Rituals

by Kelley Armstrong

  Helia rolled her eyes and said, "I mean the name. I like it. Much better than Arawn, which sounds like a dog's howl. Though that makes sense, all things considered."

  "It does," Ricky said. "But yeah, I'll stick with Ricky."

  "What are you talking about?" Seanna said.

  "Nothing at all." Helia leaned toward us. "Muggles. So annoying."

  I chuckled.

  Seanna's scowl deepened. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but I want to know what's going on. I've been taken captive by a couple of..." She waved at the dryads. "Hipster street kids."

  "That's offensive," Helia said. "We are not hipsters."

  "I don't even own a fedora," Alexios said.

  Seanna continued, "And then, after they hold me captive, Gabriel and...that...other man--"

  "I think you know Patrick. Intimately." Alexios turned to Helia and whispered, "Old age. You forget everything."

  "Unless you're us."

  "True."

  "That man is not Patrick," Seanna said. "I don't know what his game is, but there's no possible way--"

  "He aged well," Alexios said.

  "Very well," Helia added.

  "Better than you."

  "Much better."

  "They're adorable," Ricky whispered in my ear.

  "They have their moments," I murmured.

  "That man is not Patrick," Seanna said. "And whatever happened in that place, with those birds and the earthquake and the floor--"

  "Faeries," I said.

  "What?"

  "You asked what's going on. I'm answering. You like fae lore, right? That's what I heard. Well, there's your answer." I waved at Alexios and Helia. "Dryads." Then Ricky. "Arawn. Or the living incarnation of him. You know who that is, right? Lord of the Otherworld? Leader of the Cwn Annwn? That's him. I get to play Matilda. Mallt-y-Nos, technically. And Gabriel? Well, that's kind of a funny story. You named him after the Wild Hunt--Gabriel's Hounds--but he's actually the star of the opposing team. Gwynn ap Nudd. King of the Fae."

  Seanna stared at me. Blinked. Then she snapped, "I don't like being mocked, little girl. I don't know who you think you are--"

  "Matilda," Helia said.

  "Mallt-y-Nos," Alexios said, then whispered, "I don't think she's paying attention."

  "Hearing loss," Helia said. "It happens when you get old."

  "Unless you're us." Alexios cleared his throat. "Let's clear this up." He put out his hand, as his skin thickened to tree bark. "See? Dryad."

  Seanna fell back. "Wh-what-- What did you give me?"

  Alexios reached to catch her, but his hands were still covered in bark, and she kept staggering away until she hit the couch and toppled onto it.

  "Well, that was ill-advised, agori mou," Helia murmured. She walked over to Seanna and crouched beside her as the woman tried to rise from the sofa. "You've taken a lot of drugs in your life, Seanna. They've done things to your mind. You're prone to hallucinations. In fact, everything you've seen and heard today? It's all in your mind. It's very sad, but we found you like that and contacted your son, and he brought you here to Cainsville. Do you understand?"

  I expected Seanna to tell her where to go. Instead, she nodded dumbly, her eyes wide.

  "Compulsion?" I murmured to Alexios.

  He nodded. "It works best when the recipient wants to believe, which Seanna obviously does. You said she was fond of fae lore, so I thought I was making the right move. Apparently not."

  "Muggles," I said.

  He smiled. "Half-bloods can be even worse. Either they want the answers, or they really don't. I misjudged."

  "I started it." I looked at Helia, still calming Seanna, and lowered my voice further. "How is Helia? I know she said dryads heal fast, but I've caught her wincing."

  "We..." His smile faltered. "We don't heal quite as quickly as we used to. Nature can be eager to reclaim her own when she feels their time is waning."

  "You mean--?"

  "Helia will be fine. Thank you for your concern, though. You are very kind, even if you fear you are not."

  Ricky put an arm around me in a quick embrace and murmured, "If you want to talk to Seanna, now's the time. That compulsion seemed to work like a double shot of Valium."

  He was right. Seanna was listening to Helia and nodding, paying full attention. For the first time, that animal glint in her eye had faded.

  Even when I walked over, she only looked up, curious. Watching her, I got a glimpse of the woman she could have been. Grace said Seanna lacked something. She was right. Call it a soul. Call it a conscience.

