by Kimbra Swain
I picked it up, handing it to him. He took a long draw off if it as he looked at the words that had planned his demise.
“They won't stop trying to find ways to stop us,” I said.
“Let them waste their time. They ain't stopping us,” he said.
I smiled because his determination warmed my heart. Levi had long left Texas behind as his home, but among the other changes in our lives, I knew he belonged here.
“I'm going to convince Nestor to talk to her,” I said.
“I'll take this to the vault. Pick me up on your way,” he said.
Nestor agreed to meet with Mable, but it was reluctantly.
“I don’t know that I can sway her,” he said. “Besides what do you want to know?”
“I want to know how she got the jar. What these ORCs have planned? Who is the third?” I said rattling off all the questions in my head about the red cloak gals. One thing I knew for sure. I couldn’t wait to turn each one of them to icy dust.
“I can try,” he said.
“I don’t mean to hurt you,” I said. He was riding in the back seat of the truck while Levi drove us to the holding cell.
“I know you don’t, but I love her. I was blinded, and I’m ashamed of that. All those years I spent disliking Dylan for being blinded by a fairy queen, here I was blinded by a witch,” he said. “I knew she had spied for your father, but I had no idea that she had turned on us.”
“I should have known when you showed us the talisman against the evil eye,” I said. “It was too convenient.”
“We even talked about it,” Levi said.
“Yep. And I was blinded too,” I said.
“We all were,” Levi added. It didn’t make Nestor feel any better. Something about sleeping with the enemy made it that much worse for him. Good thing he didn’t know who all I had slept with in my day. He had nothing to be ashamed of. Levi didn’t look at me, but he lifted an eyebrow.
Just the simple gesture of holding his hand had set him into a good mood. After Nestor suggested we go upstairs to search Mable’s stuff, he gently let go with a silent thank you. The problem was it gave him hope. Not that Levi and I weren’t on some collision course, for better or for worse. But I didn’t want anything between us to be because Dylan had a dream or because Levi was attached to me because of his love-talker heritage. It was a convoluted mess that made my head hurt.
When we pulled up to the cell block, Troy exited the building.
“Afternoon, Grace. Come to talk to the prisoner?” he asked.
“Yes. Well, Nestor is going to give it a go,” I said.
“She’s getting antsy in there. She might talk just to get out,” Troy said.
“She is never getting out,” I replied.
“Why?” Nestor asked. “What has she done? Did she kill anyone?”
“Remember that fire at Hot Tin? Right when we were on the trail of Lysander’s activities? She knew I had found out about our relationship. She knew it would distract me. She almost killed you,” I said.
“She nursed me in the hospital,” Nestor said.
Love is so damn blind.
“Yeah, none of us ever suspected her,” I said.
“She didn’t,” he said.
“Ask her,” I said pointing to the door.
I saw the look in his eyes. He knew I was right. I think perhaps he thought this Order of the Red Cloak gig was a recent one, but from my perspective, she had been at it for a very long time. The old crone. Gossiping in the grocery store. Stirring the people of Shady Grove up. Collecting various spells that pertained to everything that had happened in Shady Grove over the last year.
We followed him inside. Just before he walked into the back with the cells, I stopped him. I put my hand on his arm.
“I love you. You’re so important to me. I want to rip her guts out for hurting you, but if I do it, I promise it will be quick for your sake. For now, I need information,” I said.
“I love you too, Grace. And I understand. I don’t have to like it, but I understand,” he said, bowing his head, then disappearing into the cell block.
“You can listen over here,” a female voice came from behind us.
“Amanda, hello,” I said.
“Sorry. Wolves can be sneaky,” she smiled.
She led Levi and me into a room adjacent to the cells. Cameras were set up to look into each cell from separate directions.
“Has this always been here?” I asked, knowing I’d spent a couple of nights in the cells.
“Yes,” she smiled. “I sat here and watched as you sent him away.”
“He was so damn persistent,” I said.
“He loved you, and he wouldn’t give up. We knew he was staying in the trailer with you, but we decided to leave it. We could have used it to fire him. Of course, I was an idiot and got into that whole mess on the wrong side,” she said.
Thinking of those memories saddened me. It was time that he and I should have been together, but I was too stubborn to see what my heart felt.
We turned our attention to Nestor who approached Mable in the cell. She sat on the bed looking at him as he walked up. He grabbed the folding chair from against the wall, placing it near the cell.
“I want to go in there the moment she steps out of line,” I said.
“You better let me do it,” Levi said. “Unless you’re ready to put her down.”
“You act like I can’t control myself,” I said.
“That’s Nestor in there. Your grandfather. If she does something to him, I will be the only one that can stop you from killing her. So, you tell me now what you want,” Levi said.
I paused to think it over. She eyed Nestor who had begun to ask her if she needed anything. “I trust your judgment,” I said.
He nodded, and we listened in to the conversation.
“I don’t want anything from you,” she said staring at him. “You’re here for her. Not for me.”
“I am here for her. She is my blood. You should tell her what you know. Perhaps she will spare your life,” he said.
“If I tell her what I know, she will tie me to a stake and burn me,” Mable countered.
