mythean arcana 06 - master of fate Read online

  The Immortal University was more of a government organization than it was a learning institution, though it did teach a few classes. The university’s purpose was to keep the peace among the Mytheans of the United Kingdom and maintain their secrecy from mortals. A noble goal, until you ended up on the wrong side of it.

  Aurora scowled. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

  Esha sighed. “We have a problem at the soulceress city.”

  Aurora’s whipped around to gawk at her. “In Iceland?”

  “Know any other soulceress city?”

  “Fair point.” There had only ever been one. Because soulceresses were nearly extinct, there was no one to build another. “We freed the souls that were haunting it. How could there be a problem?”

  “Seems we weren’t completely successful. The portal you created when you were…”

  “Insane?” There was no other word for it. It hadn’t been her best moment.

  “Yes. The portal you created has gone haywire. You didn’t close it and I didn’t think to, because of everything that was happening. It’s created an imbalance of power at the city that’s making it glow. Mortals will notice soon.”

  “Glow?”

  “Yep. Like there’s a rave in the middle of the glacier.”

  “Shit.” A year ago, right after she’d escaped prison and when she’d still been insane, she’d created a portal to try to get Esha to come to her. She’d wanted to meet the sister she’d just learned she had. It had worked, and Esha had ultimately saved her from her insanity, but apparently forgetting to close the portal was a very bad thing. “I guess the university wants us to clean this up?”

  Esha fiddled with her beer. “They want you to clean it up. The witches are lobbying for you to be thrown back in the aether prison and the university is listening. I got them to agree to let you live here, but you know you’re on probation. You did all that evil stuff because you were crazy, but they’re still wary of you even though you’re sane again. Fix the portal to prove you didn’t leave it in place for some evil reason, or they’ll throw you back in prison.”

  A cold sweat broke out on her skin. “Shit.”

  She’d been afraid of this—that the university’s generosity wouldn’t last. She’d done some truly terrible things. She was criminal number one at the university, but she wasn’t as reformed as they thought. She was still a little crazy. Even Esha didn’t know it. She’d kept it a secret. Did the university suspect that she still wanted to steal souls? Well, if they thought they were going to throw her back in that prison—

  Her breath dragged in and out of her lungs. The hand around her throat tightened. Blackness crept in at the corners of her vision.

  “Hey!” Esha grabbed her shoulders. “Hey. Chill out.”

  Aurora blinked and shook her head. “I’m fine. Totally fine.” She didn’t let her guard down around anyone, even Esha. But lately, it was beginning to crack.

  “Sure you are.” The skepticism was rich in Esha’s voice, but she let it pass. “You can do this. They don’t want me helping because they think I’ll just cover for you. But I’ll talk to them about getting you some local help. Someone who knows the glacier and the soulceress city well. Just fix it and you’re home free. You’ll be off probation and they’ll no longer think of putting you back in prison.”

  Aurora nodded. She could do this. She’d fix the portal and keep her desperate desire to collect souls a secret. This weird half-life she was living was worth it to be near her sister, and she didn’t want to lose it. She’d been desperately trying to build a life here, though she still hated that she didn’t feel complete. But it was better than the aether prison and there was no way in hell she’d let them get her and throw her back in. “So what about this power imbalance? The glowing?”

  “The glowing is the least of it. That’s just a symptom. If the power imbalance increases past the breaking point, the city could collapse in on itself, tearing a hole in Iceland.”

  “A hole?” She guessed it made sense. When she’d been insane from possessing so many souls, her magic had been immensely strong.

  “Yes. A blank space in the aether. It could devour the entire glacier.”

  “Mortals will notice.”

  “No kidding. Not to mention, destroying Iceland’s biggest glacier will wreak havoc on the environment.”

  Aurora gulped her beer and stared out at the peaceful rolling hills of the campus. This was very bad. Keeping mortals from noticing Mytheans and magic was priority number one for the university and any Mythean who didn’t want to end up on their bad side.

