Once the guards were gone, the Elves emerged from whatever they’d been hiding behind and came almost up to the door, just barely leaning close enough to see in the crack between the door and the hinges. Miranda lowered her eyes and kept playing, but added a tiny bit of volume to her voice and to the strings so they could hear better.
Not long after, a third presence appeared, and a couple of songs later, another from a different direction. This one stayed farther away at first, and Miranda realized with no little surprise that it was one of the vampires from the Cloister, keeping his distance so not to scare the Elves. He was just as fascinated with them as he was with Miranda’s singing.
Smiling to herself, she pushed the tiniest bit of empathy into the song, not to push them to do anything, but to make sure they knew they were all safe here, and everyone was welcome. She carefully extended a thread of energy, then another, loosely weaving them into a connection among everyone there, just a little touch, nothing intrusive.
The three Elves noticed the vampire, but didn’t run off; in fact she sensed something, maybe a smile, maybe a blush; some sort of tiny overture that persuaded the vampire to move just a little closer, though not all the way to the door.
Such a small step, but so important—Miranda held back her enthusiasm, not wanting to overpower the shy progress out in the hallway, and just kept playing, letting the music do the work it was meant to do.
She looked over and saw Cora was meditating cross-legged with Vràna’s head in her lap, a soft smile on the Queen’s face, the dog sound asleep. Across from them, the boys were also asleep, or Nico was—she caught Deven drifting in and out, finally settling on drowsy but awake, sometimes lending a quiet harmony to whatever she was singing the way he’d done when they babysat Inaliel.
She made a mental note to flick his ear for never mentioning that he could sing. He had, in fact, a lovely tenor, one she could easily imagine singing in Gaelic, perhaps in the middle of a stone circle, or perhaps in a church…somewhere that music echoed with sacred resonance, or somewhere old gods walked and forest spirits waltzed beneath the stars. Miranda loved how they sounded together, even as softly as he had joined in, and added to her mental note to offer whatever favors she had to to persuade him to really sing for her, and with her, and soon.
Miranda herself was happy to keep singing as long as she had a voice, and far from feeling sad at the loss of her public career, she found herself feeling a rare sort of contentment that came from doing something she’d been born to do, for people who needed to hear it.
After an hour or so, she wound the music down. It wasn’t until she ended the last song that she sensed her guests leaving—hopefully smiling at each other tentatively as they slipped back down their respective hallways.
“Come a little bit closer
Hear what I have to say
Just like children sleepin’
We could dream this night away…”
It might not change much, or it might make all the difference in the world; she could only have faith in the music, her own power, and the shared joy and sorrow of lives that seemed so radically different but weren’t, really, at least not in the ways that mattered.
“Because I’m still in love with you
I want to see you dance again
Because I’m still in love with you
On this harvest moon…”
Chapter Ten
The fourth Pair’s arrival the following night got off to a slightly different start.
Miranda was halfway through getting dressed when something started to niggle at her intuition. Not an alarm, just yet, but…something.
She paused with her hands on her zipper and looked over at David, who saw the look on her face and looked down at his phone. “They’re on schedule,” he said. He started to say something else, probably to ask the driver his status, but:
“Star-One, this is Elite-214, requesting permission to reroute to 49.”
David glanced at Miranda. “On what grounds?”
“There’s a vehicle a quarter-mile back that I think might be tailing us. Prime Daniels agrees an evasive might be wise.”
“Permission granted, 214. Do you have a lock on the vehicle?”
“Sending now.”
David had already reached his desk and opened his laptop, bringing up the sensor grid, which now had a variety of other systems overlapping it including APD’s traffic cameras. Miranda wasn’t sure what kind of information the driver had on the other car, but whatever it was, David was already feeding it into another window, and in seconds both the Haven car and the one he was tracking had appeared on the map.
“Elite-214, you’re definitely being followed,” he said, still sounding calm, though Miranda could feel tension climbing up the back of her mind from his. “The car’s listed as stolen and has been on you since you left the airport. Forget 49—reroute to Rendezvous 3 and await further instructions.”
