Alterations

by Lucretia Stanhope

  “Of course. I won’t let you down.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  G wen returned from another successful ambush and barely had the cloak folded when she felt Matvei approaching. She shoved it under the bed. His presence was cold and she braced herself for a bad end to the night. She didn't have time to shower, but made a dash for the bathroom, where she dowsed herself in a rosewater spray.

  Two steps down the hall and she was grabbed and slammed into the wall.

  “Where have you been?” His face was less than an inch in front of hers.

  She pushed back, zapping him with static. He felt dangerous to her. Something had him extra angry. “Get your hands off of me. What is your problem?”

  He was still angry from his exchange with Brac and that Gwen had been gone, off realm for the last few hours. “Problem? I found a rose, a multicolored rose on site two.” He shoved the rose in her face.

  She stepped away from him. “I have never been to site two.”

  “Your little witch has.” He crushed the rose and dropped it on the floor. “I will enjoy making her scream.”

  Gwen felt her knees go weak. “Is Kyna there? You have Kyna?”

  “No, Gwen, Kyna was there. Kyna kidnapped my witches. Ogres attacked my colony.”

  “Ogres? They hurt the witches? Lucian, is he?”

  “Gone!” He slammed her into the wall again. “Were you with them? Helping?”

  She shook her head while catching her breath to speak. “No. I swear. I have no idea where Kyna is.”

  “You will tell me what you know.” He slammed her repeatedly into the wall. “They burned witches at the stake, Gwen. Kyna is not with sweet people as you like to imagine. Ogres will do worse than anything you have suffered here.”

  Gwen kept her tears in check. “No. Kyna wouldn't hurt witches. Not ever.”

  “No? Come here.” He wrapped her in his arms and moved with a sickening speed. Outside, he tore the veil and they stepped onto site two.

  Once there, he tossed her down in front of the staked witches. She looked up, horrified and got to her feet. She reached out, trying to determine who was there, but the faces were too badly burned. It took her mind back to the images she long ago buried of her grandmother burning, and the day Curtis tried to burn her.

  “Matvei, are you sure Lucian isn't one of these? Or Kyna?” Her knees gave and she fell to the ground.

  He picked her up. “You really don't know, do you? Has Kyna contacted you? We need to stop these monsters.”

  “She hasn't. They might have hurt her. I need to find her. Can you track who did this?” She looked at him, trying to read what he was really feeling. She wanted to make sure he could not track her. They were such adept liars. “Kyna would never hurt a witch. I know you want her head. I know you feel betrayed, but please, if she is in danger, help me help her.”

  He pulled her in his arms. “Timofei wants her head. I will help you. We will help each other. I need a way to stop the witches who are killing my soldiers.”

  “No.” She pulled back from his arms. “I won't hurt witches. They are just defending themselves.”

  He shoved her toward the witch closest to them. “Is this defense, Gwen? Is this defense, or a vile message? They are working with and for enemies of you and I.”

  “No, not Kyna. This must be two different things happening. Please, she would never.” Gwen struggled to reconcile the last time she saw Percy and what she was seeing now. Kyna would never hurt witches. Had he really found the rose there?

  “I promise you I will not kill Kyna. I need a defense. I am losing soldiers. If we continue to suffer losses at the hands of these warlocks they will be at our doorstep, and you will find your friends on stakes at our colony. Do you understand the importance of this? Brac could be one next time. How would you feel then?” He pushed her closer to the dead witches. “Well, how would you feel if that were Brac and you could have prevented it?”

  “Only defense. I will teach them defense as I have been. Don't ask me for more. Don't take Brac to war.” She looked again at the charred bodies and turned away. “You are sure Lucian got away?”

  “I am sure he was alive when he was taken. Your help is needed to ensure he and Maryanne are still alive when we find them. Did you know she was having your first grandchild?” He took her hand. “Come here.”

