The fact that my mom had been all over the plan might, in fact, be proof of her mental state.
Besides, Neil was crying off the newest recruitment trip to babysit Cory.
As reports of unicorn attacks spread, even fewer eligible hunters were willing to risk putting themselves in the line of fire. Even those hunters who hadn’t yet experienced the phenomenon of attracting unicorns had heard of incidents on the news. Unicorns left few survivors, and it didn’t surprise me that many eligible hunters would choose to isolate themselves rather than risk joining the Order and confronting the animals head—or horn—on. My mother wasn’t the only one who preferred that the concept of unicorn hunting remained in the abstract … and far in the distance.
Some eligible hunters had informed us they were moving away to isolated islands or into the depths of cities too developed or crowded to support unicorns. One family had even split up its daughters and sent them to separate cities, lest their combined attractive powers made unicorns risk traveling into urban areas, the way the Cloisters, with its concentrated population of hunters, had drawn unicorns from far and wide into Rome.
Bonegrinder’s thoughts turned menacing, and she’d started to growl even before I heard the light tapping on the door. I slipped my hand through her collar and looked up.
Neil stood on the threshold. “Good evening, Astrid,” he said, flashing the don’s ring at Bonegrinder until she settled. “Have a moment?”
I stared into my lap. “I guess.”
Cory flipped on the light as Neil came inside and shut the door behind him.
“I need to ask a favor of you,” he said, commandeering Cory’s desk chair. I still couldn’t look him in the face. “I had planned to accompany Cory back to England, but now it seems that I have other … commitments.”
And now I raised my eyes to meet his. “What?”
He swallowed. “I’m going to the United States to investigate the survivor of a recent unicorn attack. We have reason to believe she might be a hunter, though her family history is unknown.”
It was nothing new. Ilesha was also a hunter of unknown provenance. We’d found her when it had been discovered she was keeping a zhi as a pet.
“What about Cory’s protection?” I asked.
Now it was Neil’s turn to look away. “It has been pointed out to me that I’m hardly in a position to protect her from a unicorn. Not like you.”
“What about your going back to school?”
“That, too, can wait until things at the Cloisters are a little more settled. Phil is putting it off for a few months. I should be able to at least as much as …” He looked away. “I was hoping that you would step into my place.”
“England?” I asked. “But isn’t the point of sending Cory away that she won’t be around any other hunters?”
“Please come, Astrid,” Cory said, beaming. “It won’t be quite so miserable to be stuck in England—”
“If I’m stuck there, too?” I finished, and shrugged. “Being a hunter in Italy or a hunter in the UK—doesn’t make much of a difference, does it?”
“I’m sorry if my company is so distasteful to you,” Cory snapped.
I buried my hands in Bonegrinder’s fur. “It’s not that, Cory.”
“I understand,” said Neil, “if you want to stay near Phil. I can ask another hunter. I simply assumed since you two are so close—”
Cory shot me a look and I interrupted him. “No, I think it’s a good idea. Don’t mind my crankiness.” Nothing that involved hunting, be it in Rome or London or Timbuktu, was going to make me happy right about now. My mother was nuts, my cousin hated me, my boyfriend couldn’t even be bothered to call me back.
“Eventually,” said Neil, “the idea is to let all the hunters go back to their homes. With training, they will be safe from any unicorn that might be drawn to them, and trained hunters can simply respond to urgent calls closest to them. It’s the best situation for everyone involved if we don’t return to the old paradigm of an actual, permanent convent here in Rome.”
“But we’re not there yet,” said Cory. “Not hardly, if we can’t even figure out what’s wrong with me.”
“Astrid, you’re one of the hunters who has progressed the most in her training,” said Neil, and I was relieved that for once he didn’t pursue the myth that I was, in fact, the best. “And unlike, say, Grace, you have a bit more autonomy when it comes to being moved. I don’t have to ask your mother for permission to send you to England.”
If he could arrange not to let her know at all, I’d probably be grateful.
