Taliesin Ascendant (The Children and the Blood)

by Megan Joel Peterson

  A group of people emerged from one of the warehouse doors. Instinctively, Harris’ mind ran a swift count, noting the ten men too large to be teenagers, the one body suspended between them, and the narrow forms of two women at the center.

  The buttery light caught their faces as they glanced around.

  His car nearly went off the road.

  Turning, the group headed deeper into the marina, hauling the body with them. Heart pounding, Harris guided the vehicle to the shoulder by instinct, his eyes locked on the people disappearing between the buildings. Fumbling with the seatbelt latch, he shoved the car door open and then clambered outside.

  It was her. Months of searching. Months of nothing. Months and months and…

  He drew a breath and tugged out his cell phone.

  “Layton Marina. Southeast Croftsburg. Get here. She’s inside.”

  Before anyone could speak, he hung up and shoved the phone into his pocket. Dryly, he licked his lips, ordering himself to concentrate.

  Jamison’s men would be coming. They were better equipped to handle her. But she had a victim with her right now.

  There wasn’t any time.

  He couldn’t let it happen again.

  Harris drew his gun.

  *****

  She could hear the water lapping the lakeshore as they emerged from the portal at the edge of the marina. Overhead, a security light glared, turning the corrugated sides of the warehouses to gold. Gravel crunched as Elias and the others arrived, but she didn’t turn.

  Her eyes were locked on the graffiti scrawled on the metal siding.

  “Your majesty?”

  A breath entered her lungs sharply, and she looked back.

  “What is it?” Elias asked, concerned.

  “Nothing,” she answered, her voice more choked than she’d have liked. Blinking, she turned to Sebastian, unable to keep the fury from her eyes.

  He smirked vaguely, seeming confused by her expression, and his gaze twitched to the wall curiously.

  Her heart jumped. “Where?” she demanded, letting her anger cover everything else.

  For a moment more, he looked between her and the markings, and then he jerked his chin toward the heart of the marina. “Dry storage. End of the row.”

  “Go,” she ordered the others.

  They hauled Sebastian with them as they headed away from the security lights into the deeper shadows of the yard.

  Her gaze returned to the three large scribbles of graffiti amid the common vandalism coating the building.

  Trap. Run.

  The last symbol was unfinished.

  Swallowing hard, she turned and followed the others.

  The sound of the water grew louder as they moved toward the end of the gravel drive. Stenciled numbers in chipping paint differentiated the identical buildings, most of which gaped emptily in the darkness. At the final building on the row, Sebastian grumbled instructions to stop.

  “That one.”

  Drawing a rough breath, she started for the entrance, when Nathaniel grabbed her arm. With a warning glance, he shook his head and then moved ahead of her toward the rusting metal door. Despite their weathered appearance, the hinges made no sound as he pulled the door wide.

  The smell hit them before anything else.

  Ashe’s hands flared to life, and the shadows fell back. Nathaniel turned quickly to block her path.

  “Your majesty–”

  “Move.”

  Nathaniel hesitated, but at her expression, he just turned and led the way inside.

  Not breathing, she followed. Behind her, one of the guards fumbled for a light switch.

  “Oh sweet God,” she heard Katherine whisper.

  They’d tried to make it look like an argument gone too far. She could see it in the way the bodies were laid. Six people, arrayed as though trying to escape the seventh, the latter of which held a gun. Murder-suicide. So neat. So easily dismissed by the police.

  She was trembling so hard the ground felt like it was shaking, but somehow her feet still carried her past the empty boat racks and across the room. Behind her, the others followed, and she could hear them dragging Sebastian with them over the rough floor.

  Numbly, she stopped at the edge of the circle of bodies and looked down, nausea twisting her insides. The pools of blood had mostly dried on the concrete. Ragged holes peppered the backs of those staged as fleeing, and the seventh was missing part of his skull. Their eyes were glassy, empty and cold.

  She didn’t recognize them.