  “Maryanne and Brac, already?” She walked with him inside the walls of his colony. It wasn't as luxurious as site one, but still held a feeling of indulgence.

  “Yes, they just found out and were excited to share it with you.” He put an arm around her, being uncharacteristically gentle.

  As they walked, some witches came over and reached out for her. They were sobbing and their auras wavered with fear. She recognized many of them as witches from the early colony days. They were altered, younger even than the day they arrived. Their eyes held fear, she assumed from the brutal attack. “Blessed be.” Gwen murmured as they looked at her with pleading eyes. She did her best to send out waves of peace for them, but she was feeling like she might need to see a healer herself. Burned witches, missing witches. Kyna, Lucian, and Maryanne. Plus, the baby.

  “Help me, Gwen. You don't want this at your colony, or earth, do you?”

  “No, I don't.” She walked with him over to a group of soldiers.

  “Help them settle in, make them feel safe. I will be back as soon as I am available.” Matvei took her hand and they made their way back to the colony.

  G wen stood at the iron fence, watching the lake. She knew Kyna, Kyna would never burn witches. She would never ally with anything that would. Never. Something didn't ring true. When Kyna said she would be back for her, for them all, she felt at her core she could believe that.

  The kidnapped witches had to be rescued, not really taken, they were saved. Who burned those witches? It was not Kyna, and it wasn't the ogres, not if they aligned with the greens. It wouldn't have been vampires; they were sensibly wary of fire.

  Could she really use these monsters to gain freedom? Would Matvei be the answer? Konstantin? Timofei? With such a lack of communication, could her and Kyna push and pull at the right times to send the empire of blood crashing to the ground?

  “Mom?” Brac walked up behind her and joined her, watching the lake. “You okay?”

  She didn't look at him. She didn't want him to see the uncertainty in her eyes. “Sure, sweetheart, I'm fine.”

  “Can I get you anything?” He ran his fingers over the cold iron.

  She could tell by his voice he knew she was lying. She figured he could feel she was troubled. His wife, his pregnant wife was gone. Did he know yet? She tried to steady her aura in case he wasn't aware of the destruction at site two. She laughed softly. “No, I'm tired. It's been a long day. I guess we will have a busy day tomorrow. I will start teaching you to use stolen fire.”

  “Oh, you changed your mind.”

  She heard the mock shock in his voice and wondered exactly what he did know. “Have you heard anything about your sister?”

  “No, I haven't heard anything. Not since she left.”

  “Did you know something before she left?”

  He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I know she had friends who knew how to come and go.”

  She looked to him for the first time since he walked up. “Come and go? Can you do that?”

  He shook his head. “No. They deliberately didn't share things with me. Matvei being my best friend and all.”

  She reached for and held both of his hands. “You understand he isn't your friend? He just isn't.”

  Brac frowned and nodded. “Mom. I do love you.” He squeezed her hands.

  Her brows furrowed. “What are you not telling me?”

  “I just want you to know that no matter what happens, no matter how bad this war gets, I do love you.” He held her close to him.

  “Brac, I know that. I hope I don't need to convince you that I have always loved you and I always will.�
� She closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest. “Always.” She paused wondering how to tell him about Maryanne. “Did… site two…”

  He gave a solemn nod. “I’ll bring them home. Matvei will bring them all home safe.”

  She left the topic of Matvei alone, for now, and put her arms around Brac trying to take away some of the sadness she felt coming from him. “He will. It will all be okay.” She didn’t think Matvei would make it okay, but she had to believe that both Lucian and Maryanne were safe with Kyna.

  After Brac left, she stood looking at the lake. To destroy monsters, she needed monsters. She knew she must be getting close to triggering a sibling war. The monsters would fight each other. Then Konstantin would come looking.

  Would Timofei fight for her? Would Matvei? What was he planning? Why did he need his father distracted? She laughed at the thought they might be working on the same thing. He was her strongest ally against Timofei and Konstantin, but to consider him an ally was unnerving.

