by Jayne Hawke
“Works for me.”
“Cole would be horrified.”
“All the more reason to do it.”
I laughed. I still remembered the moment I had seen his smug face when I stood in that council room. He had been so pleased to have been there and seen me suffer. He was an ass, but he was mine.
“There has to be an event, or a meeting, or something where they all get together. How many are even on the council? I don’t know anywhere near enough about all of this.”
“There are four members of each section on the council. You’ll need to go to the state council; you met with the local territory council to be registered. Cole is, was, on the state council, so you’ll have an in with them. I don’t know what the deal is with the fae, but be careful.”
“I’m assuming I can’t just make an appointment for an ass-kicking?”
Sky laughed and was finally beginning to relax a little.
“No, but as a guardian, I think you might be able to summon them.”
“This guardian thing has some potential upsides.”
“You know you’re going to have to hand-pick the new council, right?”
I groaned. I hadn’t thought of that.
“Do you want to be on the council? You and Amy are the only witches I know and trust.”
Sky snorted.
“Not a chance in hell. I’m allergic to paperwork.”
“I suppose we’ll figure that out when it comes to it.”
“’One step at a time’ and all of that.”
We finished up our ice cream to the backdrop of riotous laughter and celebration inside. When I looked over my shoulder, I saw Briar doing the robot and Amy doubled over in laughter. It wasn’t perfect, but I had my pack. What more could a wolf ask for?
37
Briar handed me the last Pop-Tart before she ran out the door to go to work. It was a perfectly normal morning - if we ignored the empty seat across from me and the fact I was about to demand an audience with the state council.
Sky had been called in by her coven. As far as they were concerned, the Apophis witch had been dealt with, and she had no more excuses. Amy stayed with me. Rowan had stayed late the previous night, but Amy had sent him away before she went to bed.
“What’s happening with you and Rowan?” I asked around the Pop-Tart.
“I don’t know yet. I understand his feelings and the magic involved with the life bond, but I only just met him. We exchanged numbers, and I will admit he is really hot...”
I grinned.
“I’m not going to deny that.”
“Did you mean what you said, that I’m pack?” she asked quietly.
“Yes,” I replied without thought.
She smiled.
“Does that mean you’d consider bringing Rowan into your pack if I did choose to explore this life bond?”
“I’d have to speak to Erin. I don’t want to upset the Blue Dagger pack.”
Moving a beta from one pack to another felt like a huge deal. A beta was the second in command; they played a key role in the pack. A part of me would have loved to have a good, strong, experienced beta in my pack, though.
“Are you ready?”
Amy nodded towards my phone.
She’d dug out a number for the council for me. It seemed wrong to be calling them to demand a meeting, but Amy had assured me the witches would feel my guardian status.
I didn’t think I’d ever be ready, but what choice did I have?
I picked up my phone, typed in the number, and tried to remember to breathe.
“Yes?” a woman answered.
That wasn’t a good start.
“I am the garou guardian, and I am summoning the council for a meeting.”
There was a long silence followed by some hushed muttering.
“They will convene in the local council building at 4PM.”
She hung up.
So much for guardians being respected and such.
“It looks like I have a meeting with them at four.”
“That’s plenty of time for us to do some digging. I’m pretty sure that Digby, the bear shifter, is in with the Apophis witch. His clan, or whatever they call bears, became very wealthy out of nowhere a month or so ago,” Amy said as she stood.
I mentally prepared myself for a few hours of copious caffeine consumption and digging around into these people. When I heard I was a guardian, I’d pictured lots of ass-kicking rather than politics and detective work.
“What about the witches? What am I dealing with there?” I asked as I retrieved my laptop from the living room.
“There’s an Epona witch who recently became a member. Epona is a very small goddess. It’s weird for her to have enough magic and political sway to get onto the state council.”
I wrinkled my nose. Liam had come from an Epona coven, so she was very suspicious.
“Her name’s Kyra.” Amy turned her laptop to show me a photo of her. “Be careful. She might have come from the same coven as Liam. I need to double-check.”
“What about the fae? Could they have been converted?”
“Possibly. Fae are cut-throat. They’ll side with whoever’ll give them what they want in that moment.”
I began looking into the state council and found there was remarkably little on them. A group photo taken only a week ago showed that Kyra was very young. The councilmen I’d met when I’d registered had all had a little silver in their hair except for Cole.
A snarl formed when I saw they’d already replaced Cole. A grey-eyed garou stared out at me, standing between a cougar shifter and a bear shifter.
“Rafe Webster has been put in Cole’s place on the council,” I growled.
“That’s very quick,” Amy said.
“Almost as though they knew what had happened,” I said.
Amy’s lips pursed.
“Look into Rafe; I’m not familiar with his name.”
I did a search for his name on the Grim and found it blocked. His smug face looked out at me from his profile picture, but I couldn’t dig in and get any more information. I hadn’t come across that before. Usually I could get the basics from any garou and most witches, but not him.