  The thought was distant, and she questioned it absently. Had they been at the Abbey? Had she just not noticed them? Could they have known Carter, and that’d been why they came?

  Seven more cripples, killed because the wizards sent word on her behalf.

  A short burst of chuckling broke out behind her, silenced almost instantly by the sound of a fist hitting flesh. “What the hell is this?” she heard Elias snarl at Sebastian.

  Her gaze slid back as the man scoffed again, refusing to answer.

  “The cripple forces,” she told them. “The ones who came to fight the Blood.”

  Bafflement colored Elias’ face as he looked between her and the bodies. “They sent them home,” he protested. “The cripples didn’t find anything and they…”

  His words caught up with his eyes and he looked over at his wife in desperation.

  Ashe ignored them, watching Sebastian. “Darius did this?”

  “Probably the minute you found out about him, my lady.”

  Air scraped her lungs, carrying the rank stench of the room. She choked and then swallowed hard. “Are there others? Other locations?”

  He seemed to weigh whether to answer. Her hand caught fire again before she could stop it.

  His theatrical expression melted into disdain. “No,” he grudged. “We’ve been short supplied for awhile now. Even had to start culling some of our informants. Your precious cripples got smarter, you see. Stopped coming in such large numbers when their buddies didn’t answer calls anymore.”

  She looked away.

  “I’ve got to say, though,” Sebastian continued conversationally. “That could change, especially if you keep treating me like this. Darius was well aware you knew more than you let on. Heaven knows what you gave up without realizing. You let me go, maybe we can make a deal. Otherwise…”

  Her gaze darted to him as he trailed off meaningfully.

  “You know,” he said as though she’d asked him to explain. “Like hiding places. Some of their darling ‘Hunter’ secrets. You always were so transparent. Like back by the–”

  He cut off as she crossed the distance between them swiftly. “What does he know?” she demanded.

  “What makes you think I’ll–”

  Her hand wrapped around his throat. Gasping, he tried to recoil as, beneath her fingers, his flesh began to burn.

  The guards didn’t let him move.

  “What does he know?” she whispered.

  “Nothing,” Sebastian spat hoarsely. “Just rumors. He was going to set something up to get you to tell him more.”

  Her hand grew hotter. Skin sizzled as smoke curled up from his neck. “Is that true?”

  “You little cripple-loving–” he snarled and then cut off as the guards jerked him in her grip. “Yes! Yes, damn you–”

  She released his throat, leaving a blistered and bleeding imprint of her hand. She stepped away, her gaze returning to the cripples lying dead on the floor.

  “You… you stupid, fire-flinging bitch!” Sebastian cried, struggling to break the guards’ hold. “How dare you hurt me! You think you’re anything? You pathetic little infant, you get someone over here to fix this! Do you hear me? Get that healer over here!”

  Ashe looked back expressionlessly.

  Fury and impotence twisted his face as he read her response. Quivering with rage, he looked down, his gaze searching the ground and then catching on the blood staining his shirt. The shaking strengthened. His lips tw
itched into a snarl.

  “No one hurts me,” Sebastian whispered. “No one, do you understand?”

  His gaze rose to meet hers. In spite of herself, Ashe tensed at the look in his eyes.

  He chuckled. “Some of the cripples tried to hurt me too, you know? Those tough guys and that blonde bitch.” He smiled. “You really liked them, didn’t you? The ‘Hunters’. Carter’s little crew of misfits. Were you friends? Did they trust you?” His smile deepened. “Want to know what it felt like to crush them? To see the agony in their eyes before they died? To watch the horrible, gut-wrenching realization that their precious Ashe had–”

  She didn’t even feel the fire as it left her body and set him aflame. With a shout, the guards stumbled back, unburned and staring.

  The charred corpse fell to the floor.

  Choking, Ashe spun away, suffocating the fire inside. Hot tears ran down her cheeks as she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to keep from screaming.

  And then the world exploded.