  She left for a walk, trying again to find Sebastian. He always seemed to give her the direction she needed when she got lost. She pushed herself out, hoping to attract him. It was him that she found, but she felt a cold group ahead.

  Gwen backed away and put some distance between her and the vampires. She sat on the ground with her back against a tree and closed her eyes. Once relaxed, she called up a wraith and sent it toward the group. With it held high above them she watched. They all held man forms. She recognized Matvei. Two other men stood with him.

  “Pavel? Who would aim so low?” one of them asked.

  “It's not him so much as the other two.” Matvei said. “Some coward is running the table, starting with the weak links.”

  Gwen assumed someone would know, the other siblings, but she hadn't realized it made it back to Matvei already.

  “Is it going to alter our plans?” the other man asked.

  “It has pushed my hand; we will need to move faster now. Malvina is still blinded. She has Roman and Zlata in her pocket. That will be enough.” Matvei paced.

  “They have to know you will back Timofei.”

  Matvei laughed. “They are clueless that I am even aware. They have no idea I am involved. They see a way to rule and are ignorant to who is pulling strings. Malvina thinks it is her idea, as long as it stays that way, things will work just as we planned.”

  “If too many siblings get knocked out, she will panic,” one of the men said.

  Matvei had a solemn look on his face. “We are past that point.”

  Gwen let the wraith float away and opened her eyes. Matvei, tempting Malvina to what? Attack Konstantin? Could she think she had a chance to rule? How had he managed that? Gwen stood up. Had he planted the idea that she was going to keep Timofei distracted and make it even more tempting to strike? Brac could be involved, but how?

  She walked slowly back toward the fortress, trying to figure out the moving parts in his plans. Her making Timofei docile was part of it. Matvei was going to back his father though, because to do otherwise was to give up his own rule.

  She needed to confer with Mikhail, he would know more about who was who and what Matvei could be working on. In the meantime, they needed to stop the meetings. The last thing she wanted was Matvei to find out it was her killing off the siblings. Or did she? Would that make her more coveted to him?

  If he found out she was arranging her own coup, he might pull her into his, and then she could see more clearly her options, if he didn't lose his temper and kill her. Regardless, the ball was rolling now, and if Matvei knew someone was killing off vampires, then other vampires knew as well.

  Aligning with Matvei more than she had was scary to consider.

  He opened the door for her when she neared. “You look troubled.”

  “Of course I look troubled. I'm surrounded by evil.” She knew they moved fast but didn't expect to see him at the fortress.

  He closed the door after she walked in. “Where have you been?”

  “Walking, thinking.”

  “You should be resting. You have a busy day of teaching tomorrow.”

  She contemplated telling him what she heard, or even what she had done. There was only one chance to get it right. If he was tugging from the top and she was tugging from the bottom they could both ruin each other’s plans, and Konstantin would be left standing. “Who is Zlata?”

  He smiled. “I thought I felt you. How did you hide yourself?”

  “Magic. What are you doing?”

  He tugged her to him and kissed her. “Plotting. It's exciting isn't it?”

  “What happens if Konstantin falls?”

  “Chaos, a new ruler.”

  “Can they do it without Timofei?”

  He cocked his head and studied her. “Maybe.”

  “So, what are you plotting?”

  “You, my delicious treat, are delusional if you imagine I would let you in on that.”

  She stepped closer and fought every instinct she had to run away. “I could help you.”

  “You will help me. Just as they will help me. You will also stay in the dark just as they will.” He kissed her again and bit her. He didn't drink. He bit her and kissed her again. “You will like the outcome.”

  She swallowed back her hate and kissed him, holding her arms around him. “We could both like it a lot more.”

  He purred. “You are such a surprise. Not yet. I won’t have you as some ploy to gain information. When you fall at my feet it will have more meaning.”

  Her eyes watched his smile as she stepped back. “You are too arrogant to realize that will never be the outcome.”