  “Of course I’ll do it,” she said. She had to kill their suspicions of her. Three hundred years ago, she’d been thrown in prison because she’d stolen hundreds of souls, which had in turn driven her mad. A year ago, she’d escaped. Esha had hunted her down and freed the souls, thereby returning her sanity.

  Or so she’d thought.

  Ever since then, she’d been plagued by a dark desire to steal the souls of other Mytheans. Like an addict, she was desperate for that high of immense power that didn’t fade. But it was so wrong. She’d been resisting, but it was getting harder.

  “Great. That’s what I was thinking. I just heard about this from Warren and have a meeting tomorrow. If I can go to the rest of the university council and tell them that you’ve agreed to take care of it, it’ll go a long way toward earning their trust.”

  Aurora met her sister’s gaze. It was so like her own and their mother’s. After her rough period, Esha had helped her get back on her feet. Found her a job and a place to live. More important, with the position here at the university, Esha had ensured Aurora’s protection from other Mytheans who would want to kill her for being a soulceress. Just being associated with the university provided her with protection. As long as they didn’t figure out she was having a hard time fighting her worst desires, things would be fine.

  She nodded. “Get permission for me to go, and I’ll go.”

  The next day, Aurora leaned against the bar in the Mythean pub, Mouse seated on a stool next to her. The light was dim, most of it provided by the copper lamps over the bar and the fire that crackled on the other side of the room.

  The barkeep approached, a scowl on his face.

  She raised a challenging brow. She’d just like to see him try to kick her out.

  “What’ll it be?” he growled.

  “Tennent’s for me and a bowl of cream for her.” She hiked a thumb at Mouse.

  The cat gave the barkeep an equally challenging stare. He shuffled off to fill the order and Aurora turned around to lean on the bar and scan the room.

  The Mythean to her left glowered at the feel of her siphoning the magical power off his soul. He said, “Watch it, leech.”

  “What? I can’t control it, and I’m just taking a little. Your soul will suck the power right back out of the aether. Mine won’t. So what’s the big deal about sharing?” If she didn’t take it, she couldn’t fuel her own magic. She’d be as powerless as a mortal.

  “You’re a damned parasite, that’s the big deal.”

  “Bite me.” Parasite was one of many names she’d been called, none of which fazed her. Life was too cruel to worry about small insults from people you didn’t know. It bothered Esha a bit, and for that, Aurora was grateful. If Esha still had the ability to care what others thought, it meant that Esha’s life hadn’t been as hard as her own. Life hadn’t beaten the caring out of her.

  She turned back to the bar. Perhaps she should be wary of the other Mytheans here. She’d spent the majority of her life fleeing persecution by Mytheans and mortals alike. But she wanted to pretend everything was fine.

  The barkeep approached. “That’ll be six pounds.”

  He set the lager and saucer of cream in front of her. She handed him cash and picked up her beer, turning back to survey the other patrons, studiously ignoring the man to her left. The feel of the power of their immortal souls washing over her was divine, fuel
ing her with enough energy that she could blow up the room if she wanted to.

  Gods, all this power felt good. Once she used it up, though, she’d have to replenish. Her chest ached to steal the soul of the Mythean next to her. It’d be so easy. All she’d have to do was reach out, touch his chest, and use her soulceress magic to call his soul to her. Then she’d have an unlimited source of power that didn’t fade as she used it, as was the case with borrowing. Sweat broke out on her skin and her hand shook as she forced herself to take another sip.

  Addict.

  “Stop it!” she hissed at herself.

  It was wrong. So wrong. And possessing souls turned you mad eventually. They tried to escape and your mind couldn’t handle the strain.

  Aurora knew that all too well. She didn’t want to want to steal souls. She’d never wished for it before the tragic event that had set her off on her path. She’d been normal before her mother’s murder. But ever since she’d had the souls and the power, she’d wanted more. Even after her sister had freed the souls from her and saved her sanity, she’d been like an alcoholic on the wagon, desperate to drink again.