  *****

  Harris crept toward the storage building, careful to stay out of the light spilling from the doorway. Unintelligible voices muttered inside, rising and falling in the rhythm of an argument.

  Dryly, he swallowed and shifted his grip on the gun. If they were arguing, the hostage could still be alive. Taking a breath, he inched to the door and leaned his head around the frame.

  Rigid control kept him from cursing, aided by a fair measure of shock.

  A heavy stench hung in the air. Bodies lay on the floor. And Ashley was standing beside them all.

  She looked back to the captive, who seemed to be cursing her roundly. Over the distance the angry words were indecipherable, though the cold expression with which she met them was clear. On either side of the kneeling prisoner, two men stood, while at their backs, several others were surveying the room.

  He ducked out of sight as a few of her accomplices glanced toward the door, and waited a cluster of heartbeats before edging his gaze around the frame again.

  The captive fell silent for a moment. He muttered something to Ashley.

  And without a trace of expression on her face, she burned him alive.

  Harris gasped. Her accomplices stumbled backward. Swiftly, Ashley turned to the rest of the dead sprawled across the floor while behind her, the blackened corpse lay smoking.

  Choking down a breath, Harris raised his gun.

  He didn’t miss this time.

  *****

  The concrete hit her and everything was wrong. The world was a series of shuddering images, interspersed with a crushing weight on her chest that kept her from drawing air. The lights overhead burned like tiny suns in her eyes, blurring in and out of focus as the ocean raged in her ears.

  And then the pain came.

  She choked wetly and tasted blood as it filled her throat. Her hands slipped in pools of liquid, and Katherine appeared, blocking the lights and shouting without sound.

  Magic enveloped her.

  Uncomprehending, she stared at the woman as waves of energy coursed through her in rapid succession. Blazing heat raced over her chest, into her lungs, searing her flesh as it passed.

  And she couldn’t breathe.

  She just couldn’t breathe.

  Everything was wrong.

  The magic was tearing her apart.

  And then the world went black.

  *****

  Ashe gasped as she opened her eyes. White lights glared overhead and the ground felt strange beneath her back.

  The room was cold. Concrete. Windowless.

  Panic hit her and frantically, she tried to rise. Pain lanced through her chest and then someone was beside her.

  “No, your majesty,” Nathaniel said, his hands pushing her gently back down. “Please, don’t try to move.”

  Ragged breaths escaped her as she fought to make her mouth form the words she needed, but nothing was responding correctly and every choked sound was an agony.

  He seemed to read the question in her eyes.

  “You were shot,” he told her, his matter-of-fact tone failing to fully disguise his tension. “But you are safe now.”

  Fear filtered into her gaze and desperately, she tried to force herself to speak.

  “Please, your highness,” he urged. “Don’t. You’ll be healed up soon. Katherine is coming back. She just couldn’t do it all at once. Your…” he hesitated. “Your body couldn’t handle it.”

  “Where?” she whispered, her voice raw.

  “You’re in the basement of one of Elias’ safe houses. We brought you here once Katherine stabilized you enough to move.”

  Her eyes closed with relief.

  On the far side of the room, the door swung open, admitting Katherine. At the sight of the woman, Nathaniel stepped back.

  “How are you feeling, your highness?” Katherine asked.

  Ashe struggled to find an answer, uncertain what to say. She glanced to Nathaniel.

  “She is having trouble speaking,” he said quietly.

  The woman nodded, her lips tightening. “I’m going to try a bit more healing,” she told Ashe. “It may hurt. Just try to keep breathing.”

  Katherine studied her a heartbeat longer, and then carefully rested a hand on Ashe’s chest.

  Heat spread beneath her touch. Ashe’s hands clenched the edges of the bed as the fire built higher. She gasped and then choked on the air, her body jerking as Katherine sent surge after surge of magic rushing through her. Nathaniel appeared, holding her down as tears leaked from her eyes.

  And then the pain faded. The searing heat became warmth, became a breeze, became nothing. She squeezed her eyes shut as residual trembling shook her.

