Blood Kin: A Novel of the Half-Light City

by M. J. Scott

  “You grew up together?”

  “Yes. She’s two years younger than me.” There weren’t many children in the brothel. Most of the girls and women took care not to catch. Those who did had ways of taking care of the results. But Annie, Reggie’s mother, had refused to take that path. My mother, of course, had me in the rosy period of her relationship with Cormen. When he’d been too taken with her beauty to object to anything she wanted.

  I was an only child, though. Mama was smart enough to realize that Cormen wouldn’t take kindly to too many other demands on her time once I’d arrived. So I’d lived a solitary life, a petted child among adults. Until Cormen left and Mama, after the money started to run out, took up work at the Swallow. Until Reggie and Fen.

  My family.

  “My workroom is through here.” I waved at the door at the far end of room. “You can wait here or out front. Reggie has books. And tea.”

  “Can’t I watch?”

  That stopped me. I hadn’t performed magic with an audience in years. Building charms took focus and concentration. The thought of Guy watching me didn’t seem all that conducive to either of those things. But perhaps it wouldn’t matter. After all, even if he were sitting outside, I would still know he was there. “I usually work alone,” I said slowly.

  “You won’t even know I’m there.”

  Doubtful. “It’s not all that interesting,” I said. After all, he couldn’t actually see the magic. The rest was more like making jewelry.

  “Even so, I’d like to see.” His expression was hard to read, his pale eyes intent on mine.

  Did he really want to see me work? Or was he just being protective? Or was he going to try and talk to me about tonight again? I had fobbed him off after breakfast, insisting we come here first. I knew that discussing plans for Halcyon would only make me nervous and I needed my concentration for the charms. Regardless of his motives, I found it hard to resist him. “All right.” I nodded. “But if it turns out you interfere with what I’m doing, I’m tossing you out.”

  He smiled then. “Fair enough.”

  He was as good as his word. He followed me silently into my little workroom, took a seat on the chair I pointed out, and sat quietly as I poked around the baskets and shelves of materials, letting my instincts guide my hands.

  The basic materials for each of my charms are similar but never exactly the same. Different oils, different colors, even different ways of joining each element together. The magic told me what it wanted on any given day.

  Today its mood seemed somber. I kept reaching for black and silver. Dark blues and purples. Lavender oil, sage, and rosemary. Dull chips of night-dark agate. The colors reminded me of Cormen’s Family ring, making my stomach curl uneasily.

  “Can I ask a question?”

  I started, having half forgotten Guy was there. He knew how to be silent. How to fade into the background—not a bad trick for a man of his size and coloring. He’d make a good spy. Maybe he had been one. “Of course.”

  “How does it work?”

  “Making a charm?”

  He nodded.

  “It’s hard to explain to someone without magic. Does Simon use charms?”

  Guy frowned. “He does wards. He’s always been hopeless at glamours.”

  “Sunmages are best at healing, from what I understand. Or fire.” Human magic was a different beast. Fed by whatever element they had affinity with. Fae magic simply was. Part of us, part of the earth, fed by the life force of everything around us. Or so I’d been told.

  The Fae believed that was why they were so long-lived, that the connection with everything sustained them. And their connection to life was why they had a historical distaste for the Blood. Who should be dead.

  “What are you good at?”

  I gestured at the tabletop, littered with everything I’d gathered. “This. To a degree. My charms work well for me.” I wasn’t going to tell him everything. “Otherwise, my powers are fairly basic. Wards. Glamours.”

  Full Fae could do much, much more than I. The Veiled Queen could shape Summerdale itself—or at least the Veiled Court, which lay below its hills—to her will. Other Fae could use their powers to hide or disguise or change their own territories in the Veiled World, but the queen could dissolve those magics if she chose. Her power held the court for her. To claim the crown, someone would have to be strong enough to defeat her. Or convince enough of the court to band together to remove her. That hadn’t happened for a very long time. Over a thousand years.

  Hopefully it wouldn’t happen any time soon.

