Prologue

In 1954 an offshoot of the Gemini Coven settled in the Bywater borough of New Orleans. Many among them were considered abominations by their coven and families, siphoners only able to use magic after absorbing it from another source. As they grew, establishing themselves as one of the prominent covens of New Orleans, not all members were siphoners any longer, but elders- interim leaders of the coven were always chosen from those born as siphoners.

And for almost 50 years the coven waited, blending in with all aspects of New Orleans society, biding their time until they could establish their power fully and oust the vampire ruler that had taken hold of the city.

Their hope was renewed in the early 1990s. A pair of twins born under the sign Gemini. Jonathan and Genevra. Both were shown to be siphoners from the start, weakening their mother, Elaine, to the point of her death during the birthing process. Their father, Aaron, knowing the fate that awaited his children, attempted to steal them away before the elders could come. It was never said what happened to him, but no one ever saw him in New Orleans again.

Elaine's parents, two of the elders, took on the task of raising the twins. Perhaps it was better this way. They would train for their destiny from the start and could be of use in stabilizing the city before that.

Chapter 1

The young redhead leaned against the bar of Rousseau's, a hot spot in the middle of the French Quarter. It was a common sight to see some of the top vampires in New Orleans come in, not that most of the staff knew what they were. The bright, blonde bartender beside her, Cami, was none the wiser about those who frequented the place, but Genevra knew exactly who was who. That was why she was allowed to get a job there, after all. She could be the eyes and ears of her coven in the heart of vampire territory and none would be any the wiser as long as she held her tongue.

This was the very reason she was able to be there when a clean cut vampire sporting a suit that had to have cost more than she made in a month sat at the bar. Gen moved to step behind the bar.

"Cami, why don't you go ahead and take your break before I clock out," she offered. "I'll cover the bar."

Cami nodded, offering a warm smile. "All right. Stay out of trouble," she replied. "I'll be back in twenty," she added before disappearing into the kitchen.

Gen stepped behind the bar and leaned forward a little, taking in this clean cut vampire.

"What can I get ya?" she asked.

"Martini, dry," he replied. His accent was as crisp and clean-cut as his appearance.

Gen smiled and began to work, adding the gin and vermouth to the ice in the shaker with a hint of orange bitters, shaking it properly and prepping the chilled glass with an olive before pouring, feeling his dark eyes watching her every move until she placed the glass in front of him.

"So what brings you to the Quarter?" she asked curiously, busying herself wiping down the prep space.

"Actually, I used to live here," he replied with a smile.

"Really? When was that?"

"Oh, it feels like a hundred years ago."

"I've lived here my whole life. So what brought you back?" she asked curiously, busying herself pouring a drink for a regular at the end of the bar.

"Well my brother's here somewhere and I'm afraid he's gotten himself into a bit of a bind," he replied, focusing more on his drink than the redhead before him.

"You say that like it's a common occurrence," she replied looking down at the bar, wiping a spill nearby as her mind half focused on their conversation and half working on putting the information together. From what she remembered being taught, this was one of the Original vampires. If he was right, two of them were in town. It wouldn't be long before all of them were.

"Well… He's complicated," he replied with a charming smile. "Defiant, ill mannered… and temperamental. He's prone to getting himself into trouble."

Gen smiled, amusement sparkling in her eyes. "And I'm guessing you're prone to getting him out of it?" she asked and when she looked up to see him staring curiously she shrugged. "I have a brother myself. He's usually the one getting me out of trouble. So what sort of bind is your brother in?"

"He believes people in this town are conspiring against him," he replied.

Gen leaned in curiously. "What sort of people conspire against a single person like that?" she asked. "I mean who does that?"

He paused, eyeing the tag on her shirt. "Listen… Genevra… I'm looking for someone who might be able to shed some light on my brother's little issue. She works here. Jane-Anne Deveraux. Do you know where I might find her?"

"No, Jane-Anne took some time off a few days ago," she replied. "She hangs around the Cauldron along with her sister, Sophie and Sabine Laurent," she added. "Sabine's usually out giving tours of the Quarter at this hour. You might catch her near the Voodoo shop a few blocks down the road."

He was quick to finish his drink and nodded. "Thank you," he replied, leaving a pile of bills on the bar as he left without another word.

Gen split the money, putting what was owed for the drink in the till and half of the tip into Cami's tip jar, pocketing the other half with her own tips. She said goodnight to Cami and stepped out the back door of the bar, looking over to see her fraternal twin, Jon, waiting for her in the alley.

"Marie bribe you into spying on me again, Jon?" she asked as she started walking toward Bywater.

"That was one time and we were ten," he shot back with a quirky smile.

"Spill. What do you want to talk about?" she asked.

"Can't I just want to walk my favorite twin home after work?" he asked.

"I'm your only twin… And you only come to walk me home when you want to talk without someone eavesdropping, so what's going on?" she asked.

"Okay okay look I'm a little worried," he said. "Gran and Grandpa have been being extra secretive lately."

