Page 82 of Morning's Light

Aisanna followed behind her and made sure to step in each footstep. “You don’t have nuts.”

“That’s because they’re frozen.”

Each step cracked a path along the ground. They cut through the field until the house grew larger. It was quaint enough to resemble a fairy cottage, with the industrial perks a man needed. When Aisanna looked closer she saw the metal glint of a satellite dish and cables running out of the ground and along the stone exterior. Brand new energy-efficient windows reflected back the beautiful landscape and shielded the inside from prying eyes.

Not that there would be any, considering the distance outside of the city.

“Are you sure no one knows about this place?” Aisanna shivered, wrapping her arms around her torso in an attempt to keep the warmth in.

Her sister bent to unlock the front door. “I’m positive. I never joke about staying alive. We’ve got it set up to be completely undetected.” Astix gave a final twist of the knob before pushing the wood open with a slight shuffle. “You’re safe here. Oh, you don’t trust me?” She pointed out into the distance. “You see those?”

Aisanna squinted, making out the long dark shadows of a stone monolith. “I think so, if you would tell me what I’m looking at.”

“You are looking at my own private security systems. With ten of those set around the perimeter and a couple of protection spells, they scatter any energies in the area. We are completely cut off. Think of it like a blank spot.”

“You…are so prepared. How long have you been at this?”

“Too long.” Astix pushed the door open and stood back. “After you.”

Aisanna moved past her into the small wooden entryway. A set of polished oak steps led to a second story, while slate floors completed the cabin look. To the left, a massive stone fireplace dominated the open living room. A modest bedroom sat to the right, and a short hallway led back to the kitchen.

“I know you’re going to accuse me of sounding like Mom, but can you do that thing you do?” Aisanna wiggled her fingers. “I’d feel a lot better.”

“While I’m at it, why don’t I put on my monkey costume and do a little dance for you?” Astix did not stand on ceremony.

She dropped her damp coat to the floor and kicked off her boots before leaving her sister standing in the foyer. Plopping down on the couch, she moved her feet to the armrest and closed her eyes.

“There’s no need, Aisanna. It’s already done. The spells continue twenty-four-seven, attached to me and Leo by blood magic. Just come sit. Like I said, I have it under control. I had a gut feeling things would go south soon, and since I’m not in a position to ignore my gut, I took the necessary precautions. This was my insurance if everything went to shit. I hate knowing I was right.”

Aisanna shot a look over her shoulder as though expecting the cavalry to come riding up at any moment.

“Karsia should be here soon,” Astix continued. “She’s trying to get Mom and Dad to come. You know how stubborn they can be. They think I’m going a little overboard. They…they don’t know what’s going on.”

Aisanna settled herself on the floor between the couch and the fire without bothering to remove her winter wear or shoes. “Thank you. For everything. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Astix leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling. “Yeah, well, try not to think about. Apology accepted.”

“She almost had me. I can’t even tell you what it feels like, when you don’t have control of your body. She made me attack Orestes and Zelda. She made me—” Aisanna trailed a finger along her hand and wondered if it was her imagination when her skin rippled in response. “She made me do it. She’s inside of me and she made me hurt them. They came to my shop asking about my involvement with this fire elemental who shot up a FedEx office.”

Astix bolted upright. “What the what?”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do.” Aisanna rocked as she spoke. “It was the night I couldn’t remember. They told me I whispered in his ear before he… It wasn’t me.”

Astix moved from the couch and crouched beside her sister. “I know it wasn’t you. Not in the least. You have to believe that.”

“I don’t know what to believe anymore. Maybe it could have been, for all I know. I didn’t mean to shoot poisonous thorny vines out of my fingers, but I did. I was there, watching. Maybe there was something I could do to stop her. To stop that man from killing those innocent people.”

“Hey. Look at me. Aisanna, look at me.” Astix leaned in and took her sister by the cheeks. “I refuse to acknowledge you had anything to do with his decision. It was his. Do you understand me?”

Astix considered her sister, vulnerable on the floor. She’d never seen Aisanna like that, with slumped shoulders and grim consequence hanging from her every muscle and cell. Whatever happened to her had been bad enough to set off a chain reaction with the potential to damn them all.

Now they sat facing each other and everything seemed bleaker.

“Look,” Astix put in awkwardly, “let’s table that conversation for another day. After the trouble has passed and we can resume our normal lives. Then we’ll think about right and wrong. Think about our own responsibilities and guilt. Here, in this moment, we focus on staying alive. And we focus on finding the Harbinger witch and sealing the veil. You got me?”

“Yes.”

Astix hated what they had to do. She would rather do anything else. She would give anything to make it go away and return life to the status quo.

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