“I also thought”—Neil squirmed a bit in his seat—”that you might welcome a switch-up. Phil mentioned you’ve been having a rough time adjusting to some of the new restrictions.”
I shrugged again. So was Melissende, and I didn’t see her getting to go on vacation with Cory.
“And that maybe a change of pace might be in order.”
“So even Phil wants to get rid of me?” I said before I could stop myself. “Sorry,” I added. “Like I said, I’m cranky. Do you really think me playing bodyguard to Cory is the best use of our limited hunter resources, though? With all the requests we’ve been getting?”
Neil shrugged. “Hunter resources notwithstanding, we don’t have the physical or monetary resources to send hunters to Tibet or any of the other really remote places that have been requesting assistance. Helicopters to get you up the mountains, mobile medical units in case something happens to you while you’re up there—until Phil can get official support from some large government or organization, we’re limited in terms of what area we can reasonably service, even with the few hunters we have. Perhaps I am biased, but there’s an argument to be made that a good use of our resources right now is to protect our own.”
I frowned. “This sucks. I hate the idea that I could help, but I can’t get there.” What was the point of having magic if it was so incredibly limited? On top of speed and aim and telepathy, couldn’t Diana have arranged for worldwide instant teleportation as well? Add it to the list of things the goddess got wrong with this “gift” of ours.
“That’s always the case, though, isn’t it?” Neil said. “It’s the same frustration felt by any relief organization. We have the grain, but we can’t get it to them. We have the ability to cure the disease, but it requires machines or facilities that the people in question don’t possess.”
Beside me, Cory sniffled. “What is the point?” she asked softly. “Why are we trying so hard if we still can’t save people?”
Neil’s jaw was set. “I can save you,” he stated. “I’m getting you out of here. And we’re going to figure out what’s wrong with you. I promise.” He looked at me. “Well?”
I glanced at poor Cory and her leg. I thought about Phil’s face this afternoon, pictured another month of traipsing around Rome in a habit remembering what it had been like when Giovanni was here. At least in London I’d be away from the weapons and the throne and the constant reminder that my world was nothing like it used to be.
Bonegrinder began pulling on her collar, her thoughts radiating her hunger and her curiosity regarding how delectable a nice raw haunch of Cornelius Bartoli would taste.
At least in London I wouldn’t have to worry about a house zhi.
“How long would it be for?” I asked. “And what about school?”
“I don’t know,” said Neil. “A few weeks at least—whatever it takes to make sure Cory is well again. And as for tutors, we could engage Cory’s old instructors. They can teach you both.”
“Ah, the penalty of returning home,” said Cory. “More calculus.”
Yay, more calculus!
“Oh,” said Neil, and exchanged glances with Cory. “There is one other thing.”
Cory wriggled in her seat and clapped her hands together.
“What?” I asked.
Cory squeaked.
Neil shook his head at his niece. “Would you like to tell her?”
Cor
y nodded vigorously. “We think we’ve found Seth.”
Bonegrinder must have sensed my adrenaline spike, because she began to grow restless and growled.
“What do you mean ‘we’?” I asked.
“Remember the private investigator we hired to help us track hunter lines?” Neil asked. “We’ve also had him investigating the whereabouts of the bas—young man.”
“Bastard,” I agreed.
“Yes,” Cory seconded.
“We know Marten Jaeger helped Seth elude authorities, and now we have a lead. There’s a young man who matches his description staying in a hotel in Limoges, France, and using a credit card that bills to Gordian Pharmaceuticals.”
“You’re kidding,” I said. “Still? But when the police called them after Marten’s death, didn’t they say they had no idea where Seth was?”
“Are you surprised they’d lie?” Neil asked. “They were experts in lying to us. At any rate, I had been planning to fly to Limoges myself, under the pretense of leaving with Cory—”
“Wait, pretense? “ I looked from one Bartoli to the other. “Why have you been keeping this from us? From Phil?”
