by test
WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 95
Chapter Ten
Ten minutes later I was still standing in front of the closet. What does one wear to a Coven Council? A broomstick and black cloak seemed appropriate, but I had the feeling that Gage would love an excuse to strip the clothes from my body and dress me himself. If I was being honest, I liked the idea too.
A soft knock at the door broke my reverie and I heard a voice whisper, “Anna, are you awake in there?”
Taryn! She would know what to wear I thought with relief pulling the door open for her.
After a few minutes discussion, Taryn and I had laid out trousers, a blouse and a silk lined blazer for the chilly Seattle weather. We carefully folded away a change of clothes and a nightgown and Taryn helped me gather some toiletries into a chic makeup bag she bought for me in London.
Gage was waiting for me at the bottom of the staircase and his eyes widened with appreciation as he looked me over. A small frown tugged at his lips as he saw my wrist, bare of the emerald bracelet, but wisely he didn't say anything.
The ride to Seattle was boring. I have never liked traveling. The being there part is fun, the getting there portion is dull beyond belief. I don't care if it's on a plane, train or a stretch limo, I just want it to be over and done with as soon as safely possible.
But two hours trapped in a car with an angry warlock, well, I didn't know the meaning of tortuous before. He was so angry I could almost feel waves of heat emanating from him and I spent the entire drive sitting straight backed looking out the window at the sights like I was fascinated by the scenery.
I counted twelve advertisements for blackberries and fifteen for organic honey before we reached Seattle and slowed to a crawl crossing the bridge.
I had never been here before so I watched with interest as we crossed Lake Washington and passed Safeco Field and the Space Needle. The sidewalks were crowded and the freeways had entrances and exits from both sides. A mad scramble of cars had my eyes bugging out with fear as they cut across four crowded lanes of traffic to get to the off ramps with a reckless disregard for safety.
Our car was long and sturdy and edged out several smaller vehicles when we reached our exit and swung off the freeway. I was relieved to not be driving in this confused jumble of skyscrapers and bridges. I cracked the window open and breathed in deep of the damp, piney air.
The car finally pulled into a large, crescent shaped driveway in front of a low redwood house on the edge of a lake. Armed guards stopped us before we could park in front and carefully checked the papers our driver held out the cracked window. Papers? What kind of papers did warlocks carry I wondered? With a nod the papers were given back to our driver and we were ushered forward.
Several limousines, plus a multitude of dark SUV's were parked outside of the large house and I hoped we weren't the last to arrive. I hate making a grand entrance.
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Our escort of three black SUV's emptied and I watched wide eyed as twelve body
armored men swept the area with automatic weapons. A tap on the window separating the backseat from the driver lowered with a discreet whirring sound. Gage gave the driver a nod and opened the door.
His hand was held out for me and for a moment I was tempted to ignore it. Gage gave me a disbelieving look as he noticed my hesitation and with a saucy smile I took his hand. I took a perverse pleasure in pissing him off and I reminded myself not to push him too hard. He wasn't like the pampered, tighty-whitey wearing men I was used to dealing with. Not to mention the fact I had seen him kill people to protect me.
The house was large and spread out to both sides with a double door of earth toned stained glass in the middle.
A tall thin man with a cadaverous appearance pulled the doors open for us and led the way from the large, light filled vestibule to a room on the right.
If I didn't know better I would say this was a cocktail party. Men in natty business suits and women in formal dresses sipped champagne and cocktails while snacking on tiny canapés being offered by the circulating white coated servers.
All conversation came to a halt as we stood in the doorway, until a handsome, older gentlemen excused himself from the group he had been speaking with near the window and walked towards us with hands held out in greeting.
“Lord Hawthorne, welcome to my home,” he said with a friendly smile while eying me curiously. Lord Hawthorne? I thought Gage made that up to bamboozle his way into Lillian’s office. I checked the urge to look behind me and stared at Gage with wide eyes.
“Thank you Jerome, we appreciate the invitation, you do us honor.” The men gave each other solemn nods and in spite of myself I was impressed. This meeting must really be a big deal then and I reminded myself to be on my best behavior.
With a slight smile in my direction Gage said, “This is Anna, Lucien and Helene Vallois'
daughter.”
Jerome was all politeness as he welcomed me but his bright blue eyes were curious as he glanced between Gage and me. I held out my hand to shake his and his warm dry hand gave it a solid two shakes while he looked me over from my caramel leather shoes to my boat-neck blouse.
That's when I caught sight of her. She was wearing the same tweed jacket, but had traded the purple sneakers for persimmon high tops with sparkly laces. Her white hair was a curly nimbus around her head and she was twirling the end of an extremely long, pink and white crocheted scarf in her left hand.
“Edna?”
She turned to look at me and a beaming smile crossed her face as she left a circle of black clad men to walk across the room to me.
I was frozen in place as she pumped my hand in an enthusiastic shake and pulled my head down to kiss my cheek with a loud smacking sound.
