by T K Eldridge
“This is not good,” I said.
“No, it’s not. We need to help Queen Maggie and King Fionn. They are our rulers, and our family,” Mira said.
“Roisin is also family,” I reminded her. “And I’ve never even met her. Sid did. Said she was a raging bitch.”
“I’ve heard she’s a cold person, but she does a lot for the sylphs and other elementals,” Mira said.
The camera shifted again to show a line of armed defenders on the palace wall that surrounded the building and gardens. Elbow to elbow, the warriors faced outward, the military-style weapons visible against the black body armor embossed with the sigil of the King. Helmets and visors hid their faces, but their silence and numbers were impressive on their own.
“The palace seems prepared to use lethal force to defend against the crowd and Ms. Murphy’s demands. Once the palace defenders were seen, the crowds in the street started to drift away. No matter how much Ms. Murphy believes the people are ready for a new leader, they are clearly not ready to face the might of Queen Margaret and King Fionn MacCumhaill. This is Kate Boswick, reporting live from Faery Isle.”
I turned off the TV and pulled Mira to her feet. “Go on up to bed. I’ll rinse our glasses and be right up. We can’t do anything tonight and I’m no use to anyone right now. Wine and exhaustion would just be a bad combination. I’ll see what I can do in the morning.”
“King Fionn can handle this. He’s been a warrior longer than most of them have been alive. Hurry on up, love,” Mira said and headed up the stairs.
I wasn’t even sure Fionn had made it back to the island tonight. He taught at the Academy and had rooms in the staff housing for the few days he would teach each week, then was back on the isle when he wasn’t scheduled. He’d left the majority of the ruling to my great-grandma, Queen Maggie, and was only now just finding excitement in the world again.
I don’t think he had counted on this much excitement.
Chapter Three
Sid
I had gone to bed earlier than my usual, so it wasn’t too horrible to be woken up by the phone ringing at six in the morning. It wasn’t all that great, either.
“Hello?” I rasped into the phone.
“We need your help,” Grandma Maggie said.
There was something in her voice that made my eyes pop open as I sat up in bed. “Are you okay?” I asked.
“We’re okay for now, but we don’t know how long. Have you seen the news?”
“No, I went to bed early last night. Your call woke me. Grandma, you sound frightened.”
“We’re under siege. Roisin Murphy has attempted a coup, but so far we’re okay. The Royal Guards have stepped up and are keeping the mob out – for now.”
“She did what?” I rubbed a hand over my forehead. “What do you need from me? How can I help?”
“First, I’m going to have several precious books and scrolls magically delivered to your office. You might want to clear off your desk so there’s room and nothing gets crushed. Don’t tell anyone you have them, just keep them safe. Second, I am hoping your Commander has a way to safely get us out of here without allowing the palace to be breached. I have no idea where to go, but I’m thinking it’s not safe to stay here with a mob trying to break in.”
“Okay, I need to shower and get dressed, then I’ll head into the station and talk to the Commander and see what he has in mind. I’m sure he already knows and is working on something. I know I don’t have to tell you this, but be patient, Grandma. We’ve got your back. Pack up anything of personal value and have it ready to go. I love you. I’ll call you soon.”
“I love you, too, Siddie. I’ll be waiting for your call.”
Once the call disconnected, I started to move. I first went downstairs, got the coffee started, and cleared my desk and the cabinet beside it. Then I got in the shower, my brain whirring at high speed. Dressed, hair braided, coffee into my travel mug, and I was out the door. I didn’t bother with a uniform most days, and today was no different. I had a uniform in my locker, and one in my bag in my SUV, along with a change of regular clothes, but usually I wore a SPD logo t-shirt under an open shirt over jeans and boots. I hit the road and called Grams with the bluetooth. “Morning, Grams. Sorry it’s so early, but Grandma Maggie and Grampa Fionn are in a bit of a jam. I need you to rally the troops. I’m on the way to headquarters to talk to the Commander, but they’re going to need a place to stay that’s secure and where we can protect them against a mob.”
