Curses of Glass: The Fated Chronicles Contemporary Fantasy Adventure, #7

By Humphrey Quinn

A Contemporary Portal Fantasy Adventure....

A prophecy made long ago, claiming three immortal offspring will bring balance to the world of magic—except, no one can tell them how or if good or evil will win.

Is fate bringing Meghan, Colin, and Colby closer to fulfilling their destiny, taking them on a predetermined journey?

 

Or is each step they've taken so far just a move in someone else's game?

 

It will take a special and dangerous sort of magic to get answers, but it's a risk they're willing to take, only, sometimes, the lie is prettier than the truth and the cost of knowing might be greater than any of them realize.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rachel Daigle
• Release date: Aug 18, 2016
• ISBN: 9781536551815

Humphrey Quinn

Ruby Raine writes steamy supernatural witch mysteries... 

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

A Mother’s Sacrifice

Meghan Jacoby could not remember the last time she felt happiness.

Real happiness.

Yes, there were many terrible things happening in her life, as well as to people she cared about, deeply.

And yes, she was currently standing in a run-down shack in the middle of nowhere, with no idea where her life was headed except that visions from her mother, and a prophecy explained by her uncle, seemed to be determining the direction for her.

Nevertheless, at this moment, all she could feel was giddy relief.

In the chaos of discovering that Jurekai Fazendiin, the original and most powerful of the immortal Grosvenor, was her father, she had forgotten one thing: she also had a mother.

A mother she had finally met. A mother who had, so far, fully lived up to Meghan’s expectations. She also gained an older half-brother in Ivan Crane. A young man who was possibly the most loyal, albeit a pain in the butt and irritating, friend, she’d ever had.

Without even realizing it, she had come to think of him as a big brother and now, he really was her big brother. There was something comforting about this fact. Because he was good. His mother, their mother, Isabella Crane, was good. She had sacrificed everything to make the world a better place, to keep it from becoming a world no longer worth living in. Meghan had a strong idea that Ivan was out to do the same.

The blood pumping through Meghan’s veins did not belong purely to evil. She was not doomed to follow her father’s footsteps. She was not doomed to turn out like her brother, Colby. Although she was holding out hope she might be able to save him.

Ivan had still not spoken since announcing that she was his sister. He just stared. Bewildered. Confused. Petrified. His entire life thrown upside down.

Sebastien Jendaya, on the other hand, wore an ecstatic grin. Whether he had believed Ivan previously or not, in his claims that he had never liked Meghan like that, there was no argument now. Of course, this didn’t mean she would automatically forgive him, either; he still had a lot to make up for, including keeping a lot of secrets from her. Most especially the fate of Arnon Jacoby after they’d first come to live with the Sovda.

This dampened his grin a little.

There was also the fact that it was he who’d attacked Colin and stolen the Magicante while they were in Grimble. Or that he could transform into a bird and had been spying on them since they had first come to live with the Svoda. That he was charged with being their friend before he’d ever met them, by the now deceased, Amelia Cobb. Who’d planned on using Meghan and Colin in her crazy scheme to return magic to a world that had forgotten it ever existed.

He’d known about the existence of magic and never told them. And though charged with being friends, it had turned out to be an easy task. The friendship real. Something he missed terribly when they’d left. In the same way he’d been their only friend, they’d been his, too. He’d followed them, and spied. Helped when he could, all the while obeying Amelia’s orders. Each day, questioning those orders, more and more. Until he’d made the difficult choice to defect, even if it meant he’d not see his parents again. He had no regret over that choice, but he hated himself for many things he’d done, and not done, before that.

If he’d had the courage to do so, he could have sent them some sort of message, at the least, to allay their fears about Arnon. Offered them some comfort.

As his thoughts spiraled downward, the idea of Meghan ever forgiving him seemed like a distant, out of reach, possibility, that was falling further not getting closer. Yet he could not help but feel some measure of hope, knowing that Ivan was no longer his competition.

A gangly Jae Mochrie kept his distance, but watched everything unfolding through the strands of his stringy hair, trying to make sense of it all. He was too young to remember what Ivan’s mother had looked like. He was just an infant when she died. Although she hadn’t died at all, only left. The resemblance between Meghan and Isabella was striking, especially seeing them side by side with their ocean blue eyes and milk-white skin. Isabella’s hair was much darker than Meghan’s, but the red tones were apparent in both mother and daughter.

Meghan sighed, satisfied to relish this happy moment. She wished she could bath in it, soak it in, and somehow bottle and keep it.

She heard Ivan shudder.

He staggered backwards, swaying a little. I think I’m going to be sick, he stammered, sprinting out of the shack.

Meghan’s smile dropped and she moved to follow him.

