A L M I R A

Chapter 23
Almira Davenport

"I think I know where to go."

"You do?" Brooks and Dallas questioned simultaneously.  

"Yeah, I remember from when I tagged along with Calix for a town spy meeting. Follow me," I lead the boys through the crowd and made my way to the little space where merchants gathered.

I walked around looking at what they had to offer. It would definitely be easier if they had to stands to claim. Maybe I could do that while Calix is gone and surprise him?

I took a mental note to do that and soon spotted containers. "I found them. Who has the money?" I asked, turning to the boys.

"Brooks does," Dallas answered, his attention turning to Brooks. "You do have it, right?"

"Of course I have it. I may be forgetful but I couldn't forget it if it's an order from M'lady," Brooks responded.

"Almira," I cut in, smiling sheepishly.

"Right, still getting used to first name basis," Brooks chortled, returning the smile.

"That's okay, but we keep getting off topic. Let's get the money, get those containers, and get back to the castle before something happens," I reminded.

Brooks handed me the money and I walked over to the merchants.

"Hello! What can I do to help a lovely lad such as yourself?" The man greeted, his lips curling into a smile.

"I was wondering if you had any empty blood containers?" I inquired, smiling nervously. I rubbed my arm, looking at him for an answer.

"Indeed I do. Are you seeking to buy them?" He wondered, pulling out a couple containers.

"I am, actually. I want all of the empty ones you have," I replied, pulling the bag of coins out. "I'm willing to pay a pretty coin for it."

"Well for you, and your beauty, consider it half the price," The merchant countered, pulling out a couple bags of containers. "They were just recently cleaned too."

I took the bags and handed two bags to both Brooks and Dallas before carrying the other two. I gave the man his money and smiled. "Pleasure doing business with you."

"Likewise."

We walked off and I sighed, pulling the hood from my cloak up. "That was stressful."

"Why? He gave it to you, and for half the price we thought it was going to be!" Brooks exclaimed, looking at me with a puzzled expression.

"Mind your voice, Brooks," Dallas scolded.

Brooks mumbled an apology and Dallas shook his head.

"It's okay. But it was stressful because the merchant kept making advances towards me. It was uncomfortable to say the least," I responded, shaking my head. "Let's just get back."

~-~

"Dallas!!" I hollered, opening the spell book. I had the dagger from the corset earlier beside me and a bowl.

"Yes, Almira?" Dallas responded, peeping his head through the doorway.

"Come here please!"

Dallas came into the room and sat down beside me. "What's the problem?"

"Can I slightly cut you to try the spell?" I asked, smiling sheepishly. "I'd cut myself but my blood is thin and also can't go to waste. No offense."

Dallas took off his holster and jacket and slid up his sleeve. "Go ahead."

I thanked him and carefully slid the dagger across his arm. The blood rose from the skin and I quickly mumbled the spell before wiping his blood away. His arm looked like I never cut it. "It worked," I breathed, smiling thankfully.

"You did good," He complimented me, sliding his sleep down and putting his uniform back on. "Now you can safely say you can heal yourself."

"I can, can't I?" I grinned, thinking that plan would actually work. I kept having my doubts but now I'm sure that it'll pull through.

Dallas nodded and stood up, turning to walk out. "Oh, and thank you. None of Calix's previous mates have done anything close to this."

Dallas walked out and went back to his post. I sat there, his words running through my head. None of his other males did this for him? Then again, none of his mates had a war started over them, at least I don't think.

I looked at the dagger and the bags of containers. I grabbed a container and took the lid off, before picking up the dagger. I slid up my dress and looked at my thigh.

It's for Calix, I thought.

I quickly cut my skin open and let the blood seep into the container. I grabbed another one and bit my lip, the pain setting in. I set the filled container on the desk and held the second one close to the wound.

Once the second container was filled, I quickly mumbled the spell and sat in the chair, relief washing through me. I wiped the excess blood away from my thigh and put the lid on the two containers.

If I did this twice a week, would that be enough? How much does Calix even drink? That doesn't matter. What matters is I was successful.

~-~

"Brooks!!" I yelled, turning around and grabbing the containers.

He walked into the room, putting his hand out. "I'll take them. Are you ready to go?"

I grabbed my bag and a couple ingredients for a spell before making my way out the door. "Yeah, we can drop those containers off and then head to town."