  Katherine exhaled, the magic around her vanishing. Gently, Nathaniel released Ashe’s shoulders.

  “Water,” Katherine ordered. He nodded, and strode for the door.

  The woman watched him go, and then looked down at her. “If you will permit me, your highness.”

  Taking Ashe’s silence as a response, she carefully pulled up the t-shirt and placed her fingertips on Ashe’s chest, delicately examining the skin. A thread of magic shivered beneath her touch, disappearing almost instantly. The woman nodded to herself.

  “Come on,” she said, pulling the shirt back down.

  Putting an arm around Ashe’s shoulders, she helped her sit up. A dull ache throbbed in Ashe’s chest as she moved, and she winced.

  “Take it slow,” Katherine admonished.

  Jerkily, Ashe nodded. Bracing herself on her outstretched arms, she looked around.

  She was on a table, its metal surface covered by layers of what appeared to be quilted mover’s blankets. Beside her, a bank of gleaming steel refrigerators lined the wall, while a few cardboard boxes marked with food service labels were stacked in a corner.

  Memories filtered in as she caught sight of her blurred reflection on the glistening refrigerator. Pain. Lights and no sound. People running.

  She trembled.

  Fire. Sebastian’s words. Carter’s crew. Her hands tightened again around the table’s edge. The memories hurt. She could still see their faces. And because of her – because she’d trusted wizards when they’d taught her so much better – all of them were dead.

  Anguish welled up, and brutally, she crushed it down. She wanted to believe Sebastian had been lying. That he hadn’t killed Spider and the rest. But she’d heard the truth in his voice.

  She’d seen it in his eyes.

  Nathaniel returned with a glass of water. Right behind him followed Elias, whose face flickered with relief at the sight of her sitting up. He clasped a hand on his wife’s shoulder, giving Katherine a grateful look.

  Expressionlessly, Ashe took the water, drinking it slowly. As she lowered the glass, she could feel the others watching her.

  “What happened?” she asked, forcing her voice to sound neutral. “Nathaniel said I was shot?”

  Elias glanced to Katherine. “A human,” he said. Ashe’s brow f
urrowed at the words. “Somehow, he followed us and…”

  Ashe set the glass on the table, studying the water.

  “The bullet missed your heart,” Katherine said when Elias fell silent. “For which you were extremely lucky. The man attempted to take additional shots, but by that point the guards had shielded the area.”

  Nathaniel didn’t move, his gaze on the ground, but Ashe could see his jaw muscles jumping.

  “He is not dead,” Katherine continued, her tone making it clear the status was temporary. “As we concluded bringing him in for questioning would be a better option. The man was… deranged. Raging when the guards intercepted him. He had no difficulty seeing us, and appeared to be specifically targeting you.” She paused. “If someone has enlisted humans as assassins in this war, we want to know.”

  Ashe didn’t respond for a moment. “Has he shown any sign of magic?”

  Elias made an awkward sound. “Your highness…”

  She looked up at him.

  “No,” he amended. “So far, he just appears to be human.”

  She hesitated. “I want to see him.”

  “My lady, I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” Katherine said. “You have barely healed and any stress–”

  “I want to see him,” Ashe repeated. She paused, resisting the urge to rub the aching space on her chest where the bullet had torn through. “If he’s one of the Blood, I’ll be ready this time.”

  Protests marked the faces of the wizards around her, but finally Elias sighed. “As you wish, your highness.”

  He motioned Nathaniel toward the door and then turned to help her off the makeshift bed.

  “What is this place?” she asked as he eased her to the ground.

  “It belongs to a friend of mine,” Elias said. He caught sight of her expression and continued. “But don’t worry, Darius won’t find us. Even on the council, we only trust each other so far – as I guess you figured out. Hideouts, escape plans and the like rarely get shared. And Joe’s a good guy; he won’t give us up to anyone who comes around – though there’s almost no chance they’ll ask him anyway.”