by Patti Larsen
“Some internal strife, I’m afraid,” Sunny said. And then sighed as I wrinkled my nose at her.
“Seriously?” She was not getting away with the company line. Not with me.
“It’s Piotr,” Sunny said, voice dropping as she closed the circle for our ears only.
“Wilhelm?” The slimy bastard had betrayed me, betrayed her, over and over again in his misplaced continuing loyalty to his long-dead queen, Yvette. What was he up to now?
“Ever since Sebastian’s attempts to help us evolve began, Piotr has been the most vocal against such a change.” Sunny’s beautiful face tightened, pale blonde hair in curls, shivering against her shoulders as she shook her head. “He’s been more and more abusive and I finally decided to remove him from the family.”
“About time,” I muttered, though I knew better. Wasn’t my business.
“No I told you so’s, please,” she said. “I had my reasons. Piotr and I… we’ve known each other for a very long time.”
I didn’t know that. “So, what did he do?”
“Two nights ago,” I sensed a theme, here, “he and a group of my vampires defected. Abandoned the blood line. Cut ties and left the castle.”
“Problem solved,” I said.
Chambrelle’s pale green eyes told me otherwise as Sunny let out a disgusted sigh.
“Not quite, Syd,” the human woman said, as temper rose on her queen’s face. “Such a breach in the family is… troublesome.”
Sunny cut her off with a sharp gesture. “And challenges my authority as queen.”
I felt for her, I really did. But it seemed petty, compared to what I was dealing with. “I hate to add fuel to the already blazing fire,” I said. “But you’re not going to like what I have to tell you, either.”
Sunny and Uncle Frank stared at me in silent, frozen shock, not breathing or moving a muscle as I spoke while Chambrelle shook her head in disbelief. At least she moved. The two vampires creeped me out, honestly. When they were acting “normal” they pretended to be just like the living. But when they were surprised, vampires tended to stop faking life and fell into that statue-perfect mode that gave me the solid heebie jeebies.
Chambrelle saved me from shuddering and embarrassing them by speaking up.
“The Hayle coven must come here at once,” she said. “The Wilhelm family will host you.”
Sunny nodded, breaking the spell of her statue-like stillness while Uncle Frank sighed. “Yes, a brilliant idea,” she said.
But I was already shaking my head. “Thanks,” I said. “I really appreciate it. But you have your own troubles, and Wilding Springs is mine, damn it.” My demon howled her agreement. “And I’m going to get it back.”
Sunny hugged me again. “What can we do?”
I shrugged when she let me go. “I don’t know,” I said. “I honestly don’t. I just wanted to see you, to tell you we were okay. And suggest you steer clear of North America for a while.”
Uncle Frank kissed my forehead. “Thanks for the warning,” he said. “Take care of yourself, kiddo.”
“You, too.” I stepped back. “Going to check in with Sebastian. I’ll be back, probably tomorrow morning before the meeting of the world leaders.”
They waved together, looking forlorn and about as lost as I felt as I pulled my companion into the veil with me.
But when we stepped out on the other side, into the cold darkness of Castle DeWinter, I realized we had one more issue on our hands.
“Where is everyone?” Piers shivered, hand releasing mine to dive into the pockets of his longcoat.
I reached out with my power, searching the entire castle. As empty as my house back in Wilding Springs. “I have no idea.” Okay, this was uber weird. Sunny, I sent.
I’m here. I could feel her moving through the castle. What’s wrong now?
Did you know Sebastian and his vampires vacated their place? Why would they do that? It made no sense.
They what? Her forward motion jerked to a halt.
I showed her the empty throne room, let her feel the vacancy. No clue?
Not even a guess, she sent. Paused. He’s been quiet lately. But I assumed he was busy. Her mind fretted against mine. I’ll have my people search for him. But Syd… she paused again before rushing on. The castle hosts a base of power, much like your family magic under your home. Do you feel it?
I scanned, reached. Nothing. Nope.