“As you will it, Lord Prime.”
Next he called Olivia. “Guess what.”
A sigh. “I figured. Where are we going?”
“A warehouse on the East Side—not far from your old place. You’ll pull into the building. It’s already under guard, but stay in the car for now.”
Miranda finished arming herself quickly. “Too much to ask that all this go smoothly, I suppose.”
“I told you we should have had them come in to our airstrip. After this no more commercial flights for any of us.”
Miranda made an irritated noise. “We’ve been over this, baby, Liv couldn’t leave until Prime Natalegawa went home, and that earthquake screwed up his flight schedule. It was the only way to get them here in time for tomorrow night. Besides, that’s why we have all those backup plans you dream up in the shower.”
Deven, Nico, Jacob, and Cora met them in the hallway, all looking concerned. “Rendezvous 3?”
Dev asked.
Miranda nodded. “With a detour to Indonesia for David to bitch at the earthquake.”
Jacob chuckled. “Even you can’t control tectonic plates, my Lord—at least not so far. Maybe give it a year.”
“We’re not all going,” David said firmly. “We’re much too big and irresistible a target all together—which is probably part of their plan. Jacob, you and Cora wait here. Dev and Nico, you stay back too, and be ready to gate everyone out at my word.”
Miranda expected a disagreement, but Dev caught her eye and said, “I’ve been to the location—I can Mist there in a heartbeat. David’s right, as of now all we know is there’s a car following. There’s no need to jump the—”
“Star-One, this is Elite-214, we are taking heavy fire! I repeat, we are—”
Silence.
David looked nothing so much as tired. “Lieutenant Xiu and flanking teams, move in and escort the limo away from Rendezvous 3 toward the dummy dropoff point. We’re en route. You know the plan.”
“Yes, Sire. As you will it.”
The Prime glanced at Nico. “You’re with me.”
The Elf nodded and took the Prime’s hand; a moment later, they disappeared.
“Well,” Miranda said into the suddenly echoing silence, “We might as well have a drink.”
“Is there any point to asking what exactly the plan is?” Jacob ventured a few minutes later as they all resumed their spots in the study from the night before. “Why a dummy location instead of the warehouse?”
“Because the car will be empty when Morningstar catches up to it,” Miranda replied, handing Cora her glass of wine. “The boys Misted into the car, and Nico will gate them back out. Ari’s too new to have his Misting down yet and Olivia really doesn’t either, so it’s easier to use the Web.”
Jacob blinked at her. “You’re telling me David can Mist into a moving car.”
“It’s one of our limos,” she explained. “He’s been in it a thousand times. All he has to do is triangulate exactly where it is at the exact seco
nd they land there, and that’s Nico’s other job, to track the car through the Web and let David use his Sight.”
“And they’ve done this before?”
“Not exactly. Something sort of like it, when we rescued the Order. But it should work.”
“Won’t there be pretty nasty side effects? Migraines at the very least?”
“Undoubtedly,” Deven said, and he at least looked a tiny bit anxious…and a little angry, though Miranda doubted anyone else would notice. “They shouldn’t have tried it without practice—even as strong as Nico is he’s not omnipotent. He was out of commission for a day after the Cloister, and he was in a lot of pain from overextending his gift. But of course, if Our Lord commandeth…” The last sentence was laced with sarcasm and accompanied by an equally sarcastic grand, sweeping gesture from Deven.
“It was an emergency,” Miranda said, hoping to defuse his aggravation. “You know David wouldn’t put Nico in danger if he didn’t think—”
“He didn’t think,” Deven said shortly. “And he didn’t ask. He had a resource and he used it. There were half a dozen other possible ways to get the Pair out of jeopardy. And if Nico comes to harm because of his recklessness, the Prime and I are going to have words.”
Just then, luckily, Miranda felt the familiar change in the air—she looked up to see part of the wall turn to liquid, and a blast of cold air hit the study a few seconds later.