We dropped the blood containers off in the room where he stored them and made our way out of the castle. "Any updates on the war?"

"Aren't you apart of the meetings now?" Dallas asked, casually strolling beside me.

"Yes, but we can't have them unless Calix is present. I've still not been introduced as a new member, in a sense. I figured Calix would update you guys since you're stuck with me constantly," I explained, looking around the town.

"I've not heard anything, lately, m'l— Almira," Brooks coughed. He's been getting better at calling me by my first name instead of the little title.

"I see," I mumbled.

I looked at the open space where the merchants usually are. "You got the people to come with the stuff, right?" I asked Dallas, glancing at him.

"Yeah, they'll be here any minute," He responded.

I set down the lantern, looking up at the night sky. Most people had gone to bed by now, which made it easier for us to surprise them. I couldn't wait to show Calix. His reaction is the only thing I'm worried about. What if he doesn't like it or didn't plan on doing it?

The men with the supplies to build the stands came walking towards us, some carrying bags, some carrying wood, others carrying stones. Brooks and Dallas went to talk to them before they started to working.

"Now, the second part. While they build, can I borrow you two guys for something?" I questioned. They nodded and I led them to a quiet area with a puddle. I dropped the oils and ingredients in the puddle, stirring it with a stick. "Give me your hands."

Brooks and Dallas gave me their hands and I channeled their energy. I closed my eyes, looking through the scene the spell was giving me.

The picture was a bit blurry, but I could make out a table, a bunch of people sitting at the tables, and Calix. Calix seemed to be tense, he wasn't angry, but he had his guard up. The other people around seemed intimidated but nonetheless, everything was going smoothly.

The picture moved to a whole new scenery and group of people. I recognized it as the library from Wryler's. He had weapons of all sorts laying on the table in front of him, a trio of witches standing in front of him. They were talking about the weapons, so they must be made with a spell.

Another image flashed in my mind and it was one of Alastor, but his surrounding seemed familiar. I recognized the background of his as my room. He was in the castle. Oh my Goddess.

I let go of their hands and quickly flipped through the spell book, ripping off the necklace I had around my neck. It was Calix's, I found it on the nightstand. He has left it in case I needed to communicate with him. Thank goodness he thought about the bad stuff too.

I threw it in the puddle and quickly muttered the spell before Calix and I appeared in a black void.

"Almira? What's the meaning of this?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"Alastor's here. I was doing a visionary spell and checking in on stuff, you at your meeting, Wryler in his castle, which is another topic, and then Alastor. He's in my room," I gushed, playing with the lace on my dress.

"Are you in the castle?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"No, Brooks, Dallas, and I went to town to get a breather and I found a puddle to do spells with. But there's something I need to talk to you about," I frowned. "The vision I saw with Wryler. He had a trio of witches telling him about a bunch of weapons that were laying on the table in his library. I think they enchanted them to kill certain things."

"Like hybrids and vampires," He growled. I had almost forgotten he was a lycan too.

"Look, don't rush or anything. I'll pull a couple spells and increase the guards at the entries. Whenever you get back, we can always talking about it in the meetings," I reasoned. "Focus on the alliances for now, we'll worry about Alastor later."

Calix pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Sometimes you sound like my mother, and I don't like it."

I smiled. "Just trust me, okay? You can be paranoid when you get back, but for now, don't worry about anything. I'll take care of it."

"Fine. But if anybody or even you, gets hurt, that's all on you, Almira," He warned.

I nodded. "I know."

The connection ended and I gasped, taking the necklace back. "We have to go to the castle, now. They can finish building it without us here, they have a blueprint."

"Okay, but is everything okay?" Brooks asked, helping me up. I grabbed my back and we rushed back to the castle.

"I had a vision that Alastor was in the castle in my room. I'm going to check, and then do a couple spells to keep him out," I informed, pushing open the doors to the castle. "We have to be quiet, almost everyone is asleep by now."

"Right," Dallas agreed, drawing his sword.

I ran to my room and slowly opened the door. I peered inside, Alastor not to be found. I let out a breath of relief and pushed the door open completely, walking inside. I observed the room, making sure everything was in place.

I checked the other side of the bed and gasped. A girl laid in the floor, bloodied and bruised. We shared similar features such as our skin tone, face shape, hair, eyes, height, things like that. I bent down to look at her and moved her hair out of the way before realizing who it was.

"Lauren?" My voice cracked.

~-~•~-~