The thought had crossed my mind.
“Have you always lied to me?” he asked.
“I never lied to you. I am a witch. You always knew that,” she said.
“Did you burn my bar and home down?” he asked.
She didn’t need to answer. I saw the look in her eyes. Unfortunately, Nestor did too. He stood up from the chair silently folding it to place against the wall. He couldn’t ask her any more questions. I didn’t blame him. Just before he hit the door, she called out to him.
“Nestor.”
He paused.
“I regret it,” she said.
“It’s too late for regret after you’ve been caught,” he replied. “I don’t want to ever see you again.” He passed through the doors, and I ran out to meet him. I folded him up into a big hug. He held on tightly.
“I’m so sorry,” I said.
“It’s not your fault,” he replied.
“Sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees,” I said.
“That’s advice you could take too, Gracie.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant until I felt Levi walking up behind us. Big fucking tree.
“We are fine,” I said.
“You could be better,” Nestor said.
“War. Big, fat, freaking war coming,” I said.
Nestor smiled. “I know.”
“Let me have a round with her. I need to work off some frustration,” I said.
“I could…” Levi started.
“Don’t you dare!” I said spinning around to point at him. I tried to be mad, but the ridiculously cocky look on his face cracked me up. “Damn it. Stop.”
“I didn’t say anything,” he shrugged.
“I’m going to talk to the witch now,” I said.
“You do that,” he replied.
“I will. I
mean, I am.”
When I came through the doors, she rolled her eyes at me. Usually, I was on the giving end of that gesture. I never realized how annoying it was to receive it. Between being pissed off at her and frustrated with Levi, I was sure this conversation was going to lead to nothing productive, but I’d see if I could provoke her into saying something that would help us identify the third witch.
“I get it,” I said.
“Don’t play with me, Grace,” she said.
“No, seriously, I get it. You followed your agenda plus ate cookies out of the jar. Then your hand got stuck. That stinks,” I said.
“You may think that I don’t care for him, but I do. I just hoped that one day he would see things differently,” she said.
“I’m all about different,” I said.
“You don’t get it either. It’s the whole system of queens and kings. The elites vs. the lowly,” she said. I didn’t know where she stood in that hierarchy but considering that she worked for my father automatically put her under his thumb.
“You think you’re fighting for the little guy?” I asked.
“Yes,” she smiled, seeming quite self-satisfied.
“You’re wrong. My goal is to teach the little guy to fight for himself. No one needs a queen or a king. Just a big freaking family to back each other up. That’s what I am about. You were a part of that. At least I thought you were,” I said.
“You sound disappointed,” she said.
“I am. In myself for trusting you, but I’m all about trusting someone until they prove me wrong,” I said.
“Then what?” she asked.
“I extinguish them with extreme prejudice,” I replied. “You’re on my list.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” she said.
I skipped inside the cell, then pushed her against the wall. Sneering in her face, I allowed the winter to fill the cell. Ice formed on the floor, and she barely held her footing. I saw the fear in her eyes. That dark part of me laughed at it. The ice attached to her legs was crawling up to her thighs as it encased her.
“And I thought fairies couldn’t lie,” I smirked.
“Grace.”
“I’m fine.”
“I’ll never betray them,” she said.
“That’s fine. You can rot,” I said, releasing the spell, then skipping back to the door. “Goodbye, Mable. The next time I see you, you will either tell me what I want to know, or I will kill you. If you change your mind about squealing, send word.”
She started to speak, but I closed the door to the cells. I meant it. She would either tell me or not. It was up to her. No more torture.
Levi followed me out of the compound without saying a word. He was getting awfully good at learning to keep his mouth shut. When he didn’t though, I had to listen. I slowed my march to the truck and turned back to see his face. I cared about what he thought of me. He walked straight up to me with a solemn look.
“I am always on your side,” he said.
“There is still a part of me that wants to beat the answers out of her. The other part of me wants to throw in the towel, take my children, and run,” I said.
“Too late for that,” he said.
“Yeah. Way too late,” I said.
“Nestor is waiting in the truck. We should go,” he said. His phone buzzed in his pocket. “Hello?”
It sounded like Tennyson on the other end.
“She’s with me. We are on our way, but we will have to drop Nestor off at the bar,” he said.
“What is it?” I whispered.
“Okay. See you in a few,” Levi said, hanging up. “He said he has something and needs to see us immediately.”
“Good or bad?” I asked.
“He didn’t sound happy,” Levi said.
“Well, shit.”
Tennyson paced the room as Levi and I sat waiting on Astor and Troy to arrive. Mr. Mob Boss had always been the calm, collected one, but tonight he was on edge. Astor had called Ella to watch the kids while we had this impromptu meeting. I needed a permanent babysitter, on retainer.
“Tennyson, what’s going on?” I asked impatiently.
“We will wait for the others,” he said.
“Grace, they need to be here,” Jenny coaxed. “Perhaps I can get you a drink. I have orange soda.”
“Crown. On the rocks,” I said.
“Me too,” Levi said as his leg jiggled nervously beside me.
