by Petra Landon
“I can put Evgeny and Joaquim back on detail with you” Duncan offered. “Give them a day’s notice before you venture out of the Lair and make sure to take them with you if Hawk is not available.”
“Thank you, Duncan” she accepted his offer gratefully. Poor Evgeny and Joaquim, Tasia mused compassionately. They were going to be pressed back into their old role as her babysitters.
She shot a glance at the Alpha who had remained silent at Duncan’s offer.
“There’s a favor I’d like to ask of you, Alpha” she said calmly.
The tawny brows arched up in inquiry though he remained silent.
“Is there any way you could stop Jason from digging into my father’s past? I’m worried about opening that can of worms.”
“I’ve given it some thought” Raoul acknowledged. “And I believe allowing LaRue to dig around, especially when it comes to your father’s alliance and work with the leeches, might actually be to our advantage.”
“You think that asking Jason to stop now would raise his suspicions?” the query was made hesitatingly. Had she left it too late to tell the Alpha about her father, Tasia wondered in dismay.
“No, that I can handle” Raoul said easily. “It’s not that. I’ve always believed that forewarned is forearmed. You don’t seem to know much about that part of your father’s life. It might have some bearing on our current investigation – it is certainly too much of a coincidence that two Guardians five years apart defected to ally with the same leech family. LaRue is our best bet on this – he can get answers from the Guardians and he’s willing. I also trust him to bring anything he digs up to us first. Sooner or later, the details of the leeches’ involvement with Lady Bethesda will come tumbling out, along with revelations about your father’s relationship with them. The more we know about what we’re dealing with now, the better we can counteract it then.”
Nagalok, Himachal Pradesh, India
The large room lay bathed in shadows. A few candles burnt brightly to provide the only light in the vast room. This was tradition. Their king lay on his death bed while his Kabila prayed silently outside. Two sentries stood guard outside his door while his family kept silent vigil in the room. A man and a woman, both in their early twenties, sat solemnly on the couch at the foot of the bed while an older woman, her sari covering her head in a sign of respect watched over the man in the bed. He was a big man, yet the large, oversized and intricately hand-carved wood bed he lay in managed to dwarf him. Generations of kings had been born on this very bed and a few had been lucky enough to die in it.
The man moved restlessly in the bed and the old woman murmured softly to him. No doctor had been summoned once the king had decreed that it was his time to pass on. Such was the force of his personality that no one had questioned his authority. The man at the foot of the bed had attempted to argue with him but had eventually come away defeated. He now watched over his father, holding his tiredness at bay by sheer force of will. The woman by his side, dozed wearily on his shoulder, held up by his arm around her. She had been summoned hastily, making a mad dash here from Shimla on hearing the news.
The man in the bed moved restlessly again to mutter something unintelligible. The old woman leaned over him in an attempt to hear him. His eyes opened abruptly, stark and clear as he called for his children. The old woman gestured to the man at the foot of the bed.
“He’s asking for you” she said softly.
The woman beside him blinked awake at her soft words. She joined her brother to make their way to their father’s side.
“Lied to you” he said clearly, his eyes on the son and daughter who had filled him with so much joy, the only reminder of a beloved wife who had walked away from him without a backward glance.
“You must not worry, Papa” Nandini said softly, attempting to reassure her father.
“No, need to make amends” he insisted in a strong voice. “I lied about your Ma. She’s not dead. She left us and went away.”
“But … how?” Nandini sputtered, taken aback by his words. He never talked about their mother but everyone else in their Kabila still told them stories of their American mother. A woman who had come here looking to find herself, fallen in love with their Papa and then died in tragic circumstances when they were little more than babies.
“Raja Saheb is right” the old woman murmured softly. “Listen to him, Nandini.”
She had been their Ayah, a mix of mother, caregiver and governess all rolled into one. She was the closest thing to a mother they had and the only family they’d be left with once their father was gone.