I began a wider search, looking through the garou registrations, and found him missing.
“He’s blocked on the Grim and not in the garou registries,” I said.
“That’s weird. They’re usually obsessive about their paperwork.”
“Could this be Apophis’ doing?”
“Perhaps. He could be someone wearing a mask.”
I curled my lip.
“We’ll see what happens when I try to peel it off at the meeting, later.”
“We need to see where everything stands. A little fake smiling will get us further than ripping their heads off.”
I growled, but I knew she was right. If I went in there and shed blood, then they’d never talk to me.
38
I wore my old holey jeans, my best stomping boots, and my three best blades, including the guardian dagger. Amy greeted me with a smile when I came down the stairs. I was sure that Cole would have looked gravely disappointed, but that was part of the point.
The drive over to the council building was quiet and uneventful. Amy remained back at the house, leaving me to face this on my own. Such was the role of an alpha. There was a flicker of something on the guard’s face as I walked past him into the building. Everything was quiet. Too quiet. It was as though the entire building was paused, waiting for something.
I smiled brightly at the receptionist woman. She pursed her lips and nodded in the direction of the room I’d gone to last time I was there. It looked as though I’d built up something of a reputation.
Walking with my head high, I strode down to that same room where I’d registered as a turned. The fluttering of anxiety began to form, but I refused to let it cow me. A lot had changed since that day. I was far more than I had been.
Unlike that meeting, the door opened
as soon as I came to a stop in front of it. There were no grand entrances this time.
I walked into the room to find nine faces looking back at me. There was nothing between us. They stood in a casual semi-circle in front of the large window looking out on Fae.
Each council member was dressed in appropriate wear. That’s to say, very nice suits with delicate silver cufflinks and elegant up-dos. A look of disdain immediately formed on a witch’s face. I grinned at her, realising she was Kyra, the Epona witch that we couldn’t dig up any information on.
No one had ever said that I had tact. I walked right up to her, held out my hand, and said, “I believe you were in the same coven as Liam, the Apophis witch I killed yesterday.”
She paled and gripped my hand tight while I maintained my grin. A slender snake necklace hung around her throat. A bold gesture.
“It’s such a shame that one of our own turned to such a dark and dangerous path,” Kyra said flatly.
“Yes, a shame.”
I turned to look at the rest of the council members. Digby, the bear shifter, was easily twice as broad as I was. There was malice in his eyes, his bear barely below the surface. I could feel something wrong with him. It tugged at the edges of him. We needed to find proof he was in league with the Apophis witch.
“As I’m sure you’re aware, I am here to discuss the Apophis witch problem.”
“You already killed him. What more is there to discuss?” Kyra replied a little too quickly.
“He wasn’t alone. In fact, he had an entire coven around him.”
I watched Kyra’s face as I spoke. Her pupils elongated slightly before she caught herself and pulled an expression of shock and horror.
“But that’s incredibly illegal! I was always told that Apophis witches worked alone,” she said.
“Well, there’s all sorts of illegal activity carrying on, isn’t there? Why would someone willing to work with Apophis worry about such things as silly little laws?” I said.
The witch next to her, a slender redhead, ground her teeth.
“Brigid is appalled at such abominations and chaos,” she said.
“Remind me, which goddess is Brigid?”
“There’s some argument as to whether she’s a goddess at all...” an elf said.
“Oh?” I asked innocently.
If I could get them to argue amongst themselves, perhaps one of them would slip up and give me something I could use. I also needed to see where the alliances lay. Was the entire council working against me?
The elf crossed his arms and smirked at me.
“Yes. Some would argue she is, in fact, a fae. You see, Brigid is one of the Tuatha De Danann. They’re long thought of as fae, although some argue they’re Celtic gods. To answer your question, Brigid is of fire.”
“Well, goddess or not, we could use some fire to burn the Apophis witches,” I said to the Brigid witch.
“We do not bow to fae,” she hissed at the elf.
He smirked back at her.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
“Do you have proof there are more Apophis witches?” Digby demanded.
“Yes,” I said sweetly.
I didn’t. I only had a feeling and the fact the ritual was completely wrong. He didn’t need to know that, though.
“What proof? We have a right to see it.”
“Actually, no, you don’t,” I said.
He growled.
“I have reason to believe that Apophis has infiltrated this very council. Handing over key evidence would screw up the investigation.”
“Fae have no interest in gods,” the elf said.
“Your point being?”
He took a step closer to me.
“That I have no interest in bowing to gods or using their magic. Therefore, I am free from his bindings. You do look at though you could use a little help with this investigation.”
He wasn’t wrong. I was making this up as I went along and hoping for the best.
“Unfortunately, the fact remains that you’re fae, and thus can’t be trusted any further than I can throw you.”