  Guy shifted on his chair. “You still haven’t answered my question. About how the charms work.” He gestured at the table. “What are you making?”

  “Tools of the trade,” I said lightly. “A few invisibility charms—”

  “You can turn invisible?” Guy looked startled. “Like Lily?”

  “Lily’s a wraith. Wraiths aren’t invisible, they’re incorporeal. I can’t walk through walls. More’s the pity.” I shot him a quick smile, to let him see I was joking. I had no desire to be a wraith. It was bad enough being a normal half-breed without being something that the Fae actively abhorred.

  “Walking through walls would be useful for someone in your line of work.”

  “Yes,” I admitted. “But I’m pretty good with locks and wards anyway.”

  “What else?” Guy asked.

  “Look-aways—those distract people so they won’t notice something. Or someone. Hear-mes. Those are the basics I use the most.” I stirred the small pile of crystals I’d gathered together.

  There was something else that would be useful tonight, I realized. Something to connect Guy and Fen and me and let us know if one of us needed help. I didn’t make alert charms very often. I didn’t need them, working alone. Fen had one he shared with Reggie, given he was usually in a better position to stop what he was doing and come to her aid than I was. She didn’t always remember to wear it, despite our warnings. She mustn’t have been wearing it when she was taken or Fen would have had a warning of Cormen’s ploy, at least.

  I’d only ever made alerts to connect two people. Three would be a different thing again.

  Well, I would try, and if it didn’t work, Fen would be able to come up with something. I would breathe easier in Halcyon with some way to call for help. Ignatius Grey was no one to be trifled with. Even more so now, if he was climbing the ranks fast enough to make Adeline nervous.

  He was obviously confident enough to throw a soiree tonight.

  The only part I hadn’t figured out was why my father would be attending the party. I couldn’t see what he would gain from it, and Cormen rarely did anything not to his own advantage.

  There were always some Fae who traded and dealt with the Blood Court, but my father’s Family—the sa’Inviels—and his particular branch of it were, from what I understood, amongst the more conservative Fae. They kept to themselves, mainly staying in Summerdale. Some of the younger members, Cormen included, had started to spend more time in the human world and the social whirl of the border boroughs, but I didn’t think any of them were moving toward the Night World.

  I paid attention to their movements, when I could, mostly to keep track of where Cormen might be so I could avoid him.

  “Holly?” Guy’s voice interrupted me.

  I blinked. “Sorry, I was thinking. About the charms. I told you it takes concentration.” A lie. But there was no point in sharing my uneasiness with Guy. He would try and find a way for us not to go to Halcyon. “Was there—”

  GUY

  Holly broke off, jumping as the jangle of a bell interrupted her. She frowned. “The sign says we’re closed. Why would someone ring?”

  I stood. “I’ll go see. You stay here.” She was right. Who knew we were here? Reason enough to be cautious.

  I didn’t recognize the man and woman—dark-haired and dark-eyed, dressed in sober clothing of gray and brown for the man and a dull blue dress for the woman—standin
g outside the door, but when he saw me, the man smiled.

  I didn’t open the door. “Can I help you?” I asked, knowing my voice would carry through the open window.

  “Guy, it’s us. Let us in.” Simon’s voice. But a voice could be faked.

  “Us?” I queried.

  The woman rolled her eyes and pulled a chain out from under her dress. A finely wrought thing of iron and silver and gold. I knew that chain. “You’re getting paranoid in your old age, Guy. Let us in.”

  That voice I knew too. Saskia. Eldest of my sisters. Metalmage in training. Not known for her patience or her respect for her elders. I unlocked the door. “What are you doing here?”

  They walked past me, Saskia winking at me. I pulled the blind down to cover the glass of the door and locked it. “Hell’s balls, Simon, don’t you have any sense?”

  “We—” He stopped, staring down at my hands.

  Beside, him, Saskia gasped. “Gods, Guy. Your hands.”

  She sounded horrified. The glamours that disguised their appearances shimmered and vanished, leaving me facing two pairs of accusing eyes. Saskia’s green-gray gaze even angrier than Simon’s blue.

