by Pam Uphoff
Jade turned and eyed her. "Make rooms for Betelgeuse and Centauri as well. Wavelength can spend extra time in there, so the three girls mature about the same time. Arrow and Dagger, and the three babies can go in as soon as they start sleeping through the night."
Teri patted her shoulder. "Remember we've got this other girl we grabbed. What should we name her. Harm? Hatred? Well, she can just stay in the bubble until the servants have their babies. They can raise her with theirs. We'll give one of them extra time, so she catches up with Arrow and Dagger." Jade glanced toward Smokey and Sunset. Rolled her eyes. "We'll need one more girl, eventually."
The redhead's lower lip retreated a bit. "I can grow up faster?"
Teri grinned. "Yep. Now, about your name . . . "
"I am Wavelength."
"Stubborn." Teri probed the girl's shields. Damn good for a five year old. Maybe I won't press the matter for now. Once she starts trusting us, depending on us and giving in to our control, she'll change her tune. And her name.
Jade sniffed. "Now, what do we do about that boy?"
Teri glanced over to where Sunset and Smokey was making a fuss over their babies—now looking about two years old. They bonded instantly. A bit of a surprise, since the girls were so young when Q captured them. Damn her. The boy's mother was in prison, and while the two Veronian witches weren't exactly ignoring him, he looked a bit lost.
"And we've got the twin boys from Hell still bubbled. They looked to be two or three years old."
Jade smiled narrowly. "With your boy we could have a small compass of mages. Or we could snatch Zodiac."
Teri scowled. "If we want men who might fight us. Toby! Come here!"
The boy trotted over. Two year olds were both the cutest stage, and the most infuriating.
She pat him on the head then concentrated . . . "No mage or wizard genes. He's Skori's, isn't he? Probably a Oner father."
Jade sniffed. "Indeed. Well, that's easily enough fixed." She paused, then flicked a spell at the boy. "Now he'll be useful."
Wizard and mage genes. Damn Jade too, using Ricardo's pattern for her little genetic spells.
"Eventually. Best we just bubble him until we have a need for a boy." Teri grabbed a bubble, and scooped him up.
Wavelength was watching, brows lowered and lip out again.
"See? He'll be just fine until we have time for him." Teri stuck the bubble to the corner post of the veranda, and added the baby girl and twin boys from Hell's Island. "They'll be out of the way there but handy when we need them. Now, bedrooms for you five girls . . . "
She glanced back at Smokey and Sunset. They both glared and clutched their daughters. Nimbus and Dusk. Not too bad, name-wise. And they'd grow up eventually and match up with the other nine girls.
One girl too few for even triads, but we can take care of that easily enough. We should space out their maturation, so the oldest are Half Moons about the time the second triad grasps power.
Hmm, guess we'd better keep the boys and let them grow up, so the girls can use them to advance.
"So, Betelgeuse is ten, Centauri is nine, and Wavelength is five. None of you have grasped power, but perhaps some meditation practice would be useful. Jade? Why don't you do that, while I fix up a special little camp for girls?" Teri smirked as Jade did as she was told.
This will be my pyramid. She raised her eyes to the looming peak in the center of the island. Not as tall as Mount Frost, but it'll be perfect for ceremonials. And more than one a year. I'll make a path . . . show Jade up again . . .
Chapter Nine
Early Summer 1397
Ash, Foothills Province
Heliotrope sagged in defeat. A top to bottom search of the house in Ash had removed any hope that one of the sisters had grabbed the wrong bubbles and brought them here.
She could hear her mother stomping around upstairs, and exchanged glances with the red-eyed Indigo.
"I need some fresh air. And maybe a drink. Let's walk down to the Inn." She shoved off the couch and stretched. So bloody stupid! I've avoided her for years, and now I'm frantic over losing her.
She hauled Indigo to her feet and out the door. "I'm not giving up."
"But . . . how are we going to find them? The army's been trying to find them for years." Indigo blinked watering eyes. "They were three years old. Almost four, even if I did use a bubble too much."
Clearly not much fresh air was going to be experienced. Heliotrope steered her into the Inn. And found Obsidian staring at an untouched plate of food, hands circling half a mug of ale.
She just lost four of her five children.
She's Xen's aunt.
"Obsidian? Can you find out where those Hors de Combat have lived? I want to personally recheck all of the possibilities."
The older witch leaned back and squinted at them.
I don't think this is her first drink.
"The New Lands. That Edge of the World place where they killed Prince Rebo. We should start there." Obsidian released the mug and tapped her forehead. Winced and tapped again.
Heliotrope looked around . . . "Pixie? We need some water here. Lots of water."
Pixie hustled out with a glass and pitcher. "Not that she doesn't deserve the hangover from hell." Sigh. "I'd drink too, under the circumstances."
Corridors were harder to find than Gates, less bright and thus less likely to shine through an illusion. And easier to hide. Gates were circles, a bit over ten foot in diameter, no matter what you did to them. Corridors could be any size and shape, and could be enlarged so easily that leaving one looking like a knot in the wood paneling was practical.
They argued all the way to the Edge of the World, riding borrowed horses.
"But wouldn't the God of Assassins want his corridor open and ready for fleeing?"
Obsidian shook her head. "Secrecy or speed of retreat? Maybe some of each?"
The sprawling Inn and gambling house showcased the Assassination, starting with the stuffed alligator right out front.
"That's the biggest water lizard I've ever seen." Obsidian gave the case a wide berth, dismounted and handed her reins to a boy who popped up beside them.
"Yes, Ma'am, but they say they get even bigger." He took their reins and led the horses away.