“Mahen” the man called out again, less strongly than before.
“I’m here” Mahen reassured his father.
“Find her once I’m gone. Promise me!” the voice had dimmed noticeably.
Mahen nodded after a quick glance at Sita Amma.
“Lead the Kabila well, my son. And send Nandini to look for her. Promise me, my children.”
“I promise” Mahen responded as his sister put her palm over their father’s hand in a comforting clasp.
He grasped her hand tightly. “Find her, Nandini. And warn her that there’s danger headed her way.”
The elegantly dressed lady looked up as the man walked into the room.
“You have news for me, Rafaelo?” she asked.
“Not very good news, I’m afraid, My Lady” he said apologetically.
“How bad is it?” she asked, not noticeably concerned by his statement.
“Sienna McAlister has left Chicago in company with the Shifters she was travelling with.”
“Aah. No matter. Let me know when she’s back in San Diego. We will make the attempt then.”
Bianchi nodded, his keen eyes searching her face for any sign of her disappointment with him. He had served her faithfully at the Master’s command. And he intended to stay in her good books for the prize she had promised him would help him to realize his own ambitions.
“This Shifter Alpha who protects Sienna” she paused.
“Raoul Merceau” he supplied helpfully. “He’s the Alpha Protector of the Northern California Pack.”
“Merceau” she murmured thoughtfully. “I’ve heard of him. Formidable and rather young for an Alpha Protector. The same one involved in that wrangle at the Registry with a Guardian.”
“Yes. The San Francisco Registry” he confirmed.
“Hmm. That was over a wizard too if I recollect correctly. Some low level wizard that he considers Pack.”
“The strange thing is that his aversion to wizards is well known” he offered up the information. The Lady was usually well informed on Chosen matters but she had been missing for a few years in pursuit of her ambitions.
Her blue eyes snapped to his, an arrested expression in them.
“Yet he works with wizards at Faoladh’s command. It might be worth our while to test how far he will go for Faoladh. Find out why he dislikes wizards so much, Rafaelo” she commanded.
“I will, My Lady. He’s no brawny fool, that one” he added. “He held a very complicated and fractious coalition together for Sienna against my Pure Bloods that night. I’m still not quite sure how he managed it.”
The Lady flashed him a tight smile that did not quite reach her eyes.
“I would never mistake him for a fool, Rafaelo. He thrashed an experienced Guardian at the Registry, if rumors are to be believed. That means he’s a smart and very dangerous enemy. But at the end of the day, he’s still a Shifter. It should be fairly easy to neutralize him should we need to.”
“He has wizard blood from his mother. Although they say that he rejects her magic in his veins.”
“His mother was a wizard” her eyebrow arched up in surprise. Inter-marriages between Chosen were rare, even now. Decades ago, they had been rarer still. There was sure to be an interesting story behind this Shifter Alpha.
“Find out what you can about his mother’s family” she directed.
Rafaelo gazed at the lady in admiration. He
admired her for her resolve and her determination. And above all, for her unabashed ambition. When he had first been acquainted with her before her meticulously planned escape from the Chicago Registry, she’d been a wizard with enormous power and powerful ambitions. He’d watched quietly from the sidelines as she had single-mindedly pursued her course – even sacrificed her magic, allowing herself to be made vulnerable in the steadfast pursuit of her zeal. Now, twenty-five years later, she stood at the cusp of fulfilling everything she’d worked so long and hard for. Calm and steady, never intemperate in her reactions, she was an enigma to him.
“What of the other matter?” she inquired.
“It has been taken care of” he assured her. “The old man lies on his death bed. My men will inform me when he’s gone.”
“Good. Keep me informed. I leave for Venice in the morning.”
“Yes, My Lady” he said dutifully. Venice, he speculated silently. She was off to meet with the Master. Something must have come up for both she and the Master had been careful to keep their association a secret all these years.