Isabella stopped her. Give him a moment. There was a tremble in her voice. I have shattered my son’s world. He is realizing that so many of the beliefs which forged his life, are not real.

Meghan nodded, pretending she understood, and in part, she did. Ivan had always had plans, intentions, but nothing he had ever really shared with her. She had pieced together enough to know that at least some of this regarded bringing down Juliska Blackwell. To show the Svoda that she was evil. But to what extent beyond this, he had not shared.

I should speak to him alone, Isabella said.

Okay, replied Meghan. She was not ready to let her mother out of her sight but realized that Isabella and Ivan would need some time alone. As Meghan thought about it, she could not fathom what Ivan was feeling. She had only recently discovered her mother was still alive, and her mother had believed Meghan dead for almost thirteen years.

Isabella Crane had voluntarily abandoned Ivan. And even though this was to potentially save the world, she had knowingly and willingly left him and his father behind, to do so. And his father had died not soon after, leaving him an orphan at just five years old.

Ivan had not ventured far. He stood just outside the shack, staring blankly into the woods, its many barren tree limbs indicating the onset of winter. Pine trees dotted the countryside, their needles still intact, giving some cover from the frigid chill; a chill that seeped inside Ivan’s bones, sending another shudder down his spine.  

The shack wasn’t much of a buffer zone between the group inside and the two outside, or the November chill. The cracks and gaps in the walls, along with the missing front door, made it easy to overhear Ivan and Isabella speaking.  

Nona rubbed up against Meghan’s leg, purring. Meghan reached down and picked up her Catawitch, nuzzling her as they listened in a humbling sort of sympathetic silence to the conversation outside.

Ivan didn’t turn to look at his mother but he heard her approach behind him. I didn’t even know you were a Firemancer, he whispered.  

It skipped a few generations and I hid the fact that I was. I think everyone started to believe the Firemancer gift had died out of my family line.

He spun around, teary eyed, and cleared his throat.

Why hide it?

Many reasons, which I will explain.

I’m sorry, he said unexpectedly, bowing his head.

For what?

I don’t know how to feel. What to ask you. I... he stopped, sucking in a shaky breath. I haven’t seen you since I was a child, barely old enough to remember what you looked like.

Ivan, she said, lifting up his head. You have nothing to be sorry for. I am the only one that needs to apologize. Although I cannot imagine a thousand apologies will ever be enough to make up for what I’ve done to you.

Ivan stepped back, unable to keep eye contact with his mother.

I’m not mad, he told her. I don’t hate you, if that’s what you’re thinking. I just...

Don’t understand, she finished. Isabella took in a deep, determined breath. If you’ll let me, I would like to explain.

He nodded, his throat feeling too tight to vocalize his reply.

She began by explaining the same things she had shared with Meghan. The visions she’d had of the future, how the Grosvenors’ immortal children brought with them uncontrolled chaos and destruction, which she felt certain could be contained by bearing those children herself, instilling as much love and compassion into their lives as she could. She told him about bringing Colby and Meghan into the world, giving up Colby when he was just five to his father and how she had hidden Meghan in the orphanage, where she was then found alongside Colin.

What a terrible thing, Meghan thought from inside the shack. She’d given up both of her sons at five years of age.

When I left you, I faked my death, obviously, Isabella told Ivan.

How did you do it?  

A spell.

"You weren’t afraid they’d do something with your body? Ivan asked her.  

It wasn’t my body they found, she explained. I used magic on someone recently deceased... I won’t go into specifics. The details are not important. And would also explain things none of these youngsters were prepared to hear, yet. I used magic to make everyone believe it was my body they had found.

Including me and Dad, Ivan added somberly.

Including you and your father. My biggest regret is that I didn’t see what would happen next. That I didn’t see your father would die so suddenly, and so soon after I left you. I left you alone. With no one. With nothing.

I was taken in, taken care of. My grandfather. His father’s, father.

The empty shell he became after watching his son die, Isabella spoke mournfully.

There was the Mochries after he died, Ivan told her. The young man you don’t know inside the shack, he’s their son, Jae. They took good care of me.

But they are not family. Not blood. And after I learned what you saw, about how your father died, I feared what would become of you. I didn’t want you to be alone. I didn’t want you to feel alone.

I... I started to believe that you’d been killed too, Ivan admitted after a moment. Murdered. After I was old enough to understand what had really happened to my father, I started to doubt whether you’d actually died of an illness. It just seemed so hard to believe. I started to think that both of you had seen something, or learned something you shouldn’t have, said Ivan. Everything in my life after that was to prove what had really happened to you. And to show everyone what Juliska Blackwell really was. It didn’t matter that I was, he broke off, looking for the right words.  

That you were alone, guessed his mother. Being alone, made it easier. Having nothing to care about made it easier.

For being absent nearly his entire life, she seemed to know her son well. He could not respond.

