The Outcast

by Patti Larsen

  My grandmother’s pale face seemed older again, though she hadn’t changed since I last saw her. “Syd,” she said. “Tell us.”

  I wished I could show them. And realized maybe I could. We linked hands and I pushed, as hard as I could, reaching for my demon who burned through to them, her need to do something tying into the wards protecting the cavern. I focused on the crystal in my pocket, begging it to help me, and my sorcery rose, seeking power.

  I couldn’t risk destroying the shielding protecting this cavern. But if I could channel through them…

  I felt them connect to me, my family, in a swirling, ever evolving mass of protections that held this place in some kind of stasis. So, not a smothering of power, but a holding still, like time didn’t know this place existed, at least where the elements of magic were concerned. This, I could use.

  A small victory, considering what I was about to show the ones I loved the most.

  They held it together, all of them, while Sassafras’s purr, now powered in our little bubble, soothed them as much as he was able. Even when they watched the stakes burn, even when I relived Violet dying in my arms. They remained strong, for me, for each other.

  When it was over, I let them go, the bubble collapsing and pushing us back out into muffled space. But I knew how to access it, now. And would again if necessary.

  Gram finally broke our long silence by clearing her throat. “Violet was a fine leader,” she said. “I’m not surprised she fought to the bitter end.”

  Neither was I. “How many more covens have we lost?” I met my grandmother’s eyes. “And can we save the ones who have held on before it’s too late?”

  Gram shook her head, still holding Demetrius’s hand. “Girl,” she said. But that was all.

  There was nothing to say.

  “We found Varity at the Stronghold entry at the chapel in Harvard,” Quaid said, changing the subject, bless him. None of us looked her way. She deserved the right to her time of mourning. “But there’s no sign of Pender.” The Enforcer leader had always followed orders. But I wondered if maybe Erica pushed him too far this time. Which meant either he was in trouble, or he fled. I hoped it was the latter. He’d been through so much since taking leadership.

  “The oddest part,” Gram said, “when we tried to cross into the Stronghold, Varity couldn’t come with is.” She frowned, glanced at Quaid. “But neither of us has a problem.”

  My husband nodded to her. “There was an odd feeling when we entered,” he said. “Like it was testing us for something.” Quaid’s hands slipped into his back pockets, head down, dark eyes on the floor as he thought through what he was saying. “At first, I thought it was going to send me back. Is that strange to say?” He looked up again, met our eyes in turn, still frowning. “Almost like it sensed something in me it didn’t like.”

  My jaw tightened as I made some connections. “You were an Enforcer,” I said.

  He nodded. “But I gave up the power a long time ago.”

  “Could traces of it still exist in you?” What was the Stronghold doing?

  Quaid shrugged. “Anything is possible, babe.”

  “What are you thinking?” Mom was tucked in beside Dad, his arms around her. But her focus was on me.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “Who else was there?”

  “That’s the thing,” Gram said. “No one. From what we could tell, the whole place is empty.”

  Someone stumbled into me. I turned and caught Varity, her tall, lean body shivering from stress. But her grim expression won over the tears tracking down her cheeks, eyes snapping with rage.

  “Two days ago,” she said. “I was standing in the main hall at the Stronghold. And two seconds later I landed in a heap in Harvard Yard.” She gestured wide, almost hitting Gram who caught her hand and held it. “All of us, at once. Every Enforcer in the place, scattered like dice around the campus.” Her head bent, iron gray hair coming loose from its tight bun, sweeping over her damp cheeks. “We’d just received our orders,” she choked out. “Pender told us what our Council had done. There were Brotherhood with him, he told us to fight and was taken.” Damn it. Worst case scenario, then. “I was about to show the Brotherhood what real Enforcers thought of their orders when everything went sideways.” She sagged against Gram who held her carefully. “And not one of us has been able to get inside since.”

  “Brotherhood included?” A sneaking suspicion woke inside me.