The light from the night lamp cast its shadow on the walls while Tasia lay asleep in her room at the Lair. The frequent nightmares had made the night lamp a must. Tonight, she had fallen into bed early, exhausted after last night. For once, the nightmares left her alone. Instead she dreamt of the car ride back to the airport after their visit to The Vault in New York City.
“The Stone of Mortality” Duncan exclaimed in astonishment. “Are you sure, Miss Armstrong?”
“What kind of power does this Stone possess?” Hawk inquired curiously.
“The power to leach magic off any Magick who comes in contact with it” Raoul responded. “On prolonged contact, it even possesses the ability to drain all power from a Chosen. Its name is particularly apt - a Chosen without any magic is as good as dead.”
Suddenly she was back at the Lair in San Francisco discussing Lady Bethesda in the Pack Room.
The Alpha pondered the puzzle. “The question then arises - why did Lady Bethesda want to get rid of every last drop of her magic!”
“The very magic that made her a Chosen and a powerful one at that” Hawk interjected.
There was a short silence before Tasia spoke up softly.
“To hide” her words were cryptic. “Sometimes it is easier to be Si’ffa. A Chosen whose magic is shackled is one without an identity. A Si’ffa’s lot is much better.”
“The more powerful the magic that flows in your veins, the harder it is to hide from other Chosen” she expanded. “It is much easier to hide in the general population of humans if you are like them and have no magic. We Chosen use our magic in small ways every day without even being aware of it – over time, it becomes a part of us. Not the big powerful magic that draws attention but the small everyday magic that is integrated into our concept of self. This also makes it easier to track a Magick down if you know the kind of magic he or she is capable of. Perhaps Lady Bethesda intended to hide from the Chosen and this was the only way she knew how to accomplish it.”
“It is a plausible explanation, Raoul” Duncan spoke up. “She saves her magic for a future when she’s ready to come out of hiding. Then she uses the Stone to deplete all her remaining power and goes to ground.”
The scene shifted again and Tasia stirred uneasily in her sleep. She was on the Pack plane heading back to San Francisco from Chicago and Hawk was being baited by Elisabetta.
“Hawk’s grandfather was more than happy to have Stefano as a son-in-law” Luis remarked quietly.
“It’s what came after that he disagreed with strongly” Hawk agreed soberly with a lightning glance at the other Shifter.
“That he was proven right in the end just added to his anguish” Duncan spoke up, his words cryptic for those who were not aware of the old history.
“Chosen women with power and their mates have always had to make that choice, Hawk” Duncan’s wise words fell softly into the silence. “It doesn’t make it any easier for those that love them. Ask Raoul.”
Hawk’s surprised gaze cut to the Alpha who stood impassively beside Duncan.
“My mother did not survive my birth” he acknowledged briefly.
Now she was back in the Pack Room after Chicago and the Alpha was briefing them on the latest from the team tracking Lady Bethesda’s whereabouts. Sienna had not been invited to this meeting for a reason. Jason would eventually sign up to deliver a sensitive bit of news to her.
“Faoladh’s team has been able to trace her whereabouts from New Delhi to a small village in northern India at the foothills of the Himalayas” the Alpha informed them. “Lady Bethesda went by the name of Matilda Redmayne there – that was the name on the passport she used to travel to India. There’s evidence of a marriage six months after she made her way to a village called Nagalok. As far as we can tell, the wedding was to a local tribal chieftain of some influence.”
“Marriage” Jason gasped aloud, flabbergasted by the news.
“Apparently so. Many foreign tourists in India head to Dharamshala where the Dalai Lama lives in exile. She joined a group to Dharamshala but once there, made separate arrangements to head to this remote village. They tell me that it is not an easy journey for anyone to make, least of all a stranger who has just landed in the country.”
“She knew what she was doing” Jason remarked perceptively. “This too had been planned like every step she took in Chicago.”