  At least once a week, she found herself about one second from stealing someone’s soul. She’d have her hand almost on their chest and their soul about to join her. It was only a matter of time before she snapped again. Like an addict, she just couldn’t—

  Her phone rang, startling her out of her panic spiral. She fumbled to pull it out of her pocket, her breath coming too fast.

  “Sis?” Esha’s voice came through the line. “You’re going to Iceland. Let’s meet so I can give you the deets.”

  “I’m at the Cheshire Cat.”

  “Good. I could use a fuel-up. I’ll be there in a sec.”

  Aurora snapped the phone closed. She swallowed hard and calmed her breathing. She’d fix this and they’d get off her back. Her sister appeared out of thin air, having aetherwalked from the university campus. Aurora forced away the last of the panic over her shite mental state as her sister ordered a Tennent’s too.

  Esha turned to her and grinned. “We’ve got the go-ahead. You’re off to Iceland to clean up your mess.”

  “Excellent.”

  Esha punched her in the shoulder. “You’ll have fun. There’s a university contact there who can help you. A guy named Felix.”

  Aurora froze. “Felix?” Her Felix? The love of her life whom she hadn’t seen in centuries?

  “I know. Silly name. Anyway, he used to work for the university a few centuries ago. He lives near the soulceress city now and is the one who’s been reporting on the haywire portal. He knows how to get close to it safely, so you’ve got to work with him. He’s helped me out before.”

  The chill that had begun to spread across Aurora’s skin enveloped her. Turned to heat.

  Felix.

  It couldn’t be.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Edge of the Vatnajökull Glacier

  Southern Iceland

  Biting wind whipped across Aurora’s cheeks. Snow stretched as far as she could see in every direction, glittering under the heavy moon. It was only five in the evening, but so far north, night had fallen already. She rubbed her arms against the chill, knowing it was nerves more than the cold that made her shiver. Her heavy winter jacket kept out the cutting wind.

  Mouse bounded through the snow, her yellow eyes bright as she chased imaginary squirrels. Ever since they’d been released from prison, Mouse had spent every waking second running and playing.

  Aurora couldn’t share her lightheartedness. As she stood in the snow, her heavy pack weighing down her shoulders, she tried to brace herself for what was to come. Dealing with her broken portal would be no problem. Finding out whether the Felix Esha had sent her to see was her Felix? That was the impossible bit. They’d been teenagers when they’d been torn apart by the tragedy that had become her life.

  She couldn’t handle seeing him yet. Not when she was two steps away from having a breakdown and stealing the soul of the next person she came across. After that, she’d be on a one-way trip to madness. Felix couldn’t get messed up in that. He’d never want her if he knew what she was capable of. Not to mention, she’d be thrown back into the aether prison. A cold shudder wracked her.

  Aurora sucked in a deep breath and set off through the snow. When she slogged over the top of the hill, she caught sight of the little cabin glowing in the valley below. Thick snow covered the roof, the chimney pumped white smoke into the night, and the windows gleamed with golden light. The scene twisted her heart. It was like something out of the Christmas movies she’d watched with Esha last year.

  It’d been her first holiday free from prison and the misery of her life before incarceration. She’d almost been unable to comprehend the sweetness of it. This place was the same.

  “Idiot,” she said to the night, disgusted with her own softness. Life didn’t allow you to be soft like that. It crushed you if it caught a hint of it. “I’m losing my marbles, Mouse. Let’s go see who this joker is.”

  Mouse meowed and gave her a skeptical look, as if she didn’t believe Aurora’s flippant attitude.

  “Keep it to yourself, cat, or I won’t buy you any more feather sticks.” Feather sticks were Mouse’s obsession and the threat was false. Mouse would just sit on her face while she slept until she got what she wanted. But it made Aurora feel better to pretend.