  Varity nodded, head bobbing on her thin neck. “They were furious,” she said with a weary chuckle that turned into a soft sob. “Started killing Enforcers until they fell in line. I hid, like a coward.” She wiped at her nose with the sleeve of her torn black robe.

  “Don’t be an idiot,” Gram snapped at her, patting her back with one hand while she held Varity up with the other. “You were smart.”

  “So no resistance, I take it.” I met Quaid’s eyes.

  “Not that we know of,” he said, face troubled. I know he respected the order of witches still, but they didn’t deserve his loyalty.

  “Not true.” Varity staggered again, as though drunk, though I assumed it was shock. She needed to sit down. Gram must have had the same thought and guided her away toward the back wall, twenty feet or so from where the remains of her home coven mourned, and pressed her down into the natural bench. The old woman laid her shaking hands on her skinny knees, the black robe making her look ghastly in the low light. “There are a few of us, the numbers growing slowly, who have managed to evade the Brotherhood.” She shook her head. “Under my command, the fools. Like I know what I’m doing.”

  “I can’t think of anyone better to lead them, Master Rhodes,” Quaid said, leaning in to squeeze her hand.

  She patted his cheek with a thin smile. “Always a sweet boy,” she said, voice distant. Her gaze sharpened again, fell on me. “Some of my recruits have gone missing, others who contacted me, too. I fear the worst.” Her eyes tightened around the edges. “But I’ll never quit.”

  My kind of ally. Even as I tried to formulate some comforting thing to say, I had an idea in my mind that wouldn’t leave me be and I had to explore it.

  “Get some rest,” I said, stepping back from them all. “I need to check on something.”

  Quaid straightened, offering his hand. “Not alone, you’re not.”

  I stepped in and kissed him, hands sliding into his hair. He hugged me, but let me go when I backed away.

  “I’ll be fine,” I said. “And this I need to do alone.”

  “Where are you going?” Sassafras had hopped up into Varity’s lap, her hands absently stroking his fur, something I’d always found soothing and hoped it gave her comfort.

  “Where the Brotherhood can’t,” I said. “The Stronghold.”

  ***

  Chapter Twenty Two

  I was tired, so tired, as I entered the veil and slid along the rubbery membrane toward the Stronghold plane. But I couldn’t stop. There wasn’t time to lag, get some sleep, not for me. Even more now I was determined to stop Erica and Belaisle from depopulating North America’s witch compliment if it meant killing my mother’s oldest friend myself.

  I stepped out into the cool quiet of the Stronghold a moment later, hand reaching for the wall as all the strength ran out of me. Panting for fresh air, I leaned heavily into the stone, forehead pressed to the rock wall, begging my body and energy to hold out just a little longer.

  I’d been so powerful for so long, this feeling of being drained to the edge was new and frightening. It had to have come from moving my family en masse. There was nothing about it that felt like foreign interference, so I only had my own body’s weakness to blame.

  We’ll manage, my vampire sent, sounding weary herself. We always do.

  We just need to stop putting out so much energy for a little while, Shaylee sent. See if we can recover.

  My demon grunted angrily. I’m not tired, she sent, while I felt her own strength flagging. Leave it to me.

  The family m
agic coiled inside me, as drained as the rest of us, my maji power tying them together the only thing keeping us moving.

  That, and the black blossom of insatiable hunger that never seemed to feel weary.

  Okay, then.

  I straightened at last, even as a soft voice rumbled through my mind.

  Light One, the Stronghold sent. I’ve been waiting for you.

  I reached out to him as best I could, beginning a slow walk down the hall. I’d been here before, this particular corridor leading all the way to the central tower. Memories of releasing Ameline, of being imprisoned here myself, flickered through my head. I’m happy you’re okay, I sent.

  Nothing can harm me. No arrogance, only belief in utter truth. At least, not now I’m free. I will forever be in your debt, Light One, for releasing me from my millennia of stasis.

  A large, open window beckoned and I paused, leaning over the wide lintel, breathing in a deep lung full of fresh air. There was a time this plane was dead and empty, in limbo as it had been since the Universe was created. Waiting for me, for Fate, and the battle I fought against Liander Belaisle.