I never stopped looking in on you, she continued. I never stopped thinking about you. Worrying about you. Questioning, sometimes by the minute and the second, if I had done the right thing.

Ivan, the boy who had always been about doing the right thing, had no response. He didn’t know what to say. He glanced past her, seeing Meghan’s silhouette just inside the doorway.

Isabella caught his glance.  

After your father died and Meghan had been born, I hoped somehow you would find each other. That she would become a part of your life even if I could not. I made sure that my locket went with her to the orphanage, hoping that one day you’d find it. You might not have known who she was, or that she was your sister, but I had hoped the locket would at least bring you together. I used magic to pass along a message to you, hoping to spark your interest, so you would search for it.

Via the Song Spinner, Catrina Flummer, said Ivan.

"Yes. However, again, my sight failed me. I didn’t see the Svoda breaking apart and Catrina not being able to give you this message sooner. I feared greatly, what would happen to you as you grew older. I wanted you to have something, someone to care about. A reason to live. To care. I could not keep Meghan with me, she needed to be hidden from her father, but I wanted you to find each other. Alas, as I have said, I thought she died and had given up hope that you’d ever find out the truth. I should have known she wasn’t dead. She was the daughter of an immortal after all. But I assumed that because she was so young that she could die. Another regret. And then I started to see what was happening to you, Ivan. I knew. I knew you would too easily sacrifice your life for what you thought was right. You’re very much like your father."

And mother, they were all thinking.  

I was ready to, he befuddled himself by admitting. I always expected to die. My life didn’t matter as long as I proved what really happened. And now I find out that the theories lurking in my head were just that, theories. There was no conspiracy surrounding your death, other than what you created yourself.

"It doesn’t change how your father died, at the hand of the Scratchers, which you found out Juliska created. You were the first to discover this treachery. Not everything was in vain, Ivan. And without any interference or help from me, your sister found her way to you. Even if you didn’t know it until now."

Ivan looked up again, Meghan had shuffled into the doorway. Nona remained in the shack along with Sebastien and Jae; they felt as though they were eavesdropping on a private conversation and wished they could leave. At the same time, the information they were learning was mind blowing.

I think some part of me did know, Ivan continued, his eyes never leaving Meghan. She looks so much like you, but I just thought it was chance. I couldn’t see how it was possible.

Meghan smiled weakly at him, firing off a look that said, Surprise, and You’re stuck with me now.

He shook his head; a bit of the Ivan she knew, returning. He rolled his eyes, mumbling, It would have to be you.  

Ivan, Meghan said, letting out a nervous laugh. If I was ever going to find out I had a half-brother I didn’t know about, I can’t imagine anyone else I’d want it to be. Even though I totally hate you most of the time and you drive me completely crazy.

She stepped outside to see him better.

He lowered his head for a moment, amused, but when he looked up, he shrugged his shoulders, looking lost. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now.

Sebastien and Jae stepped out behind Meghan.

Nona trotted into the woods, keeping her ears and eyes open for any signs of trouble.

I don’t know about you, said Meghan, but there’s still the matter of a mad woman named Juliska Blackwell who needs to be dealt with. We must find some way to help Colin, and, she turned to Jae, we need to find some way to fix you.

Then there’s just Colby, and Fazendiin, and the Immortality Stone, and the rest of the Grosvenor, chimed in Sebastien, with a sarcastic smile.

Meghan let out a frazzled sigh. Yeah, and all of that.

Isabella looked curiously at Jae. What needs to be fixed about you?

I, um, he gulped, his vocal chords suddenly not wanting to work right. I let J-Juliska turn me into one of her Scratchers. She thinks I’m dead, but she will eventually find out I’m not and when she does...

She will force him back into her service, finished Ivan flatly. We can’t allow that to happen. Jae made a mistake but, we have to find a way to fix it.

Meghan turned to Isabella. Amelia Cobb, before Colby killed her, she was cut off.

What? breathed out Isabella.

Meghan caught herself, realizing she had not informed her mother of Colby’s actions. Sorry. We hadn’t really gotten to explaining that yet.

He killed someone? Isabella’s voice faltered as she spoke.

Yes. He did. But I stand by what I said before, insisted Meghan. I still think he can be saved. And truth be told, if he hadn’t killed Amelia, someone else probably would have. She was out of control.

But someone else didn’t, muttered Isabella. For the smallest of moments, she held a look on her face that said all was lost. Hopeless. That all she had sacrificed to give Colby a fighting chance to be good, was all for nothing. That she had failed. She let out a deep sigh, wiping away her worry and cast a short grin.

Don’t give up on him, Meghan. We cannot give up on him.

I don’t intend to, Meghan told her. "Fazendiin’s claws are deep, but I think there’s still hope. I can’t, I won’t give up."