  “What did you do?” Simon demanded. “Lily told me your plan, but I didn’t think you’d go this far.” He came forward, reaching for my arm.

  I stepped away. “I’m more interested in what the two of you are doing here,” I said. “I told you to stay away.”

  “I’d like to know that too.” Holly appeared behind Simon and Saskia, who both spun around as she spoke. Simon’s hand dropped to his hip while Saskia’s lifted, palm out.

  “Calm down,” I snapped. “It’s Holly.”

  Simon had the grace to look slightly sheepish. Saskia’s narrowed gaze stayed on Holly as Holly moved to my side.

  “What were you thinking, Simon?” I continued. “And why on earth would you drag Saskia into this?”

  “Because with Lily stuck in St. Giles, thanks to you, she was the quickest way to find you,” Simon said.

  Fuck. I’d forgotten about that. Saskia could find any of the family. Had been able to since her powers rose. No games of hide-and-seek at DuCaine family gatherings anymore. Simon said it was something to do with her affinity for iron and us being related and there being iron in our blood. I didn’t understand it, but it was damned annoying.

  “You could have asked her and then left her at the Guild,” I pointed out.

  “I thought you’d prefer I was incognito,” Simon said.

  “I’d prefer you’d stayed away altogether,” I retorted. “You’re supposed to be staying out of trouble.”

  “So Saskia offered to glamour us,” Simon continued as though I hadn’t spoken.

  “You’re the metalmage,” Holly said from beside me.

  Saskia nodded. “And you’re a spy, or so Simon tells me.”

  I glared at Simon. Holly just said, “Yes, I am,” very coolly.

  “Can you teach me how to pick a lock?” Saskia said with a grin.

  “No, she can’t,” I said firmly. I gave Simon a “now look what you’ve done” look over Saskia’s head.

  “I wouldn’t think locks would be a difficulty for a metalmage,” Holly said, with an answering smile.

  “That depends on whether or not they were built by another metalmage,” Saskia said.

  “No one is teaching anyone to pick locks,” I said again. “I asked you why you were here.”

  “I wanted to make sure you were all right,” Simon said steadily.

  “We agreed that I’d contact you, if I needed to,” I said. “It’s only been two days.” I stopped, studied Simon for a moment. “What happened?”

  “Someone set a fire at St. Giles last night,” Simon said. He held up a hand to stop me before I could speak. “No one was hurt. The wards took care of things.”

  That didn’t exactly comfort me. Wards will fail if enough power is thrown at them. “Any idea who was behind it?”

  “Lily thought she smelled Beasts, but with the smoke and water, she couldn’t be sure.”

  Beasts again. I didn’t like it at all. First they’d tried for Holly and me. Now they were targeting St. Giles. Which boiled down to targeting Simon and Lily.

  “The wards held, Guy,” Saskia said. “The Masters of the Guilds are there now, reinforcing them. It’s still safe for Lily and Simon.”

  I let out a breath. I hadn’t noticed I was holding it. “All right. Then that’s where you should be. Back there. It’s safest.” I wished I could send them to the Brother House, but it would risk revealing that my expulsion was a ploy.

  “What about you?” Simon asked.

  “We’re fine,” I said. Holly was silent beside me. I hoped she would stay that way. I didn’t want Simon knowing what had happened at the Gilt or that we were going to Halcyon tonight. If he did, he’d never leave. Even now his blue eyes were skeptical.

  “Truly,” I said.

  He moved fast, catching my wrist and twisting my hand so he could see the tattoo more clearly. “You certain about that?”

  “They’re only tattoos,” I said, pulling my hand free. “I have a job to do. This is what it takes.”

  “Lily would have helped you. We would have helped you,” Simon said.

  “Which is exactly what I didn’t want. Our family has been through enough.”

  “Since when do you get to decide what’s right for us?” Saskia said.

  “I’m the eldest.”

  She made a dismissive noise. “Simon and I are mages.”