  My spina bifida was a failure of completion, a side effect of my fae blood. The bone and membranes around my spinal cord had failed to form fully because I had DNA that did not naturally assume a human shape. In others, fae blood manifested as a missing finger or rib or organ. In Seanna, it went deeper, and maybe that meant we should treat her lack of a conscience as we would a physical defect. But even if that was true, I could not excuse her for what she did to Gabriel. I just couldn't.

  "I need to talk to you, Seanna," I said.

  "You are...?"

  "A friend of your son."

  She frowned at the word "son." That relationship--that obligation--was such a foreign concept that in this state, she didn't even seem to know what I meant by it.

  "I know Gabriel," I said.

  She nodded. "You're Gabriel's girl."

  "Right." I bent before her. "Who told you to come back to Illinois?"

  Across the room, Ricky frowned. Then he nodded, realizing I was playing a hunch.

  "The woman," she said. "She wanted to get back at Gabriel for a case he defended. I didn't care what her reason was. I liked her plan. She promised if I followed it, I'd get all the money I need to retire. I'm getting old. It's time to retire. And Gabriel owes me. If it weren't for me, he wouldn't be where he is."

  Even in her compliant state, she said that. Which meant she actually believed she'd played some role in Gabriel's success. Tempering steel through fire.

  I took a deep breath. "Describe this woman."

  Her description matched Imogen Seale.

  "This woman gave you the scheme," I said. "And then...?"

  "She brought me to Chicago and sent me to his office. She told me what to say to him. What to say to you if you were there."

  "What to say?"

  "She said to tell you what I thought of you. And of Gabriel. Don't hold back. I had to make you both angry. If you got angry enough, you'd pay me to leave."

  "Gabriel did try to pay you."

  "It wasn't enough. She said you'd give more if I keep pushing."

  "Yeah, that or kill you," Ricky murmured, too low for her to hear. When I turned, he said, "Sorry. I don't mean that. Just..." He shook his head. "It's a stupid plan."

  "You did shoot her, didn't you?" Helia said to me. "Not well enough," Alexios said. "You need to work on your aim."

  I shook my head and started to return to Seanna. Then I paused. Thought. Thought a little more. Pushed that into the back of my mind for later and said, "Tell me about Greg Kirkman."

  "Who?"

  "The envelope you gave to the prison guard. For Todd Larsen."

  She nodded. "I remember."

  "The envelope contained a name. Greg Kirkman. Who is he?"

  That blank look again.

  "How'd you get the envelope?" Ricky asked.

  "From the woman. She said it was very important."

  "And you never opened it?" I asked.

  "I didn't care what it was."

  "Tell me about visiting Pamela Larsen. Why did you go there?"

  "The woman told me to upset her--that would be another way to get your attention. She said you loved your mother and felt bad for her, and if I upset her, that would upset you."

  I exchanged a look with Ricky and then asked Seanna, "Were you supposed to do the same thing with Todd if you got to see him? Upset him?"

  "No, just give him the envelope."

  I re
membered what Pamela said, that Seanna had made small talk, poorly covering a segue to her true line of inquiry--about my relationship with Gabriel and my trust fund.

  "Tell me more about your conversation with Pamela," I said. "Exactly what did you say?"

  It was not what Pamela had claimed.

  It was nothing like what Pamela claimed.

  --

  "Well, that was easy," Ricky said afterward, as we walked out together. "I don't suppose there's any way to keep her permanently under fae compulsion."

  "No kidding."

  "Can I walk you home?" he said as we neared the front door. "I'd like to talk, and these walls have ears."

  As we stepped out, Grace said, "In this town, every building has ears."

  "You do realize you should pretend otherwise," I said.

  She snorted. "I don't care to. As for keeping Seanna Walsh under permanent compulsion, that's exactly what I've suggested. Feel free to tell Ida you support the idea."

  "It's possible, then? To keep her like that?"

  "How about giving her the wine?" Ricky asked. "Isn't that how you used to handle Muggles who stumbled into the fae world?"

  "Muggles?" Grace said.

  "It's from Harry Potter," I said. "It means--"

  "I've read Harry Potter, thank you very much. I just don't think a biker should use the terminology. People might think he's semiliterate."