  His tongue made a pop as he sucked it against the roof of his mouth. “It will, by the time you are worthy, you will realize I am the only creature that can withstand your poison love.”

  She felt his words like a punch, but remained emotionless. “You may face a lot of dangers, but my love will never be one of them.”

  “S he's simply magnificent. It's effortless for her.” Matvei watched Gwen with rapt attention as he spoke with Timofei.

  Gwen was surrounded by the fire witches, Brac included. She held a ball above her head and they all tried to pull it away. She appeared to be restless as she kicked at the grass with the toe of her shoe.

  She looked over to Timofei and her face lit up with a smile.

  Timofei returned her smile before he looked at Matvei who was still staring at Gwen. “While it is wonderful you have her agreement to instruct, you can’t have her in battle. If I doubt you will obey that order, I will put her in the care of someone else when I am away.”

  “She's not even trying. She would never be in danger. I could take her on one campaign, with a small squad. We could eliminate the embedded fire witches in one attempt.” A sing-song quality filled his voice at the thought of battling with Gwen.

  Timofei sucked his tongue against his teeth. “No. She is not replaceable. With Lucian gone, you must understand her and that child are all we have left of value from the entire experiment.”

  “More will come.” Matvei finally drew his attention away from Gwen to his father.

  “Like her? There will never be more like her. Lucian was as close as we came in twenty years. She could have snuffed him out with a mere thought.” He smiled. “Effortless, as you point out.”

  Matvei rocked back on his heels. “So you do understand her power. She is not a piece of fragile ceramic. Her in the ranks and we wouldn't need more soldiers from Konstantin.”

  “I ordered you to have Brac ready. He can call fire away from the other witches. He doesn't need to be as powerful as Gwen to be effective against the traitors.” Timofei turned to Matvei and gave him a hard look. “Mind the way you ogle my queen.”

  They both turned to watch as Gwen started walking over toward them. She held the fireball in place for the witches while she walked.

  “Hello, my love.” She kissed Timofei, her eyes flashed to Matvei and back to Timofei. “Matvei.”

>   “Thank you for your help with the effort. Take a break. I want to spend some time with you while I am here.” Timofei pulled her close.

  “Effortless.” Matvei said, and started to walk away. He turned back and locked eyes with Gwen. “Let it go, I'll have Gina work with Brac. Enjoy your visit.”

  Gwen blew in the direction of the field and the fire ball drifted off. She turned her attention to Timofei. “You feel tense. More so than usual. What's happened?”

  He pulled her under his arm and started walking. “The weight of rule can be heavy.”

  “What is it? Can I help?”

  “Nothing you need to worry about.” He tugged her closer and breathed in. “You do help me, every time I see you.”

  She leaned into him. While being near to him was awful, compared to Matvei, she enjoyed his company. “I would like to help you again, but I have been tired. Can I go see Percy?”

  “Of course. I will take you now.” His agreeable tone startled her.

  They walked together to where the tear used to be. Timofei tore through with the swipe of his hand.

  Chapter Twenty

  E ven though she wanted to see Kyna, Gwen was content to see Percy. She could still find out if he heard anything from her and give him a message of her own. Behind the closed door, she explained to him as best she could about what was going on. He repeated back a few of her questions.

  “Lucian? Gwen needs Lucian safe?” Percy repeated.

  She shook her head, trying to explain it in as few words as possible for him. “Just ask Kyna, is Lucian safe?”

  He twitched. “Take Gwen to Kyna?”

  “Not this time. Gwen must stay and fight monsters.”

  His eyes lit up. “Beautiful strong Gwen. Kyna fight monsters.”

  A strange mix of pride and fear washed over her. She didn't want to stay too long and arouse any suspicions from Timofei. She gave him simple details about Konstantin, and her plans to stall the war.

  After a healing she lingered a short moment, enjoying his aura. In his presence, she could envision Kyna was safe in a place with witches and creatures like Percy.