With a sudden burst of light, Astor stepped through a portal created by his sword. His brow tensed when he saw Tennyson’s face.
“What is it, Brother?” he asked.
“Sit. We wait,” Tennyson said as he made another line across the floor. Jenny turned her attention to him after serving us drinks.
“Please. Don’t do this to yourself. We will handle this like we do everything else. Okay?” she said pressing her palm to his cheek. The gruff man softened at her touch, leaning into her palm.
“Yes, my Love,” he replied.
Astor bowed his head, not focusing on the exchange. I had noticed that all intimate moments like this bothered him.
“Call him,” I said.
“He’s almost here,” he said.
The lights of a car flashed across the room, and the engine of Troy’s cruiser cut off. When he came in, my brother, Finley was with him.
“What’s going on? Glory, are you okay?” Finley asked.
“I’m fine. He called the meeting,” I said pointing at Tennyson. I had called Finley, but he didn’t answer. I had hoped he would get my message in time to meet us.
Tennyson sighed, then took a seat in the large leather chair across the room. Jenny followed him perching herself on the arm of the chair. He wrapped his mammoth arm around her waist.
“My contacts in Winter believe that Brockton has found a way to breach the ward, and after a little research, I believe that he can,” he said.
“How?” Levi asked.
“Samhain approaches. The veil between the worlds will weaken. It’s what brought the ghouls here to collect Betty,” he said. I hadn’t told him about Betty, so I wasn’t sure how he knew about it. Luther hadn’t joined us tonight, but I got the impression he was on strict house arrest. Or bottle arrest until Betty’s fury settled. She hadn’t given me her decision on my proposal. “Perhaps it can be stopped but I’ve never known it to stop for anyone.”
“What? What can be stopped?” I pressed.
“The hunt. Brockton is summoning the Wild Hunt to cross the veil at Samhain into Shady Grove and ransack it,” he said. “It cannot be stopped.”
The tales of the hunt frightened me when I was younger. I looked down to see chill bumps raise up on my skin as if a haint had crossed my path. Levi looked down at my arm, then up to me. He knew that nothing shook me, but this did.
“We should make preparations to move as many people away from the city as possible,” Astor said. “Grace, your children should be sent away.”
“I’m not sending my kids anywhere,” I said.
“You should go with them,” Troy added.
“No,” I growled. “I will not leave. We fight. We will show him that he can pull all the ancient tricks out of the book. We are writing our own story. This Samhain the Hunt dies.”
Tennyson hung his head. My speech did nothing to persuade him. Jenny squeezed his hand, then began to speak.
“It’s not that easy. Your father used to lead the Hunt with his sword. If he is summoning the hunt, then he has Excalibur. We always thought that Nimue would give it to you, but apparently she has chosen someone else,” she said.
“Can it be summoned without the sword?” I asked.
“Yes,” Levi said.
“No, it cannot,” Tennyson shot back at him.
“Yes, it can. It’s in the book,” he countered. The tattoo on his arm flared and the single word he spoke shook the house. “Book.”
The Songbook of Taliesin appeared in his open palms. He stuck his finger in the book, turning to
the passage. He began to read.
“When the veil grew thin, a great horn blew and the hounds bellowed. The wind swirled around the Great King as he raised his sword. ‘Come to me my fallen. Come to me, oh ye of the wilds. Let us band together to defeat those who would disgrace our name!’ An eerie cry filled the air as the grey woman keened for the dead. One by one the specters rose from hill and dale across the moors. Shadows and smoke formed in the mists of the night. They joined together behind their King swarming the hills in darkness. The thunderous echoes of their forgotten steps bounced off each tree, rock, and bush. The dead had risen to ride in vengeful wrath. Those who stood in their way were fodder below their feet. Foot, hoof, and paw. They ran through the forest and the town taking as they wished. A reminder of their lives for those who had forgotten. When the hunt rode, no man or fairy escaped its fury.”
“Levi, the Great King was Arthur and the sword was Excalibur. It had many names, but my King called it Excalibur,” Tennyson said.
I leveled my eyes at him, and he winced. “It is not the King and the sword that call the hunt. It was the horn and the banshee plus other elements mentioned. I just happen to know a banshee. This town is full of foot, hoof, and paw. Whatcha wanna bet we can call our own hunt?”
“Forgive me, Levi,” Tennyson said.
Levi waved his hand, but I felt the burning inside of him to set Tennyson straight. He deferred to his teacher, but I didn’t have to defer to shit. I held my fury in check, trying to endeavor to be a better, less impulsive person.
“You may be on to something, Grace,” Astor said. “We could call our own hunt, but it still boils down to a leader with a sword riding a horse. Do you ride? Because I know you said that you aren’t a sword fighter.”
I didn’t answer him. My mind went in twenty different tangents, but it all boiled down to one thing. I knew what I had to do.
“Come on, Levi,” I said, standing up.
“Where are you going?” Tennyson asked.
“To prepare for our hunt. The hunt of the Exiles,” I replied, then blinked out of the room to Trailer Swamp.
Levi jumped right behind me. “Why are we here?”
“Do you feel her in the water?” I asked, looking at the dark water of the bog.