Antebellum Awakening (The Network Series #2)(85)

Papa nodded.

“I understand.”

“Then let us empower you.”

The High Priestess closed her eyes and began a low chant, whispering the blessing under her breath. No one else could hear the exact words she spoke except Papa, and he’d have to memorize them on the spot, committing them to memory to repeat later if he brought in a new High Priestess.

A bright white glow illuminated the words on the bracelet. The sapphire dots gathered into three long, slender ropes that pulled the shimmering charm into the air. It swung toward Papa and fell onto his awaiting hand. He placed it on his left wrist, over the sign of the Protector’s Brotherhood. The High Priestess’s incantation broke.

Papa drew in a long, shaky breath. His face paled and the muscles of his jaw tightened. He stood with white-knuckle fists, then stumbled and fell to one knee, gasping. His nostrils flared and neck spasmed.

Tiberius grabbed my shoulder when I started forward to help him.

“He needs to do this alone,” Tiberius whispered. “Leave off.”

“Overwhelming, isn’t it?” the High Priestess asked Papa in a quiet tone. “This endowment is a heavier burden than anyone will ever know you bear. The power you feel will soon calm.”

My heart rested somewhere near my throat, fluttering like the wings of a humming bird in nervous anticipation.

Papa remained with his head bowed, his shoulders trembling, for several minutes. Then with one mighty move, he shoved away from the floor and stood to face us again, accepting the full weight of his duty. The magic from the blessing caused him to glow with a golden shimmer from the inside out. The stretch of his shoulders seemed broader, his legs more powerful. He took my breath away. This was a new Papa, a new witch.

I knew then, in my heart, that he was the one Miss Mabel feared.

There may be someone in the Central Network stronger than me, but it certainly isn’t Mildred.

“Are you ready, Derek?” the High Priestess asked, breaking into my thoughts.

“Yes,” he said. The moment passed, and the glory dimmed back: he was his usual self again now, but with a new air of power. A surge of pride overwhelmed me. I leaned into Tiberius’s side and he put a big hand on my shoulder. The High Priestess turned to the other Protectors.

“You have not lost your leader,” she said. “You’ve simply seen him gain further progression, as all of you strive to do. By taking this position Derek continues to fulfill the creed of your brotherhood.”

Zane rested a hand over his heart.

“As I have before,” he said to Papa, “and will forever more, I pledge to you my protection, loyalty, and assistance, brother.”

Each Protector would say the phrase with his hand over his heart: as the youngest, Merrick would pledge last. Instead of putting his hand on his heart to accept their pledge, Papa stepped forward, grabbed Zane by the left arm and gripped his shoulder.

“Live and die together,” he promised. “You have my word. I am your brother.”

He went down the line with the same routine, then lightly chuffed Merrick on the side of the head with an affectionate smack. When he finished, the High Priestess stepped forward.

“We have a ball to prepare for and attend,” the High Priestess said. “Please be on your guard. Reports from the South indicate that they have been calm all day, and so has the West. I don’t trust calm things. This would be a prime opportunity to attack and weaken the Central Network.”

Yes! I wanted to shout. Yes, Miss Mabel is coming!

The High Priestess’s eyes fell on me when she finished. A flash of anxiety prodded the powers, resurrecting the surly dragon that still lived in my chest.

Wake up, I thought. Wake up, wake up. I’ll need you later.

When Miss Mabel shows up.





Closer

“You don’t seem like a young witch that’s about to go to her first ball,” Henrietta remarked, bustling behind me with a needle and thread in hand. I stood on a step stool, staring out at Papa’s empty apartment. Now that the Empowerment was over, maids had already started packing our belongings to move us into the High Priest’s suite in the middle of the castle, not far from the High Priestess’s personal quarters. The apartment seemed small and empty without swords and daggers decorating the walls.

“I guess I don’t feel like a young witch attending her first ball,” I said.

Henrietta shot me a surprised glance. The usual flood of pins and needles bobbed in the air around her, tailing her wherever she went.

“Why not?” she asked.

Imminent battle with my worst enemy, possibly death. The usual.

“Something of a headache,” I said, and it wasn’t a lie. The herbal tea Grandmother used to give me for headaches hadn’t worked, though I’d drunk nearly a pot of it since the Empowerment. I wondered what my friends were doing in the Witchery. Was Camille lamenting about her hair? Fussing over Michelle? I couldn’t wait to see Leda in a ball gown. Henrietta, giving up on conversation, patted a few places, added a stitch here and there, and stepped away.

“There it is,” she said. “You look a wonder. Far cry from the wild child that runs in the woods. It’s not ladylike to go barefoot, you know.”

A mirror lifted into the air from where it rested by the door and drifted toward me. A gasp caught in my throat. For a flash, a brief second, I thought I saw my mother in the long black hair and slender body that looked back at me. All the work with Merrick had given my shoulders a toned, sculpted appearance. The deep sapphire material of the gown covered my shoulders and arms just to my elbow. Lace as black as night decorated the ends of the sleeves and the scooped neckline. Except for the grief in my gray eyes, I wouldn’t have known it was me. I looked away when Henrietta clasped something around my neck, saving the mirror from another unfortunate accident.