“You may have noticed,” Neil said, “that Phil is utterly disinterested in discussing what happened to her.”
I nodded. So what? I’d want to put it past me as well.
“When I first broached the topic of hiring an investigator to search she was a good bit more than merely disinterested. It’s not that she doesn’t want him caught, but she balked at diverting any of our resources to the mission.”
Of course she did. Things were stretched thin enough already, and Phil would probably deem hiring a PI just to track down her rapist as falling under the heading of “china doll treatment.”
“Unfortunately,” Neil continued, “I can’t conform to her wishes on this matter.”
“So you’re going behind her back,” I said. “How happy do you think she’ll be when she discovers this?”
“Hopefully, she’ll never need to know. Seth will be arrested by the police, and the case will resume as before. However, Phil has already purchased my flight to the United States for this recruitment trip, so I cannot go to France.” He met my eyes again. “But you, Astrid, you can.”
“Why do we need to go at all?” I asked. “I thought there was a European arrest warrant out—”
Cory shrugged. “It’s not exactly top priority, is it? And maybe he’s even got a fake passport with a false identity to go with his fancy credit card. But if you were there and went to the police as an eyewitness to a fugitive, the warrant would pop right up. All you have to do is take one look at him then call the authorities.”
Neil handed me a sheet of paper: a credit card file that listed the address of a hotel in Limoges.
“Come on, Astrid,” Cory said. “Don’t you want to be there when they nab him?”
Oh, I did. And I wouldn’t mind giving him a good scratch with an alicorn as well. “But what about you?”
She tapped one crutch against the other. “Hardly in any shape to go chasing some criminal around the south of France.”
“Exactly,” I said. “Or even to go to London by yourself. Who will protect you?”
“It shouldn’t take long,” Neil said. “Cory had arranged to stay in the airport hotel until I arrived in London. We don’t think she’s under much danger of a unicorn attack inside the airport. You can do this, then board the next flight to London.”
I had to admit, it sounded marvelous. I would love to look Seth in the eye right as he was tackled to the ground by the French police. I would love to come back to the Cloisters, dragging Seth by the collar, and throw him at Phil’s feet. Avoidance or not, she’d have to forgive me then.
And maybe that had been Neil’s inspiration as well. “Why are you doing this?” I asked him. “Why do you care so much?”
“He hurt a hunter under my care,” Neil replied coldly. “What kind of don would I be if I allowed that to stand without response? We don’t use unicorns to carry out our retaliations any longer, Astrid, but I will see him pay the price for his misdeeds.”
I caught my breath. From time to time, I could actually see that Neil was descended from warriors.
“In this case, the price is a stay in an Italian jail cell.” Neil stood. “Please let me know when you’ve made your decision.”
“I have,” I said. “It’s yes.”
“Good. I’ll go make the travel arrangements.” He stood and headed back to the door, then paused.
Bonegrinder prepared to strike, and I swatted her on the nose to settle her down.
“Astrid,” Neil said into the door. His shoulders hunched, and for a moment, he looked much younger. Almost as young as us. Certainly as young as Phil. “I hope … I hope you’re not under the impression that I think any less of your cousin after her ordeal.”
I focused as hard as I could on Bonegrinder.
“What are you talking about?” Cory looked back and forth at the two of us.
“On one level, you are right. I am doing this for Phil, as much as I am a don doing this for a hunter,” Neil went on, and every word seemed a struggle.
“You’re joking!,” Cory cried. “Neil, you wanker.”
He took a deep, shuddering breath. “I don’t know what she feels. I can’t know. But one concern is … I’m not sure if any interest on her part can be genuine for her right now. I worry that she might want … a new relationship to cleanse her last one out of her mind.”
And what about the fact that she’d liked Neil even when she was dating Seth? But I didn’t point that out. After all, it was only one of the many barriers for them. Plus, that secret wasn’t mine to tell, and I’d already betrayed Phil enough for one day.
“Neil,” Cory said, dumbfounded. “Have you gone mad?”