Then something is wrong, she sent, now firm and queenly. If he’s stripped his home of its magic, he’s running from something.
Great. Just what I needed. Can I help? I really didn’t need this, but Sebastian was important to me.
Go, she sent. I’ll handle it. And update you in the morning.
She cut me off before I could say anything further, so I let it go.
“Okay,” I said, holding out my hand to Piers. “One last stop. You ready?”
He nodded. “Could anything else go wrong, you think?”
I kicked his leg, gently. “Do not,” I said, “say that out loud.” And thought of the conversation I had with Meira. Felt a little guilty over it. She wished something would happen.
Doozyville, sister.
This time, when I emerged from the veil, it was onto a lush, green lawn in front of a giant palace. The two wereguards standing at the huge doors looked startled to see me, but bowed as I strode past, through the elaborate portal and into the inside of a Faberge egg. The werewolf palace always reminded me of old Russian royalty, the Ukrainian home of the werenation based on the tastes of the old Czars. I strode down the purple carpet toward the throne room, ignoring the wereguards who got out of my way.
I’d earned a little respect around here in the past.
Piers was as familiar with the place as I was and the two of us made a beeline toward the back of the vast foyer. The doors to the throne room were wide open, welcoming, lights blazing from crystal chandeliers overhead, casting a yellow glow over the giant werewolf in human form sitting on the throne. An equally large, if older, were sat next to him, their conversation broken as Piers and I approached at a solid clip.
Danilo stood to greet me, his grandfather, Oleksander, the previous wereking, smiling as he joined his grandson. But that smile faded as I drew close and I could only blame his loss of good humor on the expression that had to be all over my face.
Danilo’s frown pulled his heavy brows down across his dark green eyes. He looked nothing like his younger sister, Charlotte, but the unstoppable passion of her soul was mirrored in him.
A slim, older woman with my werefriend’s blonde hair and blue eyes slipped around some wereguards and came to join us. I nodded to Charlotte’s mother, Olena, before facing off with the wereking.
No niceties this time. And the telling had become smooth, practiced almost. So much so, I barely halted through their intakes of furied breath, their werewolfish exclamations of sorrow and rage.
By the time I was done, Danilo had partially turned into his wereform, fading back from a pronounced muzzle and clawed hands to human again before coming to me and grasping my shoulders in his massive hands.
“I will leave for Oxford immediately,” he said, voice booming with conviction. “We will fight together, Sydlynn Hayle. And we will be victorious.” Such a werewolf.
The wereguards lining the carpet all shouted a word in Ukrainian I didn’t understand. But I got the message. So loud and clear I teared up for the umpteenth time and firmly decided to do something magical about my waterworks first chance I got.
“Thank you,” I said.
“No,” he said, releasing me, massive shoulders swelling as he threw them back, tanned skin darkening his already angry expression, his heavy beard making him look ferocious, more bear than wolf. “Thank you. Our werenation owes you much. And, because of you, we’ve learned we are better served fighting together, using the strengths of those around us, than trying to do so alone.”
Well, sheesh. Make a girl blush and everything.
&nb
sp; Stupid tears.
Another few minutes of hugging and promises of help and Piers and I were retreating back out to the lawn. While I knew Danilo probably wouldn’t care if I traveled from inside the palace under the circumstances, the rule was outside. After that little talk, I wasn’t about to disrespect him or the werenation.
Piers took my hand voluntarily this time as our feet slipped over the soft grass, wet with dew. The air was cooler here, though it was still summer, and I breathed out a puff of pale mist as he spoke.
“Smart werewolf,” he said. He seemed to have pulled himself together again, though his eyes were haunted. “We do need to work together.” Was he thinking of his mother? Likely.
“Last chance,” I said as I reached for Sunny. We just left the werewolves, I sent.
I assumed, she sent. Is Danilo going to Oxford?
That surprised me. Are you?
Of course, she sent. Already on my way. Sebastian has managed to alter me enough I don’t have to sleep at sunrise. So, as long as the room is free of sunlight, I will attend.