Jacob jumped back from his chair out of reflex, and Vràna barked a warning, barely listening to her mistress’s attempts to calm her. The gateway opened, and with a blinding flash of what Miranda thought were probably headlights, two figures tumbled through, landing facefirst on the floor with a grunt and the clatter of weaponry.
The other two shapes in the portal stepped out calmly, resolving into Nico and David, who were used to the ride—it was far less bumpy and nausea-inducing than Misting, but still quite a trip for the uninitiated.
Nico turned and banished the portal with a gesture, then took a deep breath and sank into the nearest empty chair, looking sick.
Deven was at his side instantly and wrapped him in a blanket. He already had a glass of blood poured for the Elf, and held Nico’s shaking hand while he sipped it, the Prime kneeling at his feet, his expression a rarity: Worry, undisguised.
David, none the worse for the trip, offered Olivia a hand to help her up, and another to Avi. The Pair got to their feet shakily, untangling coats and weapons. Miranda noticed a pair of suitcases up against the wall; Nico had apparently thought of everything.
“Welcome to our Haven,” David said, laughing.
Olivia was clearly happy to see David, and gave him a hug right away, but Avi seemed a bit unsure where to put himself. He was, technically, the equal of everyone here now, but as Deven had said, he was used to serving, not ruling.
“It’s so good to see you,” David told Olivia, squeezing her around the middle and lifting her up slightly off the floor. She laughed and stepped back, tilting her head slightly toward her Consort, earning a look of “Oh come on now” from the Prime, who promptly offered Avi his hand.
“And good to meet you on equal terms at last,” David said. Avi shook his hand firmly, though Miranda could tell Avi was under no illusions as to how equal the terms were. He was brand new to his Signet, one of the first male Consorts, and David was…well, David, the Prime who now ruled half the planet.
“I’m honored to be here,” Avi said, trying perhaps a bit too hard to be comfortable in such company. Miranda wondered if he’d be so awestruck if he knew David went through a half-dozen pints of Ben & Jerry’s a week and sang Taylor Swift off-key in the shower.
Meanwhile, Nico had finished his glass and was standing again, though he did lean a bit heavily on Dev’s arm as they came closer for a real introduction.
Dev’s attention was on his Consort at first, making sure Nico was steady, but as soon as his gaze turned to Avi, Avi’s eyes went wide, and he knelt.
There was a moment of surprised silence. Miranda saw David about to say something—probably something sarcastic, knowing him —but Deven took the Prime’s arm and pulled him back calmly out of the way so he could step out in front of Avi.
She had never seen Deven actually in the presence of one of his operatives, and almost the second they were within a few feet of each other she understood: there was a subtle current of energy, one that hardly anyone would notice, between the Alpha and his agent. Miranda knew that joining the Red Shadow was a binding oath, but it had never occurred to her there was actual magic at work.
Now, she could feel it: Deven had created this spell himself, centuries ago. Not even the Signet’s call could fully break it. As long as it lay over Avi he would be divided in loyalty, whether he realized it or not, though she suspected he did by the way he waited, silently, head bowed.
The Prime held out a hand. “Your right hand, 1.3 Alizarin.”
Avi wordlessly lifted his head and did as he was told. He wasn’t cowering, didn’t really seem afraid, per se, but he was still beholden to the spell upon him, and was duty and honor-bound to kneel to his master until the spell was broken.
Deven took out a knife and drew a line down Avi’s palm; he touched one finger to the blood that rose in the blade’s wake and drew a waning crescent Moon on Avi’s forehead. The blood disappeared almost as soon as it touched skin.
The Alpha’s words were quiet, but clear, and touched with a power Miranda had never felt before, a part of the Prime’s life that had, until now, been mostly a mystery.
“I hold your oath to me fulfilled. I release you from my service and name you subject to the will of no blood but your own and that of the Signet at your throat. Your designation among the Red Shadow is no more. Rise as Avishai Shavit, Consort of the Eastern United States, and look your equal in the eye.”