He continued to ignore her. “I can’t be part of that, no matter how much I care for her. Perhaps because I care for her so much.”
“Neil!” Cory shouted.
He grabbed the doorknob like a lifeline and vanished.
Things happened very quickly after that. In the morning, Neil came up to tell us that he’d booked tickets for us back to London. Leaving tomorrow. We broke the news to Phil, who continued to avoid my eyes whenever we were in the same room. It was too weird. A large part of me wanted to believe that she was staying at the Cloisters because I was there. But clearly, my presence in Rome wasn’t as big an influence on her as I’d thought. She quickly changed the subject from our departure to her most recent attempts to confer endangered status on the unicorns.
Of course. What did it matter that she’d be down two hunters when she wasn’t overly crazy about killing unicorns in the first place?
As I watched Phil bustle about the Cloisters—going over plans to update the wiring in the chapter house, making sure that Zelda had mended the hole in Ilesha’s cargo pants, typing up reminder e-mails to each of the congressional assistants she’d contacted through her Save the Unicorns campaign—I realized how smoothly she’d transitioned into her role as donna. She wasn’t the girl who’d shown up here last May looking for a free Roman vacation. She’d traded in her cutoffs for a knee-length skirt, her volleyball for a pile of file folders. And yet, she seemed happy. Maybe the only reason I thought she wanted to leave and go back to her old life was because I wanted to.
I bid farewell to the other hunters, taking in Melissende’s and Grace’s barely concealed glee, Zelda’s and Dorcas’s envy, Rosamund’s fear, and the young ones’ curiosity. Valerija was as hard to read as ever. She didn’t even come down to our going-away dinner, though Lucia had pulled out all the stops and bought us gelato in six different flavors.
I’d miss Lucia, an elderly nun who, luck would have it, was descended from a unicorn-hunting family. Word was that food in England wasn’t quite as good as in Rome.
Bonegrinder grew more and more agitated as she watched the commotion around her and had to be dragged bodily from our door to be locked in her ca
ge for the night. All night long, I felt her gnawing at the locks that held her in, terrified for some unknown reason of being let free, only to find us gone. Stupid unicorn. Of all the hunters in the Cloisters, Cory liked the pet zhi the least.
I reminded myself to keep my thoughts as calm as possible when I said good-bye.
The next morning, Neil picked up his car to drive us to the airport, and Cory and I waited for him in the Cloisters rotunda. I ran my hands over the bone-encrusted walls, feeling them shiver beneath my fingers, getting flashes of the unicorns they once belonged to. I studied the tableau of Clothilde and Bucephalus that dominated the center of the room. Perhaps in England, with Sybil Bartoli’s genealogy research, I could finally track the location of my father and his family.
Clothilde stood in frozen, well-dressed splendor, forever holding her fake sword up to the karkadann’s fake horn. Her real claymore would remain here in the Cloisters’s armory, since it wasn’t feasible to take it with me. However, Cory and I had packed alicorn arrowheads to fit onto shafts in England, and the alicorn knife was nestled into my checked luggage. I probably shouldn’t be taking that, either, but I couldn’t bear to part with both it and the claymore at once, and only one was small enough to sneak into my bags.
Cory waved at me from the door. “He’s here. Ready?”
I loitered in the courtyard. Was Phil so mad she really wouldn’t say good-bye?
After another thirty seconds, I decided she must be. I was climbing into the car when I heard “Asteroid,” and felt her hand covering the alicorn scar on my back. I launched myself at her, and we wrapped around each other so tight I thought for a moment our skin would melt together.
I love you! I shouted at her inside my head. I love you so much it’ll be a miracle if I don’t kill Seth the second I set eyes on him.
“I’ll miss you,” I said aloud.
“You take care of yourself,” she whispered into my braid. “Don’t you dare die on me. You do and I’ll kill you, I swear.”
“You, too,” I said. “You keep that ring on at all times, you hear? I don’t care about Neil.”
Ascendant Page 8