“I am so glad to see you again Anna! So you made it here okay? Your flight was fine?”
She laughed girlishly and had a delighted expression on her face that made her eyes crinkle up as she looked me over and gave my hand another shake with her small rheumy one.
This was just too much, I couldn't quite get my mind to wrap around the idea that she was a witch too and my silence finally clued her in and she rattled to a stop and gave my arm a gentle WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 97
pat and whispered, “We'll talk later, hmm? When we can be alone.”
I watched as she slowly walked back to her waiting entourage. Her steps wobbled a bit and one of the men, (bodyguard?) placed his hand under her elbow to steady her.
I turned to look at Gage and found him looking as shocked as I was. More surprising was that everyone else was silent in the room as well. I caught several speculative looks being cast our way and if I had been able to I would have dragged Gage outside for an explanation.
He saw my questioning look and mouthed, 'later,' at me with a rueful shake of his head.
I'm not sure what I was expecting of the Council, a round table of solemn, gray haired men in robes or a large bonfire with naked people around it chanting to the heavens, but the reality was pretty tame in comparison.
Our host, Jerome Wishart, was the head of Seattle Consolidated and with a tap, tap, tap on the side of his wine glass he asked everyone to make themselves comfortable for the meeting.
I settled onto a loveseat next to Gage and my eyes roamed the room. I was looking for someone who looked like a witch or warlock, but so far I saw five men I was sure were computer nerds, a tall woman with a shaved head, two women who looked like extras from Little House on the Prairie, complete with flowered, puffed sleeve dresses and fussy hairdo's, plus Edna, who I would have sworn was a sweet little old lady with a penchant for iced gingerbread.
Edna winked at me and waggled her fingers as my eyes turned to her and I felt a strange lift of my spirits at seeing her again. I wasn't sure why she helped me in London or why everyone seemed surprised that I knew her. From Gage's reaction it was obvious he hadn't sent her to help me. Just another mystery then.
; Jerome stood in front of the massive fireplace and began, “First, I would like to welcome everyone to my home. On behalf of Seattle Consolidated, we are honored to have you in our fair city.” Bored applause filled the air.
When it petered out, Jerome continued, “First, Morgan Lindwald, I believe you wished to address the council, so I'll turn it over to you.”
A tall woman, with a shaved head stood up. The only thing stopping her from looking like a homely, skinny man was the frilly pink dress she was wearing, kinda weird. She had large, dark eyes that were strangely liquid and a long curved nose that distracted from her full mouth and slightly crooked white teeth.
“Hugo is all our problem. For years he has gotten away with the most unimaginable …”
her voice faltered and she blinked several times before continuing, “crimes. But, for the first time, I think we have a real chance to stop him, if we work together.”
Her glance touched on everyone in the room, and in spite of myself, I leaned forward so as not to miss a word. She had a deep voice and a way of making everyone think she was speaking only to them.
“A young witch was able to escape his compound in Idaho last week, she can lead us there and from that, I believe, we can track down the other breeding camps and training grounds.
I have spoken to the Idaho and Montana wolf packs and they have partnered with us to take down any weres he may have in his control. Also, they have offered us safe passage through the packlands for this purpose.”
There was a lot of shouting and yelling after that as plans were made and scrapped and then remade the exact same way again. My head was starting to hurt and my stomach was rumbling, but the buffet table was empty of everything but a few limp pieces of parsley and a half eaten piece of cocktail rye.
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I glanced around wondering if it would be rude if I looked for the kitchen myself. If that wasn't okay, I was willing to order a few pizzas for everyone. I didn't have my purse with me but if Gage would pay for them I would pay him back once I got my bank card back.
A gentle hand touched my back and I turned around to see Edna beaming at me. There was something about her that was so friendly and open that I was surprised that she would lie to me the way she did in London. Although, to be fair, I didn't ask her if she was a witch or if she knew Gage, so she didn't really lie, she just omitted a few pertinent facts.
“How are you Anna?” She said, holding my hand in both of hers.
She had such a look of genuine concern and affection that reminded me, in an odd way, of my friends, Patty and Leah.
“Okay, a little tired of surprises,” I said with a pointed look at her.
She laughed and clapped her hands with delight, “Yes, yes, I can understand that.”
“Who are you and why are you here?”
She had a mischievous twinkle in her eye when she said, “Oh, I go where I'm needed.”
That didn't really answer my question, but I had the feeling she wouldn't tell me if I asked again.
“Lord Hawthorne is a good man. I am so happy to see you together. Yes, things worked out just the way I hoped.”
With that cryptic statement, she wandered off. I noticed that while the other people at the meeting greeted her with respectful nods and made way for her to pass, none of them stopped to speak with her and a couple looked frightened and stared at the floor when she came near them.
Gage put his arms around my shoulder and I looked up at him with a small smile.
“When did you meet her?” He asked, watching Edna make her way back to her three bodyguards. I smiled as I noticed they were all very lovely to look at; tall and muscular, like beefed up boy band members.