  Mouse flicked her tail as she led the way down the hill through the snow. Aurora followed, thinking she should have brought fewer clothes. Her pack was damned heavy. But she hated being cold. The aether prison had been so damned cold. She shook her head to banish the thought. She would not go back there.

  The cabin was larger than she’d initially thought. There were two doors that she could see, one on each of the sides facing her. Light gleamed through the windows.

  Which one should she choose?

  A thumping sound echoed from the other side of the cabin, a rhythmic beat that caught her attention. She abandoned the idea of knocking on a door and walked around the side of the cabin, Mouse now silently following at her heels. Snow crunched under her feet and she walked more softly.

  Aurora pulled up short when she rounded the corner of the cabin. A man stood with his back to her, a long axe dangling from the hand at his side. A pile of wood lay before him.

  He was shirtless. Freaking shirtless in this freezing weather.

  A sigh of disappointment almost escaped her despite the ridiculousness of finding a shirtless man on this freezing night. There was no way this was the Felix she’d known. He was too tall, too heavily muscled. Her eyes devoured him, racing over the slopes and planes of the muscles on his back.

  His broad shoulders tapered to a narrow waist and hips. Her gaze traced the slabs of his shoulder muscles. Ridges of other muscles she had no name for striped across the rest of him. But she wanted to learn them.

  He wasn’t the hulking sort of bodybuilder she’d seen on TV—a type of man who’d never existed the last time she’d been a free woman. This man had the heavy muscles of frequent use.

  He must chop a lot of wood.

  He lifted the axe and her gaze flew to his arms, to the cords of muscle that stood out in stark relief as he swung the axe at a giant log. Shadows played across his arms—tattoos of some kind, perhaps.

  She swallowed hard, heat rushing through her, the cold long forgotten. He was a visceral reminder of the things she’d never gotten to do. Her life had imploded before she’d had a chance to even see any half-naked men. Since she’d been released from prison, she’d only seen them on TV.

  But this was real life.

  And it was amazing.

  She’d become obsessed with technology when she’d escaped prison. They were all things she’d never had. Right now in her pack, she had a smartphone, a DLSR Nikon camera, an iPod, a tablet, a GPS unit, and a satellite phone. She needed none of these things. She was a damned soulceress, after all. But she wanted them because she’d never had them before. br />
  Just like she wanted this man. She hadn’t even seen his face, but she didn’t care. This was something she’d ached for in prison, even though it was another thing she’d never had.

  Warmth, touch, a connection.

  Sex.

  If only he were Felix. Because as beautiful as this man was, Felix was the only man she really wanted. And the man she couldn’t have as long as she was teetering on the edge of soul thieving and insanity.

  She sucked in a deep breath and stepped forward. When she was about twenty feet away, a blast of power hit her, glorious in its intensity. It flowed through her veins, making her soul hum with satisfaction. Her fingertips tingled with glorious power. He was strong. Immensely so.

  The man stiffened and lowered his axe.

  He’d felt her presence. She reminded herself that he didn’t have to like her—he just had to help her deal with the portal.

  He turned to face her, the axe still dangling lazily at his side. The moon went behind a cloud, casting his face in shadow so that she couldn’t make out his features.

  “You’re from the university?” His voice was deep, almost hoarse. His Scottish accent made a shiver run across her body. She’d gotten rid of her own accent and modernized her speech so that people wouldn’t recognize her as the Scottish soulceress who’d gone mad. But she liked it on him.

  “Yes.”

  “Come on.” He turned and led the way toward the cabin.

  So much for a greeting. The six words he’d deigned to speak had sounded reluctant, at best. Not that she could blame him. She’d mostly just stared at him stupidly, trying to make out his features.

  She shrugged and followed him. Mouse trotted ahead of her, trying to get a look at the guy’s face. She was almost underfoot, but he avoided her easily.

  He let himself into the house and the door slammed shut behind him.

  She opened the door and stepped through into a cozy kitchen. Golden wood gleamed warmly from the floors and walls. Pale blue cabinets were topped with a slab of some kind of gray stone.