“Morning, Siddie. I just saw the news a few minutes ago. The Estate is out, although there is space there. We don’t want a riot where the babies are. There’s no room here…I’ll figure something out. I’ll call your parents and see if they have any ideas, and make sure whatever they need, we can pull together for them.”
“Thanks, Grams. You’re the best. Love you,” and I disconnected the call. I hit the drive thru for Grampa’s coffee and bagel sandwich, got a sandwich for myself and a bag of bagels for the team I knew we’d be working with this morning. Once I got to SPD headquarters, I carried everything inside and went up to our Special Forces conference room to drop off the bagels, then headed to his office.
“I don’t care what the legalities are. I’m not leaving friends trapped at the mercy of a rabid mob,” the Commander yelled. I could hear him from three rooms down, so I hustled to the door and tapped as I nudged it open with my hip.
He waved to me to come in, the phone still at his ear. “No, I won’t back down on this. Either you step up and send me some uniforms, or stay the hell out of my way.”
I assumed the call was over since he threw his cell phone onto his desk. “Idiots with delusions of power,” he muttered.
“Who? Roisin or whoever that was you were speaking to?” I asked as I put the bag with our sandwiches on his desk. “Here, eat before you head towards the next task.”
He dropped into his chair and accepted the sandwich I handed him. “You’re in awful early,” he said.
“Grandma Maggie called about an hour ago and said she needed our help.”
“Yeah, I got a call from Fionn last night. He’d just got home about two hours before the mob showed up,” the Commander said.
“This could have been so much worse,” I said as I unwrapped my sandwich. “I want to know what the hell Roisin was thinking. Grandma sounded scared, and I’ve never heard her sound afraid of anything. She asked for us to find a place they could go that could be protected and hidden. Grams said the Estate was out because of all of the kids. The only other place I can think of is Stumpy’s cabin, but I can’t see the two of them in a two bedroom cabin in the middle of nowhere.”
“Ian isn’t ready to move yet, he has another month on his lease. I’ve been doing some repairs on my place now that I have most of my stuff out. There is enough furniture there to be comfortable, but we’d have to get dishes and linens and such for them, if they wanted to go to my old house,” the Commander said.
“It’s in the middle of several acres, has a solid ward around it from generations of protecting, and has four bedrooms or so, right?”
“That’s right. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s comfortable, defensible, and not well known.”
“Could you call them and offer? If they say yes, I’ll get Grams and her team to get it set up and stocked for them.”
He made his call, and then I made mine, and we at least got the immediate need handled.
“Now how do we get them out of there?” I asked.
“Grizzell said he and his crew at the aerie could handle it. I asked him before you got here if they could help with evacuation and he said they would. They can even get the luggage and such. Luckily it’s a heavy fog day today. The whole island is socked in and we don’t have to wait until nightfall to get them. Thanks to a few witches I know.”
I let out a breath in relief. “Okay, so we know where to shelter them, how to get them out – now we need to figure out how to shut down the siege.”
�
�No, we don’t.”
“What do you mean we don’t?”
“We can make sure those protecting the palace get supplies, thanks to the griffins and dragons. Once the precious cargo is removed, it’s just a matter of waiting it out. Roisin is doing this for attention. We can make it so she regrets ever stepping up to this particular plate.”
“What even gave her the idea that she could do this and get away with it?” I asked.
The Commander’s tablet slid across his desk towards me and I saw an ebook displayed on the screen. “The Path of the Creator and the True Hierarchy of Beings – by Sidonie Boudreau.”
“What the hell?” I gasped as I stared at the cover. “I never did this. I didn’t even finish writing up my report for the Queen.”
“Someone took that Path of the Creator pamphlet you sent all over to help get the ley lines stabilized, and added pieces of the report, and made it a book.”
