

My thoughts again turn to Adam. To Mary and the baby, dead at his feet. I exchange a worried glance with Derek.