Mages of Mistvale, Tome 2 : Sleep of Eternity

I gasped as I sat up in bed, clutching at my chest. I had a shield of fire around me and April before I realized that there was no threat around. But the pain. The pain was real. I dropped the shield and curled in on myself as a whimper left my chest. I’d never felt such pain before, not even on that dreadful night, and I couldn’t even see a reason for it. What the fuck was going on?

April gave out a shrill cry before flying over to me. She nipped at my hand to get my attention before flying to the doorway. Through our mental bond, I got the feeling that she wanted me to follow her. With every ounce of energy I could muster, I sat up, trying to ignore the burning pain as I got to my feet. I followed April out of the room and down the stairs, realizing the pain seemed to be lessening the further I walked. Where was April leading me? Had she figured out what the pull was? Could it be what I’d secretly hoped it was. But then, why would it be leading me to…the basement?

I came to a standstill when April fluttered to a stop before the basement door. I stared at her with wide eyes. “The basement? You want me to go into the fucking basement at four in the morning?” I demanded as I glanced at my watch.

April ruffled her feathers and gave me a look that I was sure did not mean, ‘You’re a fucking fire-mage. Don’t be such a wuss.”

Groaning, I opened the basement door and sent in a few fireballs before me to light up the way. If I had been more awake—or less wary—I wouldn’t be using my magic so casually. April didn’t hesitate in flying down the stairs though and I sighed before following her, if only to make sure my semlee was safe.

The basement was awfully anti-climactic when I finally reached the base and looked around. There were a few boxes of what looked like utter crap in one corner, while the rest of the dark room was empty. I’d expected the floor to be concrete or paved with stone like the porch was, but instead it was covered in soft soil. I watched as April flew down to the center of the floor and tapped at the ground with her beak. As I stared at her, I realized the pain from before was almost gone, but I could still feel the tug I’d felt the past few weeks, only it was much stronger now.

“Is there something below the ground, April?” I asked cautiously as I knelt before my semlee. She may look like a common eagle-owl with her huge wings and ear tufts, but she had her own magic, just like I did. Her magic was in tune with mine and we could always lend or borrow energy from each other. She gave me a chirp that I took as a yes before tapping at the ground again.

“Is it something that could hurt us?”

April made a tutting sound and I chuckled. “Alright then. Let’s see if I can sense whatever it is you want me to dig out at four in the morning. But I swear to god, if it’s some rodent or something that you want to eat, I’m locking you out of the house for the next twenty-four hours.” We both knew it was an empty threat since neither could live without the other for that long, but I still sensed her agreement through our bond.

I placed my palm flat on the ground and sent my magic on a quest to look for whatever it was that had woken me up, using yet another spell I’d learned. I knew whatever was down there was what had been holding me to this town, and I was equal parts eager and nervous about finally uncovering what it was. It was unlikely it was what I’d hoped for. It couldn’t be my semnyar because that would mean they were…I shook off the thought. My semnyar couldn’t be dead too. They couldn’t. This had to be something else.

My magic came across something that felt familiar and new all at the same time. I frowned and tried to figure out what it was but other than that strange feeling, I felt nothing. I pulled my magic back and gave April an exasperated look. “This was not how I planned on celebrating our first day in our new home.”

Sighing, I got to my feet and made my way to the corner with the crap, hoping there would be something I could use to dig through the soil. I cheered a bit too loudly when I spotted a shovel way at the bottom of the box. I dug through the box and grabbed the handle before pulling it out. Turning around, I narrowed my eyes at the place April was still sitting on, as if she could dig through it using her beak.

“Come on, gal. Move.”

I was grateful the soil was so soft and loose as I slammed the shovel into the ground and started digging. I dug through the soil, one shove after another until the shovel hit something solid. I touched whatever I’d struck and realized it was wooden and most of it was still buried under. So, I continued digging until I’d uncovered the whole thing. It was only when I’d stopped digging and actually taken a minute to breathe and looked at the thing that I realized it was a coffin. A very old coffin in a very, very bad condition. No. It couldn’t be. I wouldn’t feel the pull if my semnyar was already dead, right? It had to be something else. It had to.

I gasped as I fell to my knees before the coffin and ran my dust covered hands over the rotting wood. I’d seen enough bodies and burials to know that this coffin was from a long time ago. People didn’t waste wood like this on the dead anymore.

I should probably call someone, right? An inspector, some kind of officer. Or Jai and Raphael, at the very least. But that tug in my chest, it was still there. And it was pulling me towards it, towards this coffin. I was sure of it. But the thing that made my decision for me was April coming to rest between me and the coffin and pecking at it with her beak, as if telling me to open it. Why did I always do everything she asked me to?

I took a deep breath and followed my instinct. Or April’s instinct, to be fair. I stood up and grabbing the lid of the coffin, I pulled it upwards, the rotten wood still heavy in my hands and threw it against the ground. My gasp was loud in the empty basement as my eyes fell on the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen. His eyes were closed, his face a picture of restfulness with long, dark lashes resting against pale cheeks. Long black hair framed his angular face and his hands were folded on top of his chest. His clothes had deteriorated with time, and I could see that the man was well-built and strong, though he was a lot smaller than me.

I could also see that the man wasn’t human. He wasn’t dead, either.

The gorgeous man lying in the coffin was a vampire. A very flammable vampire who was very much stuck in what I assumed was the eternal sleep.

He was also my semnyar. Well, fuck.