Chapter 2
Cornelius looked down at the map he’d started to work on, the sound of footsteps a sign he was to be interrupted once more. At least it was Leonora. She’d be an easier problem to deal with, unless she was there on Anne’s behalf, and then… he sighed. Anne cared. It kept coming back to that. She wanted him to be safe.
“You aren’t going to change my mind.”
Leonora laughed. “I didn’t think for a moment I could, after what Anne said. You’re certain this is the only way you can help her. She thinks it’s going to lead to your death, so I’m here to try to protect you from that fate.”
“Do you care?”
“Not in the same way she does, Cornelius.”
Love was complicated, something Leonora knew from experience, and if things were different she may have chosen to see where things would go with Emory, but they weren’t. Her vows were to Samuel. Neither of them expected to fall in love, so they’d accepted the respect they had for each other as enough. Only Cornelius didn’t respect Natalie.
Cornelius turned to look at Leonora.
“You could have said no. It was the easier option.”
“Saying no meant things stayed the same for us. Even though I don’t believe you’re right about this it is a chance to change Glimmerbrook. For now it’s better than nothing.”
“Anne, on the other hand, thinks I’m going to die.”
It was easier, for a moment, not to look at Leonora. To work through the fact there was a chance she might be right. Finding the birthplace of magic might kill both of them, if Titus had been honest about the experience someone would have done there, and Julian believed he was. Although Titus lied a lot about most things the birthplace of magic was something else entirely.
Leonora didn’t break the silence, as Cornelius looked to the other side, the weight of his choice heavy on his shoulders. Anne would never be free if he didn’t try, or at least Julian didn’t believe she would be. Titus was waiting for Dante to use the soulmate bond for the last ritual, leaving the two siblings bound together, for Anne’s protection.
When Cornelius finally looked back at her he saw the understanding in Leonora’s eyes. “I’m here to help, Cornelius, no matter what I think might happen. This is something others have tried, and they have died.”
“Julian believes it’s due to Titus having warded the birthplace of magic.”
“Did he know where it was?”
“No, but there are a couple of logical possibilities.”
Leonora looked down at the floor. “Tell me about Julian. He’s family I never knew about until you chose to help him.”
“Julian and Titus were close, before the birthplace of magic was found, leading to their lives being transformed. So were Theodore and Thaddeus.”
“Phoebe mentioned her father a few times, although she didn’t seem to know much about what he might be capable of.”
“That’s not unusual for the time. I’ve been through the old Darkholme journals to find it was much the same. Nicholas mentioned both his father and grandfather, but that was it.”
“Julian, on the other hand, was never once mentioned, with you being the only person who knows anything about him… other than Titus.”
“Who’s unlike to tell you anything.” Cornelius studied Leonora. “I know, and I will help you with this.”
“Explain to me why he thought this was a good idea. Understanding might help.”
“Honestly, it’s not a good idea. This was the best chance we had with him gone, because someone needs the power to stop Titus, and the birthplace of magic is the only way of gaining it in the time we have.”
It seemed best to be honest, because it would help Leonora to see the position they were in, and the choice he’d had to make, with Julian gone.
“Cornelius…” Leonora sighed. “Julian was in love with Anne.”
“Yes, he has been for lifetimes. Thaddeus and Theodore believed they should connected their families. With Titus being adopted Anne was the only way to make that happen.”
“Has?”
“There’s still a chance he might be out there, Nora.” Cornelius took a step to the side. “I’d like you to hear his theory about where the birthplace of magic is, and tell me if you think there’s a chance he might be right, because if he is… well, it’s definitely a Titus thing to do.”
Leonora walked over to stand beside him at the desk, looking down at the map of Glimmerbrook for a second.
“No one’s been able to find it because it’s under the Lockwood house?” There was no doubting that was what the map was showing. “Explaining Anne’s strength from the beginning.”
“Along with Titus’s, but Julian also believed there was more to that, which all links back to the families as they were. Both the Lockwoods and the Blackthorns.”
“Blackthorns?”
“Titus was born a Blackthorn before he was taken in by the Lockwoods. From what Julian said there were twins, and there was a belief that one twin was going to be evil, so Titus was left in the woods to die. Only he was found by Thaddeus instead, who chose to take him in, naming him after his grandfather.”
“Anne was named after her grandmother.”
“Yes, and her mother’s grandmother.”
“So Titus potentially grew up living above the birthplace of magic, and Anne was born there.”
“It also explains why Thaddeus was such a strong Seer. From what Julian said other families who lived close to the Lockwoods also had similar unusual powers.”
“Like the Embers.”
“Yes, and those who lived further out didn’t have the same gifts.”
“With time, and the way the families couldn’t leave Glimmerbrook, it’s not exactly as it was, but then we also have the issue of the rituals.”
“Titus taking those with the most power to make certain Anne returned with her memories.”
“Only Anne?”
“Julian believes Titus would have kept his memories, due to what happened to him in the birthplace of magic. Being the first made him different. He shared some of that with Julian, before their relationship started to change.”
“Learning that would destroy Anne’s relationship with Titus. She’s upset enough as it is, with him choosing to curse us, and that… she’d leave with Dante, and that’s the last thing you want.”
“For more than one reason, Nora. It’s something Julian brought up. Dante’s strong, but he knows nothing about his power. He can’t protect Anne, and we don’t know how Titus might react if she were to make that choice, especially after what happened to Elias.”
Understanding filled Leonora’s eyes, and, slowly, she nodded. “I hate that you’re right. Titus would do whatever he had to in order to make certain he didn’t lose Anne, the way he always has before.”
“Elias was a moment of strong emotion getting the better of Titus. The bond… it is a necessary evil, at least now, and might not have been if Titus gave Julian a chance to experiment.”
“Julian may have been capable of things we aren’t now, but from what I’ve seen I think Thaddeus was right about the bond being the only way to protect Anne from her own strength.”
Cornelius shook his head. “We have no way of knowing now. Things are the way they are. For Anne to be safe the bond has to be transitioned to someone with the strength to balance her, which might have been Dante, had he been born in Glimmerbrook.”
“Only that could never happen. Dante’s soul was elsewhere, and things had to work out the way they did for it to find it’s way here. If Gabriel hadn’t left with Mateo…”
“Anne’s soulmate might never have known she existed. With him being related to both a Diaz and a Marlowe…”
“Wait, what?”
“Jacob‘s apparently out there somewhere too, having survived what happened when Titus trapped him in the past.”
“No, Cornelius, he didn’t just survive. For him to still be out there he’s immortal.”
“Yes, and has made the decision not to return to help Anne, or stop Titus.”
“Would you have?”
“I don’t know. What I do know is I’m here now, and I will do whatever needs to be done. That’s what we should focus on. Neither Dante or Jacob are options, Nora.”
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