“So I was hacked?” I asked.
“That’s what Tino said. Someone got into your private files on your laptop and downloaded all of your research.”
“You had him look into this without even telling me? Jeeze, Grampa, that’s not creepy or anything.”
“I told him to check it out and report to me first. He told me last night what had happened and sent me a copy of the ebook. I needed to know if you had gone and done this behind everyone’s back or not. I didn’t believe you would, but I had to check first. You know I’m right, Sid.”
I was angry, but mostly I felt violated. He was right, but I wasn’t about to admit that when my stomach was churning and I felt exposed. “I put bagels in the conference room for the team. I’ll be in my office,” I said and got up to leave.
“I didn’t dismiss you, Agent Boudreau.”
“If you’d rather I puked on your rug, go ahead and make me stay. Otherwise, I’m done,” I said and left. I stumbled to the bathroom and locked the door behind me. I wanted to smash something. I wanted to rush to my laptop and see which files someone might have taken. I wanted to call Tino and get a list, and then scream at him for not warning me. I felt exposed and ashamed, furious and afraid.
A splash of water on my face and I left the bathroom. Instead of going into my office, I pulled my messenger bag close and headed out to my vehicle. I just couldn’t be there right now, where everyone would know that this crisis was because of me. Even if I hadn’t published the book, it was my research and writing that was used in it.
If something happened to the Royals, it was all my fault.
* * *
It took me three days of work to figure out just what had been taken in the hack. Tino helped me lay it all out, and I’ll tell ya, if I hadn’t already had my guts twisted up about this before, they sure would have been now. All of the reports I wrote, every page of research notes, even the rough genealogy sketch I did that showed how the previous Macha, Iona Fraser, was half sister to Queen Margaret – and how Queen Margaret was related by marriage to Roisin Murphy through my parents. It looked like one giant, incestuous, power grab between the two clans.
“Ohh,” I whispered as that thought ran through my mind. “That’s how we can destabilize Roisin. Make it look like she’s doing this to somehow benefit the whole family.”
At the time I thought it was a brilliant idea. I never said all of my ideas were good ones.
Chapter Four
Sin
It was day five of the siege, and I had spent most of the past five days working with Grizz and his griffins, and Drake and his dragons, to get things moved out of the palace, and supplies moved in. The King and Queen were both sheltered at the Commander’s house, and a section of the King’s army had been moved to several pop-up houses on the property so they could protect and defend. These little one-bedroom units had been designed for emergency shelters after a tornado or hurricane, but they came in real handy for this. The four-car garage was turned into a commons room with a kitchen so meals were a community event and helped keep spirits up.
The elementals at the siege were having trouble getting supplies delivered, since most of the main island wanted nothing to do with their crap and had boycotted any assistance they requested.
It was a powder keg, waiting to blow.
Didn’t help that Sid was acting like a match to the fuse. She swore she didn’t put out that ebook and I believed her, but it was hard to convince others when it clearly had her tone and style all through it. People were looking for someone to blame, and instead of blaming Roisin Murphy, they were pointing fingers at Sid. Sid, never one to back down from a fight, pointed right back. She published an Op Ed piece in the local newspaper that explained she hadn’t written the ebook and had been hacked. That got her an interview by Kate Boswick on the local news station where Sid had just casually mentioned that Roisin was simply acting up because she was just a disgruntled relation of the King and Queen. When Kate said, “Well, aren’t you also related to the King and Queen?” Sid answered yes – and that she was also the great-grand niece of Roisin Murphy. Boswick then twisted it around to make it look like Sid had set it up so Roisin could take over and pay Sid back by giving her a position of power in the new organization. No matter what Sid said, it came back to Boswick claiming Sid had written the book, had lied about being hacked, and was trying to help Roisin overthrow her own grandparents in order to get more power.