Isabella nodded, clearing her throat. You were saying something about Amelia, she reminded in a soft voice.

Right, um, she mentioned there might be a cure or a way to break the bond between Jae and Juliska, said Meghan.

There is, Isabella replied without hesitation.  

Jae perked up eagerly, as did Sebastien, Ivan, Meghan and Nona.

There is a way? Ivan questioned, thrilled his mother might know the answer to at least one of their problems.  

The bond can be broken and you can be cured, Jae, Isabella said.

How? Jae asked. What do I need to do? I’ll do anything to fix what I’ve done.

Anything? she asked him. The magic used to create the Scratchers is some of the most powerful and dark magic in existence.

He swallowed hard, having trouble finding his voice again.

Yes. Anything, he affirmed, though shakily. "No matter the cost, I have to. I don’t want to go back to her. I won’t hurt for her. I won’t kill for her. I may be an idiot, but I’m not a killer. I can’t live like this. I need to get rid of this thing inside me. It wants out, all the time... I’m afraid whether under her control or not, I will eventually hurt someone."

She nodded, seeing his determination.  

There is only way one to break this type of magical bond. The creator of the magic must die.

Jae nodded, unable to vocalize what he was thinking.  

We have to take her down anyway, said Meghan, her voice higher than usual. The thought of actually killing someone, or even working towards actually killing someone, turned her stomach. Juliska was evil. There was no doubt about this fact. But shouldn’t she stand trial and be judged by all? Shouldn’t she be forced to face up to and pay for the crimes she committed?

I know she’s evil, Jae finally spoke somberly. Juliska Blackwell frightens me more than anyone I’ve ever known. Before she did this thing to me, I would have done anything she had asked of me, even died for her if I thought it would be for the greater good. But now, even after what she’s done, the thought of her dying for some reason just makes me feel sick.

It is sick, said Sebastien. "And sad. She has wasted her life filling it with hate. And we don’t even know why. She was a good person, once. Like Amelia, she wasn’t always crazy either. But I think Juliska is beyond saving."

Everything she’s done set aside, started Meghan, "do we even have the right to decide her fate? She’s hurt so many people. Not just us."

She deserves to die, said Ivan, as if he were ready to deal Juliska a deathblow that very second.  

Isabella sighed, her eyes saddened. Juliska’s death cannot be by your hand, Ivan.

At first, Meghan thought she had said this because Isabella feared that Ivan was latching on to any new purpose; that he needed to have one to feel whole. But Isabella’s gaze landed back on Jae.

Juliska’s death alone will not cure you.

Jae’s already sickly face turned green.

Her death breaks the bond only, she continued.

Jae opened his mouth but nothing came out.

Ivan asked the question Jae could not muster the courage to ask.  What must he do? How do we cure him completely?

"You don’t, she said to Ivan. If you truly want to be cured, Jae Mochrie, you, yourself, will have to be the one that takes her last breath. You will have to kill Juliska Blackwell."

CHAPTER 2

Magical Bones

Colin Jacoby sat on the ground next to Catrina. She had her head leaning against his shoulder. They were sitting just a few feet away from the tree where Jasper Thorndike had been buried. Colin was deep in thought about how he would get Jasper’s copy of the Magicante back from Freyne Rothrock, the Grosvenor who had stolen it just before his death.  

Freyne, Catrina heard Colin mumble under his breath.  

When it was followed by a resentful groan, she sat up, asking, What is it?

Colin’s eyes switched from thoughtful, to outraged, in a flash. He glowered right past Catrina to something else.

She turned, gasped, and stuttered. "Oh. Freyne."

Freyne Rothrock was just a few feet from them, judiciously working his way towards the tree trunk that now resembled the face of the late Jasper Thorndike.

Don’t worry, he can’t see or hear us, reminded Colin. The cloak is still in place.

Good, she breathed out, adding, What is he doing here?

Colin did not answer. Instead, he stood up, following Freyne.

The Grosvenor eyed the tree greedily, taking each step cautiously, looking over every detail carefully.

Stupid boy, Freyne croaked. Powerful perhaps, but stupid! Didn’t even erase the magic he used here. So easy to trace.

Colin’s eyes widened and he threw Catrina a questioning gaze.

I didn’t know you could do that, she said.  

I thought they could only trace me when I let down the cloak. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! There’s so much I don’t know.

Catrina reassured him. Now that we know it can be done, we’ll figure out how.  

It’s too late now, Colin responded miserably. Let’s find out what Freyne is doing here. Maybe he has the book with him and I can end this whole thing right here and now.

Colin, no, argued Catrina softly. You cannot confront him like this. You’re not prepared.

Maybe not, but it’s not like I can die, he returned arrogantly.

No. You can’t. But, he cut