Slowly, Avi met Deven’s gaze and held it as he stood up. Miranda felt the thread of power retracting, then disappearing altogether, and finally, Deven gave the slight bow that was customary from one Signet to another.
Avi returned the bow, let out the breath he’d been holding, and blinked a few times before smiling. “Thank you, my Lord…Lord Prime.”
Deven nodded once. “Now then. I’d like you both to formally meet my Consort, Nicolanai Araceith—Nico, Prime Olivia Daniels of the Northeastern United States and her Consort, Avishai Shavit.”
Nico shook both of their hands and smiled. He was still pale, and didn’t look like he’d last much longer without lying down, but he stood as straight as he could. “An honor.”
“The honor is ours,” Olivia said warmly. “But as much as I’d like to visit with you, Nico, I think you might need a nap first. Don’t worry, we’ll be here when you’re rested.”
Nico looked a little embarrassed. “I fear you are correct, my Lady Prime—building a gateway so quickly took a lot out of me even with the Tetrad behind me. I will be much better company after an hour or two of sleep.”
Deven shot David a cold look. “It was a risk that you didn’t need to take,” he said.
David raised an eyebrow. “He’s an adult, Deven—he can make his own decisions.”
“Only if you let him.”
“I will be fine,” Nico said firmly. “Let’s go, Dev…I lack the energy for an argument at present.” He offered Olivia and Avi a smile and let Deven lead him out of the study.
David shook his head. “He’s got to stop underestimating Nico—trying to shelter him from danger isn’t going to stop danger from coming for him.”
“Can you blame him?” Miranda asked, tugging him down onto the sofa while everyone else got re-settled. “After what happened to Jonathan—not to mention what happened to Nico himself—it makes sense he’d be a little overprotective. Plus…as strong as Nico is, he’s not invulnerable. None of us is.” She met her husband’s eyes. “Not even you.”
She didn’t know how to interpret David’s expression, but she didn’t like it, nor did
she like the mixture of anger and something perilously close to fear she felt in him at that moment. He was afraid of being weak…why? None of them had to go it alone anymore; as long as they were together they were strong. What did he need to prove, and to whom?
Before things could get even more uncomfortable, though, Olivia cleared her throat. “So what do we have to look forward to tomorrow night? Do we have to sacrifice a chicken or anything weird like that?”
Miranda grinned. “As far as I know all we really do is show up—Stella said it’s really simple—the important thing is who’s there, and when, and the magic of the Signets and the Codex does most of the work. Nico might be able to tell us more after his nap.”
She looked at Jacob and Cora, and added, “One thing she did tell me is that anything that happens once we’re in the Circle is strictly by our consent; nobody’s going to be forced to make any oaths or promise anything they’re not okay with. Whatever Persephone wants from you if you say no there won’t be any brimstone.”
“Just the end of the world,” Jacob pointed out. “And for those of us who don’t take up Her mantel, the guilt of knowing we refused to help. But Cora has said repeatedly that it won’t be like that, and I trust my Queen’s judgment.”
Cora smiled at him and touched his arm. “I am certain, my love. Persephone does not want the worship of anyone who does not offer it freely. She will help us protect our world regardless. This war, the cost that might come due, is too great for such pettiness on Her part.”
“Do you think She’s really a Goddess?” Olivia asked.
The Queen frowned a little. “I am not sure what to call such a being. And I am not sure it matters, in the end. I believe that our God is true, and I know that Persephone does not demand us to call Her our God, and that is enough for me…for now. Ask me again tomorrow night and my answer may be very different. But the being I have met in my dreams…yes, I trust Her, as I would any ally.”
Olivia nodded, thoughtful. “I’ve never been a devout anything, to be honest. I don’t have a problem with anybody’s religion as long as it’s not hurting anyone. I’m not really looking for a deity. But an ally…that, we could definitely use.”
Shadow Rising (The Shadow World Book 7) Page 20