That interview had been shown live yesterday evening during prime time. Now, Grizz and I had received a call to head back to the station to help with crowd control. Seems a few of our fellow citizens wanted to make it known that they thought Sid should be drawn and quartered, or at least banished from the town for what she had ostensibly done to their beloved monarchs. The Commander had had someone move Sid’s SUV into the garage after it had been egged and spray painted with the word ‘traitor’ in bright red across the shiny black panels streaked with dried egg and bits of shell.
I had to admit, I was pretty pissed at Sid myself, and I told her so when I saw her in the Commander’s office.
“What the hell, Sid? Couldn’t just leave well enough alone, could you? Had to go get right in the middle of it all, be a smart ass and now we’ve got to clean up your mess. Good job,” I said when I stepped into the office and saw her seated in front of the Commander’s desk.
“Enough, Sin,” the Commander said. “You two can fight about this later. Where’s Grizzell?”
“He had to visit the restroom, he’ll be here in a minute. And I agree, it’s enough. There are people all over our community, calling for her head and I’m half tempted to hand her over to them. Not your smartest move, Sidonie.”
Sid didn’t say a word, just sat stiffly, eyes locked on the bookcase behind the Commander’s seat.
“Sinclair, I said it was enough. Get out of my office and send Grizzell in when he arrives. You’re dismissed,” the Commander said.
I made a sound of disgust and left the office with a bang on the door. I nearly ran into Grizz in the hallway and he looked concerned.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing. The Commander is waiting for you,” I said and kept going. I slammed things around in the break room while I got a can of cola out of the vending machine, then paced the hallway back and forth until Grizz came out.
“You drive the rig to the farm, your Grams needs help getting the crowd dispersed. I’m going to fly Sid in from the back to her place,” Grizz said.
“Whatever,” I said.
“You’re acting like a child,” Grizz said. “Pull your head out of your ass and focus on the job. Sett and a few others will be there but they could use the help, and you can pick me up at the same time. Now, go.”
I could still feel the fury growing, but I could see how Grizz might think I was being childish. He hadn’t been party to the games Sid had been playing over the past two years. Dating a bunch of different guys, breaking hearts, and not even caring about how she left them. It was juvenile and careless. Ephraim had come to me about a ye
ar ago after she’d dumped him and the poor guy was in tears. I never said anything to her, but it bothered me then and it bothered me more now. She should know more about a guy’s feelings than the average girl, having a male twin – but maybe that’s how she knew just what to say and do to shatter them. Either way, I was fed up. Looked like my sister was getting a taste of her own medicine. No longer the darling of the intelligence team, or the brilliant mind of the family – she was the one that had blown it all up.
If it wasn’t for the fact that people I truly cared about that had nothing to do with her crap, also lived on the farm – I probably would’ve let the mob destroy a few things. I couldn’t do that to Grams, Evelyn Rue, or my Aunt Sett. So, I drove around the dwindling mob in the station parking lot and headed for the farm.
By the time I got to the farm’s store location, Grams, Sett, and my cousin, Micah, had laid out a barrier to keep the mob away from the store using sawhorse barricades – and magic. The barricades gave a logical reason why someone wouldn’t go past, but the magic was what truly kept them from approaching the store. I pulled up to the side and Micah came over to help me through the boundary spell.
“You guys okay here?” I asked.
“Yeah, we’re fine. Ma is fit to be tied, though. One of them threw a rock through the display window,” Micah said.
“Who threw it?” I asked as I scanned the group of about forty people.
Micah pointed off to the side. “That guy. I zip tied him because he kept trying to swing at me and Ma. Sett almost flattened him when he spat at her, but instead she put the fear of the SPD into him.”
I went back to my rig and pulled the radio receiver out, then hit the siren a couple of whoops, then used the radio loudspeaker setting. “This is the police. You are trespassing on private property. Leave now, or get arrested for trespassing and malicious destruction of property. You’ve got five minutes to be gone, or I’ll start rounding you up.”