Sunny. I could hug her. You have your own troubles.
If this Brotherhood infection spreads, she sent, my troubles won’t matter one bit. I’ll see you at Femke’s. And then, she was gone.
Piers stared down at me, eyes intent. “Do you think talking to Mum would make a difference?”
He was asking me? “I don’t know,” I said.
“Neither do I.” He squeezed my hand. “Let’s go save your family.”
I nodded, reached for the veil. Just as a black tunnel burst open right in front of me and a woman hurtled through and attacked me.
***
Chapter Nineteen
I almost panicked, except I knew her face, her dark hair, the blue of her eyes. My grandmother, Ethpeal Hayle, looked like Mom, only a little older, though she’d aged from fear and weariness. I caught just a glimpse of her making it through before she grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go.
Love attack. My favorite.
My heart wept as she rocked me, lips on my cheek, heart pounding against me. “Girl,” she whispered in my ear. “Oh, girl.”
“Gram.” I’d spent a great part of my life with her witch power inside me, then several years leading the coven with her at my side. She’d sacrificed everything for the Hayle coven long before I was born and her mind shortly after my birth to a battle that stranded her power in my body. Freeing her from her insanity was one of the finest moments of my existence, after seventeen years lost and wandering in her broken mind. She was a sister of my soul and one of the few people who really understood me and the choices I’d been forced to make.
Feeling her tremble against me, the grasping of her hands on my back as though to reassure herself I existed still, made me weak kneed with guilt.
“Damn you.” She leaned away, beautiful face far younger than the one she used to wear. I still missed the soft, white hair that had a life of its own, her wrinkled skin and faded blue eyes. The flower covered dressing gowns she used to wear, her favorite fuzzy socks. Most of all, I missed the connection of our magic, her witch power gone to protect the Universe from Ameline Benoit after that evil creature stole the majority of Gram’s magic away to feed her rise to maji. Though Gram survived, her sorcery, long suppressed, awakened by her true love and husband, Demetrius Strong, it wasn’t the same anymore. I loved her still. But my heart missed her every single day.
“Sydlynn.” Speak of the devil, he came to me and hugged me when Gram finally let me go. “We were so afraid for you.” His white cap of curls were the only indication of his age, sweet, cherub face kind and creased in worry. Crystal blue eyes held more innocence than ever. He, too, had been lost to insanity, tortured and turned from the Steam Union to the Brotherhood by Liander Belaisle, transformed back to the sorcerer Gram loved when he helped me defeat Belaisle in the final battle the Fates predicted. I’d gone from being repelled by him when he was the leader of the Chosen of the Light, to hating him for stealing my demon from me. To pitying the shell of a creature he became and, finally, loving him for all he endured and survived, only to save my grandmother from death.
I hugged him, too. “Where have you two been?” Not an accusation, not at all. Just worried wondering. After all, they were connected to the Steam Union. To the silent Eva Southway.
From the tension in Piers, he was as anxious for their answer as I was.
“It’s not good,” Gram said directly to my tall sorcerer friend. “I’m sorry, Piers. The Steam Union fell apart two days ago.”
My jaw tightened. “Their timing is impeccable.”
Both older sorcerers whipped their heads around and focused on me.
“We’ve been trying to reach you,” Gram said, one shaking hand on my arm, though the former Enforcer and coven leader she was shone behind her blue eyes. “Is everyone all right?”
“Our family is,” I said. “But I’m afraid the rest of the continent isn’t so lucky.”
When I was done repeating my story again, Gram’s fists were tight at her sides, tears in Demetrius’s eyes.
“I should have killed him when I had the chance,” he said.
“We both should have,” I said. “This isn’t your fault, Demetrius.”
He shrugged. “I had so many chances, Syd. Lost opportunities.” The old sorcerer sighed. “But guilt won’t save anyone now.”
Great philosophy, that.
“My mother.” Piers’s words choked off as he drew a shaking breath. “My sister and father?”