“Plausibly” Raoul did not disagree. “Six months after she made her way there, she caught the eye of the local chieftain. There are rumors of children though that has not yet been confirmed. It’s a remote part of India and hard for anyone to make discreet inquiries, if you catch my drift.”
Tasia stirred anew in her sleep, her sub-conscious mind restless to piece together the puzzle that it knew lay within its grasp. The last remaining piece of the jigsaw continued to elude her.
Suddenly she was back on the flight to Chicago. They were being briefed by the Alpha and Jason on their upcoming mission to Chicago. Sienna sat silent and still beside her and Tasia felt a wave of silent compassion for the other wizard.
“A wizard, famed as a seer and known as the Oracle, made a prediction the night that the wizards met to hash out who would be their first ever First Wizard” the Alpha set out to provide a brief and succinct explanation to the room. “The wizards refer to this particular prediction of his as The Prophecy. The Oracle had made many successful predictions in the past. One of his most notable prophecies had been a decade earlier about the formation of the CoC. He had foretold of a Chosen body, with one representative each to speak for the four major Chosen factions, that would help usher in a new era of inter-Chosen co-operation. His foresight on this had garnered him respect and followers once the CoC looked likely. The wizards believe that his last prophecy will eventually come to fruition too, although no one knows when. The Oracle was also a Guardian and Lady Bethesda’s husband.”
There was a short silence in the room while they pondered this news.
“What did this prophecy predict?” Elisabetta inquired curiously.
“That three powerful Chosen sisters, born of different fathers, would one day come together to facilitate great change in our world.”
“That doesn’t sound too nefarious” she remarked. “There’s nothing there to cause Lady Bethesda to suddenly walk away from home and hearth.”
“I don’t think anyone associated this particular prophecy with her leaving home. Not then. Months later when the allegations about her started piling up at Wizard Headquarters, only then did the wizards suspect that her actions might have something to do with The Prophecy. She was accused of killing Chosen children” the Alpha said quietly, his words falling into the silence of the room like the pinpricks of a knife.
A collective gasp speared the room. Chosen had a tough time procreating and every Chosen child was regarded as a miracle by the entire community. An accusation of killing one was a crime that no Chose
n, irrespective of his alliances and beliefs, would condone.
“When the wizards eventually investigated the allegations, they found that in almost all the cases, the victims were girls with female siblings born to another father.”
“You mean children that met the criterion of her husband’s vision?” Elisabetta whispered, aghast at this cold-blooded killing of children as the means to an end.
“Yes” Raoul confirmed baldly.
“She was trying to ensure that The Prophecy would never come true” Luis remarked.
“I believe that is what the wizards concluded.”
“Why?” Hawk asked bluntly.
“No one knows” this time, it was the Guardian who responded. “Perhaps she was mad at her husband or it was something else entirely that we don’t know about. Some wizards even believe that The Prophecy has nothing to do with it – that it is a red herring. The truth is that we don’t quite understand what drove her, even after all these years. The coincidence of the allegations against her with the Oracle’s last prophecy was a little hard for the wizards to ignore, so we’ve never completely discarded the theory of it being somehow related to her actions.”
Tasia shot up in the bed, the blurry edges from her dream suddenly clear. It all made sense – the pieces of the puzzle finally fit together. The grogginess of slumber was banished by the excitement of her discovery. She glanced at the clock by her bedside, a sense of urgency spurring her on. Not that late, thank God! If she hurried, she might catch the Alpha or Duncan. Tasia changed hurriedly into a pair of jeans and a tee before rushing out. The door to the Pack Room stood open, the room bustling with Shifters. That open door signified that it wasn’t Pack business that had the Shifters congregated here tonight. Small groups of Shifters conversed in clusters. This was another aspect of the Lair that she was starting to note. When not in use, the Pack Room was used as a venue for social interaction by the Pack. Tasia hesitated by the doorway, casting an uncertain glance around the crowded room. She observed Sienna and Jason, engaged in a corner in quiet conversation.