He laughed, a bright laugh full of genuine happiness and humour.
“No one has dared speak so bluntly to me before. I like you.”
His emerald green eyes danced in merriment as he held out his slender hand.
“I do give you my word that I will give you all the help I am capable of with this investigation, and I will do everything in my power to aid you in removing the Apophis witch problem from this country.”
“The catch?” I asked.
“I’m only helping you with the investigation. Anything else is fair game.”
Meaning that any information he found that he could use against me, or anyone else, he would do so. He would also use this little investigation to further his own ends and power. That was something to worry about at another time.
“Thank you,” I said as I shook his hand.
A cool ribbon of magic wrapped around our hands. It was there and gone again, but I knew the binding would hold him to his word.
“You may call me Fionn,” he said with a bow.
I laughed at the ridiculousness of the bow, which brought a smile to his face.
Kyra, the Epona witch, was glaring at us both. Her necklace appeared to move. It could have been a trick of the light, or it could have been something much more.
The other two fae, a puka and a pixie, remained entirely silent as they watched on.
“As Fionn said, no fae would bow to a god. You are wasting our time,” the pixie said sullenly.
“Then you will have no problem making the same oath Fionn made,” I said.
The pixie bared his teeth before he held out his hand. I took it and soon found my hand being crushed within the slender fingers of the pixie. He made the same oath in a deep guttural tone that threatened to send a shiver down my spine. The moment the binding was complete, he stalked out of the room.
The puka was a little less openly aggressive about it all. At least that had reduced my number of suspects, which made life a little easier. I would have been in deep trouble if the fae were involved. Trying to navigate their politics and world would have been never-ending.
Digby went to follow the fae out of the room. I moved to block his path. He glared down at me.
“Shifters would never bow to a god either,” he rumbled.
“I know about Fenris garou; the potential is there. We’re not done here,” I said.
“Garou are weak and foolish. Of course they need higher powers to bow to.”
I smiled up at him.
“Bears are stupid and pig-headed. They need a god to tell them how to function.”
I had no idea if they were stupid, but it got a reaction out of him.
“How dare you speak to me in such a manner? You are nothing but a worthless turned!” he roared.
“I am a guardian, and you will back down and tell me how you came to be wrapped up with Apophis!” I roared back.
No one had ever said I was cut out for politics.
39
I made the council members sit down. This was going to take a while, and I wanted to make it clear that they weren’t going anywhere until I was satisfied. I remained standing, an instinctual urge to stand above them.
“Who is responsible for replacing Cole so quickly?” I demanded.
Kyra and Digby both tensed. The Brigid witch looked away. I glared at the third witch, who had been remarkably quiet throughout this process. He gave me a thin smile.
“As the Morrigan witch present, I had the final vote.”
“And why exactly did you replace him so quickly?”
The smile spread across the witch’s face, becoming something vicious.
“Because he is dead.”
There was an air of victory there that I didn’t care for.
“You have evidence of that?”
“I don’t need it.”
I stepped forward.
&
nbsp; “You can replace a council member without evidence of their needing replacing?”
“I am a Morrigan witch. That is all the evidence I need.”
Kyra began playing with her necklace, and I was aware of how she seemed a little wrong. Her body somehow seemed a little too slender and sinuous. When I looked at her straight on, she was a perfectly reasonable, if obnoxious, witch. Out of the corner of my eye, though, there was something else.
“Well, then, we’ll have to change that, won’t we?” I said to the Morrigan witch.
He stiffened.
“You have no place in this council, child.”
I gave him my own vicious smile as I became more certain he was involved in Cole’s disappearance. Not death. Cole wasn’t dead. I wouldn’t allow it.
“As a guardian, I have every right to be here. The gods chose me, did they not? Isn’t that how guardians work?”
Again, I was working with nothing. It made sense in my mind that the witches, at least, would believe the gods were responsible for the creation and placement of guardians. For all I knew, it was simply a fluke within the larger magic system. Perhaps I happened to be the one-hundred-first baby born on a special day. It wasn’t something I’d thought to sit down and consider. There were too many other things to dig into.
The Morrigan witch’s eyes narrowed and Kyra hissed. It was a soft sound that was barely within my hearing, but I caught it.
The cougar shifter looked at her sharply.
“The gods do not interfere with shifters,” the cougar shifter said coolly.
“They interfere with the rest of the world, do they not? Why would we be exempt from that?” I challenged.
The cougar shifter fixed her amber eyes on me. Everything about her screamed ambush predator as she slowly tensed in her chair. Her shoulders began to push forward as her gaze held mine, strong and firm. I hardened my gaze and allowed my wolf forward, reminding her that I wasn’t weak prey.
Fionn stepped up next to me.
“As you are all aware, the guardian has a position here within our political sphere. Her methods are imperfect, and, as such, we will be returning to this discussion at a later date.”
I glared at him. I was far from finished.