  Now, lush green spread out from the base of the giant castle, trees and flowers in the meadow below. Birds like I’d never seen swooped and sang, a wide, fast running river dumping into a distant ocean twinkling in the sunlight.

  Good to hear it, I sent. Though, I understand you’ve evicted your last tenants.

  The Stronghold’s anger rippled through me, not aimed at me, but making me feel shaky none the less.

  There was a time, he sent, I had no control over who walked my halls. But my freedom has granted me the power to act on my own behalf much more decisively. I could almost see him nodding his head. If he had one.

  And the Enforcers are now off your list? I turned a corner, coming to a halt in the large, main room of the Stronghold. Or, at least, the one the Enforcers used in the past. I knew from my aerial view—thanks to a flyover on Max—the Stronghold was massive, stretched out for miles. Who knew what lived and lurked in the halls of this place?

  They are no longer welcome here. His flat tone felt like stone grinding over stone. They carry the taint of the sorcerers who sought to use me for their purpose, the taint of the one you defeated to free me.

  Belaisle. I sank to a bench along the curved wall of the hall and leaned back against the stone, sighing. Makes sense to me, I sent. Do you have any idea what’s happening on my plane?

  I do not, the Stronghold sent. Beyond what I gleaned from observing the fallen ones. He must have meant the Enforcers. Should I be concerned?

  I told him everything, allowed him to skim through my thoughts and see. When I was done, the Stronghold sighed, a sound like the earth shifting on its plates.

  I’m sorry about the loss of your lesser kind, he sent, referring to the witches, I presumed. But I am immobile and unable to assist.

  You already have, I sent, savoring the quiet moment, the solitude with only the ancient mind of the vast Stronghold to keep me company. My eyes tried to drift shut, forcing me to stand and pace so I wouldn’t fall asleep. You can keep the Brotherhood out of here, then?

  I can, the Stronghold sent. They will never be permitted on my plane again.

  And other sorcerers? I let him feel Piers, the first person I thought of. Funny, I still immediately placed Gram as a witch despite her transformation.

  The Stronghold was silent a moment. I allow such here, he sent. They have their own personal magic and are not like the evil ones. But if they attempt anything the Brotherhood did, I will act.

  Understood, I sent. There are Enforcers who do not agree with the laws that have been written, who are fighting against the hold of the Brotherhood. Are they permitted?

  No. That was abrupt and I guessed I could hardly blame him. I’m sorry, but their taint would remain. They would need to sever their connection entirely, if that is even possible.

  My husband was here, with Ethpeal Hayle. You remember her?

  I do. Again he paused. She is different now. One of the sorcerers you spoke of. I allowed her to explore. With the man you married.

  But you almost repelled him.

  He had the feel of the Enforcers, the Stronghold sent. But he had severed himself and so I permitted his presence.

  Confirming my first guess. You mentioned personal magic, I sent. What did you mean by that? How are the Steam Union different?

  They have taken the time to develop their own power, the Stronghold sent. The Brotherhood are mere parasites, helpless and without magic except that they steal from the Universe.

  Well, now. I hadn’t heard that before. Interesting. Maybe there was a way to use it against them. Then I shrugged. They would always have access to something they could strip for power. So I was probably wrong. Still. Nice to know.

  The fundamental difference, the Stronghold sent, going on. The Brotherhood are takers. The sorcerer who was a witch is of another ilk. They are earners and would not steal from me.

  And yet, I’d taken, hadn’t I? From the Brotherhood themselves. The Stronghold had seen that, when I shared what happened. How am I still welcome?

  You took from those who are evil, he sent, as though that was all right. Removed power they didn’t have the right to hold, not for your own gain, but to stop them from hurting others. And you are the Light One. Couldn’t argue with that kind of logic. I will always welcome you. As I welcome all who come in peace.

  That was the opening I needed, the last bit of my weary mind’s wanderings.