  “You’re a ’prentice, not a mage. And Holly and I don’t need any help. I’d tell you if I did. If you want to make this easier for me, then you’ll stay away. Stay safe.”

  Simon looked torn. I knew that the last thing he wanted was to put Lily or anyone else at risk. But the list of people he wanted to protect included me. “Are your hands all right?” he asked finally, and I knew I’d won the argument for now.

  I held out my hands, knowing he’d want to check them no matter what I said. “Yes. I had a healer.” As expected, Simon took my hands in his anyway and his eyes took on that peculiar look of focus he wore when he healed.

  Saskia stood to one side, one hand twirling a piece of her hair—a sure sign she hadn’t yet made up her mind whether she was going to do as I asked.

  “I swear, Sass,” I said to her. “On my oaths. I’ll ask for help, if I need it.” I intended that to be never.

  “The order banished you,” she said, eyes unhappy. “You don’t have any oaths.”

  Ah. So Simon hadn’t told Saskia the whole truth. Wise man. Saskia was more stubborn than a mule with its feet glued to the ground.

  “They might have released me, but I didn’t,” I said gently. Saskia hated feeling helpless. She’d only grown more fierce since Edwina had died, determined to do her part to protect our family. “I’ll ask. When it’s time. If you go back with Simon now and don’t make this harder on everybody.”

  She nodded slowly. “All right, but if you don’t, you know I can melt your sword and your mail and all your other precious bits of Templar metal into slag, don’t you?”

  Holly laughed, then turned it into a more diplomatic cough. Simon released my hands with a satisfied nod. His eyes were amused. He knew Saskia was perfectly capable of making good on her threats.

  “I know,” I said diplomatically. “And I will, I promise. But you two have to go now. Holly and I have work to do.”

  HOLLY

  Guy was silent as he closed the door behind Simon and his sister, his movements very deliberate as he locked the door behind them. He stayed for a minute, looking through the glass, no doubt following their progress down the street. Back to St. Giles.

  I stayed where I was, trying to think. The sight of Simon had made my stomach burn, the geas waking with a greasy swirl. I didn’t think it could force me to actually walk out of the building and follow him, but seeing Simon had been a harsh reminder of Cormen.

  Of the fact that I was running
out of time.

  And the stark truth that this situation was getting more dangerous by the minute. Veil’s eyes. Someone had set a fire in a Haven.

  A human Haven located right next door to the Templar Brother House. A bold move indeed.

  It couldn’t be a coincidence that it happened while Simon and Lily were there. So, was someone else also curious as to what Simon’s secret might be or was Cormen—and whoever else might be involved with him—making some sort of double play?

  My stomach swam again at the thought. If Cormen managed to find out what he wanted from somebody else, then he didn’t need me. And he didn’t need my mother or Reggie to control me.

  I had to get it first.

  Which meant working out how to get myself back to St. Giles. After tonight, of course. If I could find out what Cormen was doing attending a party at Halcyon, it might just let me foil his plans.

  “Let’s get back to work,” I said to Guy.

  He turned from the door. “Yes. We need to talk about tonight.”

  I nodded and led the way back to my workroom. When we were both safely inside, I triggered the ward, wanting the added safety of knowing nobody could be listening in on us.

  Guy took a seat near my workbench. I stirred the pile of crystals nervously. “Do you think the attack on St. Giles is connected to what happened at the Gilt?” I asked.

  “It would be stupid not to at this point,” Guy said.

  “Revenge for what we did to Henri and Antoine?”

  “Or just a continuation of the campaign against the Templars. After all, St. Giles is next door to the Brother House. The order will always defend it.”

  He was more optimistic than me. This was starting to feel far too orchestrated. Too personal.

  It had started with attacks on the Templars, yes, but Guy was a Templar. And a DuCaine. What better way to distract him from protecting Simon than to keep the Templars occupied?

  But I couldn’t ask him about Simon, or if he thought that might be the reason. Just the thought of raising the subject made my throat tighten. The geas wouldn’t let me speak of it. I was sure of that much.