  "I'm very literate," Ricky said. "I have a huge collection of comic books. I even know what most of the words mean."

  "Name your favorite DC superhero."

  "I'm really more of a Marvel guy."

  "No, you're really full of shit. I'd be better off asking your favorite Faulkner character."

  "Faulkner's not much for character. He's more style-driven. I identified better with the characters in Harry Potter. As for Marvel, I'd say Kitty Pryde, but if you ask me officially, I have to say Ghost Rider, because it's, you know"--he motioned at his Saints jacket--"obligatory."

  Grace sighed. "You are a lousy biker."

  "The worst. But I'm right about the wine, aren't I? That's the lore. You give fae wine to humans to send them into an endless fae party."

  "Patrick says there's no party," I said. "Or they just don't invite him."

  "That's possible," Grace murmured. "As for wine, we have several varieties. The correct one will induce a state of semipermanent pleasant hallucinations. Hence the fae-party lore. And, yes, that's what I've suggested for Seanna. Ida is resisting."

  "Because it would send her to la-la land for good?" I said. "Yeah, I can see where that might be an issue."

  "Only because it's better than she deserves."

  "We'll figure out something. I'll make sure her stay here is as short as possible."

  We headed out, and I told Ricky what the sluagh had said. What they'd done. I didn't want that last part to bother me. I know people live with spina bifida, so how dare I freak out as if it's the worst fate possible?

  I can't fool Ricky, though. He stopped me mid-story, led me behind a row of hedges, and made me admit how completely freaked out I was.

  "That won't happen," he said when I'd pulled myself together and we'd resumed walking. "They owe you. The fae and the Hunt. They owe it to you to make sure this never happens."

  Ten minutes later, that was exactly what Gabriel was saying, as we sat in my parlor with Ioan and Ida. When I asked about Walter, Ida only made a dismissive gesture. Off running an errand for her, I presumed, relegated to the sidelines when things got serious.

  Ioan told Ida what the sluagh had said and what I'd deduced about the ritual my mother had used.

  "You set Pamela up with that ritual," Gabriel said to Ioan. "You brokered the deal. With the sluagh. You were careless with Olivia's future. You can blame inexperience and good intentions, but the truth is this: you are responsible."

  "Yes," Ioan said.

  That's all he said, but Ida couldn't resist chiming in with, "I'm glad you acknowledge the role you played--"

  "As I hope you acknowledge the one you played," Gabriel said to her.

  "We did nothing--"

  "You made the initial deal with the sluagh to ensure my birth. Unlike Ioan, you knew full well who you were dealing with. You granted this sluagh access to Cainsville, which allowed her to return at least once. It's likely she's been monitoring Olivia since she first arrived. Did Grace mention the early incidents suggesting someone had been in her apartment?"

  "We thought--"

  "I don't care what you thought. Your deal set this all in motion. The sluagh has played both of you, and the one who will suffer for it is Olivia. That is unacceptable. You will find a way to ensure her cure is permanent and protect her from further repercussions. You will work together to accomplish this. If you do not, then there is no chance she will ever help either of you."

  Ioan and Ida looked at one another. Then Ioan said, "We'll need more information. As much as you can give."

  Gabriel nodded. "Patrick and Veronica will join us to add their expertise. Ioan? If you have someone who can help, the Tylwyth Teg will ensure he is welcome in Cainsville."

  "When it comes to matters of policy, procedure, and history, as the eldest in our pack, I'm the expert."

  Ida sniffed. "Which served you well--"

  "No," Gabriel said. "Ioan is here to help. He is accepting responsibility and holding his tongue. I expect you to do the same. If you cannot, I'm sure we can manage discussions without you."

  Ida glowered but only said, "Get Veronica and Patrick."

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  And so the strategy session convened. The best minds of the Cwn Annwn and the Tylwyth Teg joining forces for a shared cause: to save their Matilda. Nearly three hours of talk, which amounted to...absolutely nothing.

  Oh, they came up with plans. Or I think they did. I was already exhausted and frustrated, and three hours of discussing the finer points of fae lore--which would have fascinated me a few days earlier--put me to sleep. In the end, it pretty much came down to: We'll solve this.