  There is one thing you can do to help, I sent.

  For you, Light One, he sent, anything. Except allowing the Brotherhood here.

  Amen to that, I sent. My family are in need of a place to hide.

  A rush of joy washed over me, making me smile as he answered.

  Your people are welcome here, he sent. Was that loneliness and longing in him? He’d obviously grown accustomed to people roaming his halls. The silence had to be frustrating. I will care for them and keep them safe for as long as you need.

  I stopped pacing and hugged myself. First major problem solved.

  Now, how to take on two vast powers who were determined to control—and, in the case of the Brotherhood, destroy—my race.

  Piece of cake.

  ***

  Chapter Twenty Three

  I stood off to the side, arms crossed, back braced against the wall as the mirror in the main chamber of the Stronghold shimmered and my coven made their tentative way through. Quaid helped the Lawrence twins, Estelle on one arm, Esther tottering on the other, his eyes searching for me the moment he passed through the portal. I waved but held back, letting Mom and Dad take over, just needing to stay out of it and catch my breath.

  There was no surprise when the Stronghold led me to a small, museum like room filled with old documents and artifacts in glass cases, showing me where the archivist left his mirror shard, along with a small case full of more. The keys to the main portal were sanded smooth around the edges and coated in silver, almost pieces of art that cast back the reflection of my tired face, the bloodshot look of my blue eyes.

  It took only a moment to ride the veil to the cavern, to tell Mom and Dad and the others what I had planned. The coven seemed almost eager to move on and, as they looked around in wonder at their new home, I caught a few tentative smiles and the first breath of optimism.

  Your family is strong. The Stronghold’s voice in my head ground gravel across rock. I am honored to have them in my halls.

  A tiny lump of gratitude formed in my throat, threatening tears. Thank you, I sent in barely a whisper. This means a lot.

  I owe you everything, the Stronghold sent with a slow and ponderous hug of his massive energy. This small thing I consider only a down payment on my debt.

  You don’t owe me a thing, I sent. I’d rather call you a friend than someone who feels they have to help.

  He paused a long moment, silent, the cool touch of stone behind me warming slightly. Temperature
s didn’t bother me, but I could still sense the subtle variations.

  I have never had a… friend. His gigantic mind seemed to shift sideways, to grind around the idea. I would like that very much, Light One.

  Then call me Syd, I sent, finally pushing off from the wall, patting the rock with one hand.

  Syd. He sounded almost shy, tentative.

  My kids ran toward me, a few of the coven children joining them, cheeks pink and faces smiling. Was this a game to them? I hoped it came across that way. Ethie didn’t even pause as she tore past me.

  “Going exploring!”

  I groaned and rolled my eyes at her, Gabriel stopping to hug me quick and hard.

  “I’ll watch her, Mom,” he said. But his hazel eyes sparked with green and the grin on his face was far too enthusiastic for my liking.

  “Be careful!” I watched them run off without the energy to stop them, though I knew I should. Galleytrot shook his tail at me as he galloped after them.

  Fear not for your offspring. The Stronghold’s mind felt amused. I will ensure their safety and steer them away from places it’s best they don’t go.

  An entire giant castle as a babysitter and a former hound of the Wild Hunt trailing along? I’d take it.

  The coven came to a halt, the Rhodes witches held carefully in their midst, all eyes turning to me. The main room was full of bodies held in limbo, waiting for me to speak.

  I cleared my throat, hoped I wasn’t too tired. The last thing I wanted to do was freak them out all over again. “This is the Stronghold,” I said, deciding to keep it simple. “It has intelligence, like Sassafras and Galleytrot.” Not quite, but it would do. Everyone looked around, whispered a moment. Some of them even waved up at the ceiling as if the Stronghold could see them.

  I can, he sent, more good humor in his tone. Greetings, people of Syd. I grinned, ducked my head. Be welcome in my halls. Know I will keep you safe from harm and that anything you need I will provide for you. Your difficult journey is over for now. Rest and be at ease.