“In London, when I was waiting for the Embassy to open up.”
He looked surprised and said, “But you were under surveillance the entire time. We never saw her with you … ahem, yes, I understand.”
“What?”
“She's the Oracle, she might have slowed down time a moment so that she could speak with you. She does that sometimes.” I know my jaw was hanging open but I was too astonished to close my mouth.
“That sweet, little old lady can stop time?”
“Don't call her an old lady to her face. What did she say to you? What does she want?”
Gage's face was serious, his jaw bones stood out in stark relief and the sensual lines of his mouth were tight with suppressed emotion.
I watched Edna speaking with her guards, she really did look like someone's granny. I could picture her knitting tea cozies while listening to Mario Lanza on the radio. Trying to imagine her as a supernatural being was a strain. She just looked so ordinary.
“I don't know. She bought me tea and cakes. We spoke of London and Jane Eyre,
nothing momentous. Why did the council invite her?”
I didn't tell Gage what she said about him because frankly, the man didn't need any more encouragement and my feelings for him were such a mish mash of lust, annoyance and infatuation I wasn't sure I could handle his reaction.
“She wasn't invited, she just showed up and no one would have the nerve to deny her WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 99
entrance. Jerome asked me if you knew she was coming since you two seemed so chummy.”
Gage said.
“Well, your guess is as good as mine. Surely she could be of great help in capturing Hugo? She will help, won’t she?”
Gage wouldn't meet my eyes and a curl of fear made my stomach tighten. “What aren't you telling me?”
“There is a saying; “May the eyes of the Oracle fall upon you.”
“Well, that's good then, right? It’s a blessing?”
“It's a curse. To come to the attention of the Oracle isn't a good thing. She seems very interested in you and that worries me.” He did look worried. The color had leeched out of his face leaving his dark gray eyes to add the only spark of life.
Brittle laughter filled the room and I noticed, as if for the first time, that people were casting wary glances at Edna where she sat in a corner of the room gazing serenely out the window.
“That does it, I'm going to have a word with her!” I pushed away from Gage and he made a grab for my arm as I started to walk off.
“No! It isn't done, you must ask for an audience with her first. You can't just rush up and make demands, she's the Oracle.” He hissed at me trying to hold me back.
“I don't care if she's the Antichrist, I have been pushed around and lied to too much! I want some answers!” I said in a loud voice that had heads turning to me with disapproving frowns.
People parted for me with quiet whispers as I made my way across the room. Edna beamed as she watched me get closer. She held her hands out in welcome. Gage was right behind me and I felt a surge of gratitude that he wanted to be with me while I spoke to her.
“Edna, I need to know why you approached me in London. Gage seems to think you
mean to hurt me and I want to know why,” I said levelly and watched as her eyes flicked to Gage briefly before returning to me with a beatific smile.
“Yes, yes, London is a lovely city. The Romans called it Londinium. Did you know that?” Her head was tilted to the side and I saw a bald spot on the top of her head and a long line of scars that looked like crooked stitches ran along the top of her head and curled out from her hairline in the back. Yikes, that looked bad.
I shook my head, 'no.' My experience with the elderly indicated that it sometimes took a circuitous route of details and segues to get to the point, so I waited.
She continued, “Did you know that you look like my daughter, Geraldine?”
I felt Gage stiffen next to me, but I wanted to concentrate on what she said so I didn't look at him.
“She was a beautiful girl. She's gone now, of course. Her babies are gone too.” Edna wore a terrible expression of grief and for a moment I thought she would cry.
I knelt down next to her chair and took her age spotted
hand in mine, it trembled a moment and then she gave mine a squeeze and said, “The roads of time connect in strange ways.
Sometimes they unravel and people are flung off the ends, never to be seen again, forgotten so soon they might never have existed. Then there are other ways, different roads, so many destinations. I see a bright path that winds on forever with people along its entirety. I see you on this path with him.”
She was silent and I waited for her to say more. What did she mean? What is the path WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 100
and why is it important, when I heard a soft snore followed by a wheezing sound. Her face seemed oddly deflated when she slept and could almost make you think you were looking at a woman well past her 100th birthday taking a nap.
Edna's head was cocked to the side and she snored gently, her chest rising and falling slowly. Gage pulled me to my feet and we stepped away. I watched as one of her bodyguards gently picked her up, he maneuvered her head onto his shoulder and with a respectful nod to Gage and me, carried her from the room with the other guards following.
I heard the front door close and the room was silent for almost a minute before low voiced conversations and the sounds of twenty five people moving around made it seem noisy again
“What the hell did that mean?” I turned to look at Gage and he looked just as mystified as me and shrugged.
WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 101
Chapter Eleven
The meeting started to wind down as deals were struck and alliances strengthened. A master plan was agreed on and the details were hashed out and refined, ad nauseum, for several hours. To me, the plan seemed solid. But who was I to say? I didn't have any experience invading a madman's compound and rescuing women and children.
I was droopy with exhaustion when the meeting broke up and delighted when Gage