  We'll solve it. We'll protect you. Don't worry about a thing.

  Which was not a plan. Certainly not one we were going to rely on. After they left, Gabriel said, "We'll figure something out. The three of us." Which was not a plan, either, but it was honestly the best we could do for now.

  Rose brought dinner after that. She'd picked it up at the diner, saying something about burning a roast. We were too distracted to ask for details; she was too distracted to elaborate. It was only as she went to leave, as I asked if she'd join us to eat--and she just kept walking--that I realized what had happened.

  "She's been to see Seanna," Gabriel murmured as the front door closed behind her. "Who is obviously no longer under the dryads' influence and has upset her."

  "I think she'd be more upset if she saw Seanna under that influence," I said.

  Ricky nodded.

  When Gabriel looked confused, I said, "It's Seanna without her edge. Without her venom. That's going to remind her of the girl she once knew."

  There was a pause. Then Gabriel said, with obvious discomfort, "I should go after Rose, shouldn't I?"

  "May I go instead?" I asked. "If you want to, that's fine, but I'd like to talk to her."

  Gabriel exhaled with relief. "Certainly."

  "You guys eat. Just save me a plate."

  --

  Rose's car was still in front of my house, and I was halfway to it before I realized she wasn't inside. I spotted her walking home, as if she'd forgotten she'd driven.

  I jogged after her. When she heard footsteps, she tensed and turned. Seeing me, she relaxed.

  "I thought it was Gabriel," she said.

  "He wanted to come, but I convinced him to let me. We need to talk."

  We started walking, and I said, "You went to see Seanna, I'm guessing?" She nodded.

  "Is she still under the dryads' spell?" I asked.

  Another nod. Then, "That's easier. For everyone."

  I sho
ved my hands in my pockets. "I'm not sure about that. I've been thinking I might want to ask them to undo it if Gabriel goes to visit. It could be harder on him. It was even rough on me, seeing her...vulnerable. I don't want her to be vulnerable. It makes it tougher to..."

  "Hate her."

  I nodded. "I know it might seem as if Gabriel needs to see that side of her, but he doesn't. I'm sorry. He just doesn't."

  "I agree. He never saw that side growing up, and he doesn't need it now. It negates his own feelings." She walked a few more steps. "Yes, it is difficult, even for me."

  "Maybe even more for you."

  She made a face, rolling her shoulders, a reaction I knew only too well from her nephew. Physically sloughing off my concern. "I don't know about that. But yes, she...reminded me of the girl she was."

  "The girl you lost."

  She hesitated but didn't make that face again. Just said, "Yes."

  We walked to the corner and she continued, "Seanna was never an easy child. There were hints of what you see. A self-centeredness that could be breathtaking, even for a Walsh. That worried her parents, but there was good, too, so we told ourselves if we were loving but firm, she would outgrow her selfishness."

  "Instead, she outgrew the good."

  "Too much of the love, not enough of the firm, I suppose. But it always worked with Walshes before. We are a naturally self-absorbed lot."

  "The fae blood."

  She nodded. "I realize that now. Growing up, we were just told it was an inheritance from our criminal ancestors."

  "Kind of."

  A brief smile. "True. Yes, caring about others doesn't come naturally, so we focus on caring for family, and with that combination of love and firmness we have avoided the worst of what we could be. So we were, perhaps, arrogant with Seanna. Overly confident that we could fix her."

  "This is actually what I wanted to talk about," I said. "Her history. Is that okay? If it's a bad time, I understand."

  "Actually, it's a perfect time." She paused, and then said, "Thank you."

  I knew what she meant by that--she wanted to talk about Seanna. She'd just seen her niece in better shape than she'd been in thirty years, and she needed to talk about her.

  Back at the house, Rose made tea and brought cookies, which we both agreed was a fine dinner substitute. She may also have added a generous dose of whiskey to our tea.

  "Tell me about Seanna," I said as we settled in.

  As a child, Seanna Walsh had been a brat. There was no other way to describe it. Spoiled. Selfish. Prone to tantrums when things didn't go her way. In other words, a kid with all the worst qualities of childhood amplified.