"I've noticed them holed up in their study when I come home from a closing shift," she agreed. "When they aren't drowning you in spell books and dragging you all over the city."

"I'd trade with you in a heartbeat," he replied. "I can only stand visiting with that stuck up old witch of a Regent so much, but Grandpa says it's important for me to develop trust with the other covens…"

"So that's where you've been? Off groveling to a grumpy old witch?" she asked, shaking her head. Why was it always just him being taken to do things like this?

"Yeah… I wish I had the freedoms you had, but Grandpa said that the future coven Patriarch has to put duty first and stuff. Hasn't Gran done anything like that with you?"

Gen couldn't stop the laugh that burst from her. "No! Marie hardly acknowledges me unless she's telling me to keep my mouth shut and do my chores! She doesn't give me special spell books. Most of what I know is what you let me learn from your notes and what I've snuck in to read."

Jon shook his head at her. There was no way it was that different between the two of them. They were supposed to lead together one day weren't they?

"Look… That's not what I wanted to talk about right now," he said, trying to move forward. "Look I know Marie's got something hidden in the study. That ugly old fern is an illusion spell. And since I'm going out to the bayou with Grandpa tomorrow… I thought…"

"You thought I could sneak in, siphon the illusion, and find out what they're hiding?" she asked with a sigh.

"Come on! It's the perfect time to do it. Gran will be busy at the shop, Grandpa will be with me! You can be in and out before they even know what's going on."

"Fine, but you owe me big," she relented.

"I'll do your laundry and the dishes for two weeks," he promised.

"Make it a month."

"Done."


The white, two story house on Royal Street was a status symbol in Bywater, always occupied by the leaders of the local coven. Some of the lesser elders would stay there on occasion in preparation for important events, but typically it was only Gen, Jon, and their grandparents there. As Marie stepped out the front door, the house was left empty, save for Gen.

She was silent as she moved down the stairs and stopped at the door of the study, pressing her hand to the door and took a deep breath, focusing on the locking spell that barred her way until she felt the familiar rush of energy and the door swung open.

"Okay Gen let's do this… Ugly old fern... " she murmured to herself as she scanned the room until her eyes fell on a potted fern that despite looking half-wilted her whole life had never changed.

Kneeling beside the plant, she held out her hand, feeling where the illusion began and her hand took on a warm red glow as she siphoned away the illusion, revealing a small lock-box sitting in an empty planter. She picked it up and closed her eyes again, using the siphoned magic to reestablish the illusion.

"Phantamogriphia Decorum," she murmured, repeating the incantation until the old, half-dead fern appeared once more in the pot.

She opened her eyes, verifying the illusion was back in place and made her way out of the study and up the stairs to her own room, locking the door behind her and turning her focus to the lock-box in her hands, closing her eyes and beginning to siphon away the magical locks keeping it closed tight. Her concentration was disrupted by the ringing of her cell phone and she quickly answered, putting it on speaker while she went back to siphoning.

"Tell me you found what they were hiding," Jon whispered through the phone.

"I found a lock-box with about ten layers of spells keeping it locked. Working on getting rid of them, but it'll take some time. I'll text you if I find anything of note," she replied. "Now quit calling. Gregory will get suspicious if you're constantly calling me like this."


The swamps beyond the city had an unsettling energy to them. Jon seemed to feel sets of eyes on him with every step he took following his grandfather deeper and deeper into the wilderness. They had left the trail behind long ago and they were sticking to the dryer parts of the land, seeming to wander aimlessly, but the look on his grandfather's face told him he knew exactly where they were going.

"Are you going to tell me what we came all the way out here for?" Jon asked.

"We're here to take care of a traitor that's been eluding our coven for some time," he said. "But we finally found him. Thanks to you."

"Thanks to me?"

"The locator spell your grandmother and I had you practicing the other day. This is what it was for," he said. "I had a feeling he'd only let himself be found by you or your sister."

"Then why isn't Gen helping with all this?" Jon asked. "She's supposed to help lead too, but she's never taught any of this stuff."

"She'll learn what she needs to learn when the time is right," he replied. "You've proven you have the maturity to handle these duties. Now enough questions. It's time to focus on the task at hand."

The pair walked in silence for the moment and Jon found some carvings in the trunks of some trees to be curious. They looked like runes of some kind and Aaron could feel their power as he passed between them.

"So who is this traitor any…" he trailed off, realizing he had passed his grandfather and left him behind. "Grandpa?" he called out, but it was quiet.

He couldn't see anything but an old house that stood not far off along a makeshift trail. Sighing, Jon continued forward to his task. Whomever this traitor was, they clearly only wanted him to come to them. He closed the distance to the little house, siphoning the locking spell on the door before stepping inside, stopping in his tracks as he found himself staring at a man who sat as a mature reflection Jon. His dark hair was streaked with the greys of too early aging and his face seemed tired even as a smile warmed his features.

"Jonathan," the man said, looking up from the book in his hands. "I had hoped you would come find me one day."