Gram squeezed his arm, face compassionate but stern. “I don’t know,” she said. “We were away, felt the recoil in the Steam Union’s sorcery. When we arrived at headquarters in Nottingham, the damage had been done.”
“I’m guessing the former Brotherhood members who joined ranks with our people turned on us?” Piers’s casual question was anything but. If he didn’t let out his rage soon, he’d burst from it.
Demetrius nodded sadly. “We tried to warn her,” he said. Stopped himself. “Guilt, again.”
Gram kissed his cheek. “It’s our birthright, I think sometimes.”
Tell me about it.
“No news could be good news,” I said, more for Piers’s benefit. “Eva’s clever and powerful. If you couldn’t find her, it’s possible she escaped.”
Gram didn’t argue, but she didn’t agree with me either. Bless her for not adding to my friend’s worry. “We’ve kept our distance,” Gram said. “Since you left, Piers.” He bobbed his head. “She’s become harsh, almost impossible to talk to.”
“I know,” he said, a single tear tracking down his cheek. He wiped at the moisture with a trembling hand before stuffing his fists into his coat pockets, shoulders hunched and rigid. I wished I could help him somehow. “It’s part of the reason I left. And she never gave me a good enough excuse to come back.”
“You, my boy,” Gram said, linking her arm through his, “are not to blame for your mother’s decisions. Or for standing up for what you believe in.”
He didn’t say anything, but the horrible tension in him eased a little.
“We could search for her.” I had no idea where to start. If the Brotherhood had her, she’d be well shielded. And, knowing Eva, if she was safe somewhere, I’d never find her anyway.
Piers shook his head, leaned in to kiss Gram on the cheek. “Mum can take care of herself,” he said.
“You’re going back to Wilding Springs?” Gram and Demetrius almost looked eager.
I nodded. “I take it you’d like to join us.” Nothing would make me happier.
Gram’s grin had nothing to do with humor. “Figured it was time to pay Liander Belaisle a little visit,” she said. “By way of Erica’s guts.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it.
Gram was the best.
The moment we stepped through the veil and into the cavern, Gram went right to Mom, hugged her. I have no idea what the pair said to each other, but gave them space to say it. My kids, on the
other hand, swarmed their great-grandmother, Ethie pawing at her namesake until Gram lifted the girl into her arms.
I took a few minutes to make the rounds, happy to see Quaid had put the cache of money to good use. Blankets and food and water had been distributed, fresh clothing as well. A few tents were set up, giving families privacy, a toilet facility cobbled together. It would do for now, but not for long. And how Quaid managed to drag a porta-potty in here with no one noticing was beyond me.
By the time I returned to the small knot of my immediate family, Gram was sitting with Ethie in her lap, Sassafras perched beside her. Demetrius sprawled on the ground at her feet, Piers a few feet further along the bench with Zoe in his arms.
Something clicked in my head and I kicked myself for missing it. The way they looked at each other, how he held her like that. Another of my suitors had finally found love. The one I never thought would settle for anyone.
Good for them, finding each other in this mess. I hoped we survived for them to see it through.
Quaid delivered a bottle of water to my grandmother who pulled him down for a kiss.
“Feel like taking a ride?” He glanced sideways at me. “My turn.”
Right, his Enforcer friends.
“Where you thinking?” Gram winked at Ethie who winked back with child-like exaggeration.
“The Stronghold,” Quaid said. “I want to track down Leader Tremere and see if there is anyone fighting back.”
Gram nodded immediately, standing and setting Ethie back down in her place. She brushed dust from her long skirt and held out her hand to him. He took it like a gallant suitor, kissing the back while she grinned.
“Good choice,” she said, staring right at me.
Why was I blushing, exactly?
They disappeared down the exit tunnel, heading for outside so Gram could carry them somewhere they could access the Stronghold. I fretted, knowing most of the access points were at Harvard. Instead of sharing my concern with those around me, I retreated myself, heading after them, toward the surface, just needing a minute alone now my present tasks were done.