Indigo shuddered and turned her head away from the plaque and walked inside.
Rebo's the father of her twins. She saw him led off to be slaughtered.
The Manager looked them over skeptically.
He can't parse Indigo's and my city riding clothes, or Obsidian's farmer's britches under a very country shift and long vest.
"Three rooms. And we'll have an early dinner." Heliotrope pulled a folder from her reticule and flipped it open. Chose a bank certificate that ought to cover a month's stay.
The manager blinked. "Of course, ladies. I'll have your rooms prepared, while you dine. And your saddlebags taken up."
Heliotrope looked thoughtfully at the manager's office door. Something odd about the molding on the right side of the door. One corridor found.
Then she turned and followed Obsidian and Indigo into the dining room. It was midway between lunch and dinner, but there was still a good crowd and a scantily clad woman singing while a man played a guitar in accompaniment. Some tables were situated where the occupants would be seen by all; screened niches provided other patrons with a bit of privacy.
Where would the God of Assassins sit?
In the niche right beside the entrance. Where someone entering and looking around would see it last, would have to turn around and stare. She gestured at it. "We'll sit there."
Something right in the back corner . . . she pulled it open and looked out at a busy street. "University Avenue in Karista."
Indigo nodded agreement. Obsidian looked spooked.
"He could go anywhere . . . and the Hors still can. Should we close some of these?"
Indigo shook her head. "No. We might be able to catch one of them, knowing where they are able to go."
"Or Ash." Obsidian smiled nastily. "I'd love to watch Answer deal with them."
After dinner, they took the "walking tour" of the assassination site.
They strolled down the Geyser path, rather tackily labeled 'Murder Lane.' A broad ramp down to a sharp corner, then steps zigzagged halfway down the side of the canyon, and past a series of hotsprings.
Heliotrope could hear masculine voices ahead, somewhere out of sight around a shoulder of rock. But they were alone for a moment. She closed her eyes and looked for corridors. Five of them within a few hundred feet.
The first corridor was on the rockface looking up the ramp. Heliotrope warped light around herself and stepped through. A large dim room, wood walls, dirt floors. Large double doors. She walked over and peeked out. Opened the door wide enough to slip through. A quiet street. Dusty dry and ramshackle. She looked back at the small barn, turned and walked to the corner. More of the same, a tired looking mule tied outside a tavern had a pick strapped to it's pack.
"This is Lucky Strike." Obsidian's voice, from a faint distortion in the air.
Indigo was somewhere, too. "No wonder they have trouble catching bandits. All they need is enough of a lead to get though the corridor."
Heliotrope walked back to the barn. The back wall looked like weathered wood. An illusion. Raiders could ride right through. Pursuers would glance in, and shrug and keep going.
"Let's see where the other corridors go." She stepped back though to Murder Lane and headed down the steps.
The second corridor led to a room where a large man was humping a whore. Heliotrope stepped right back out.
"Eww." Indigo walked on.
Corridor three she tried with a light warp. Another hotel room. A man was snoring on the bed while a whore went through his possessions. She already had a canvas bag full of goodies. Heliotrope looked out the window. The edge of the Rip, they must be in the Edge of the World. The whore gathered her bag and departed.
Number Four went to Three Rivers Province. From when Ricardo was imitating Hugo Jalasi. Number Five led to a windswept ruin on a hill in the Southern Divide. Walking further down, a sixth corridor led to an alley in a busy city. They ventured forth and caught Veronan accents, found a public message board with enough references to Cadent to satisfy her, and made note of the location of the alley to pass on to Xen. Or Easterly.
They walked back to the geysers, and dodged sightseers on the way back to their rooms.
Heliotrope snoozed until four in the morning and then prowled down to the lobby. And still had to wait for a whore to steer a drunken miner past the check-in desk.
The molding on the side of the manager's office door was loose. It pulled off to open to a Corridor to Rip Crossing, a cliff beside the Gate to Rip World. She stepped back through and pushed the molding back into place, squishing the corridor opening down to a thin line.
Slumped off to her room, where Indigo and Obsidian waited.
"Nothing. It was just Ricardo's corridor back home to Rip." She sank down on the bed. "We can't watch all of them, none of them goes to, oh, the Hors hideout where we can get the kids back. We don't even know if they use any of these corridors."
The other two nodded.
Obsidian shrugged. "I knew it wouldn't be this easy. I guess we can go back home now. And wait."
Heliotrope sagged. "Somehow . . . there has to be something."
Indigo sagged beside her. "I can't see us just going back to endless pointless balls in town."
Heliotrope raised her head. "Surely the Black Widow wouldn't be hunting for victims in High Society."
Chapter Ten
Summer 1397
Black Island, Southwest Cific Ocean
Teri looked around in satisfaction. The little tropical village was shaping up nicely.
The witches lived in the main house. Smokey and Sunset with their daughters, on one side, And she and Jade used the other, and mostly kept their youngest daughters with them.
Then the fast house. Three maids, pregnant, with Betelgeuse, Centauri, and Wavelength. They all came out for a few hours, three times a day, which was every five or six days for them. It was getting bothersome, keeping them all fed, as they took nearly a weeks worth of food with them . . . three times a day.
Well, the girls were growing fast, but they were getting odd looks, the amount of food the groom and the chef were buying every day, in Karista.
"I could be pushing them too fast. They look a bit pale, they probably need more sun." Teri shrugged. "Which would also slow down their eating."
"We should just steal cattle, bubble a couple dozen and bring them here." Jade shrugged. "It's not like I don't know how to butcher them."
Teri eyed her. "We shouldn't stir things up . . . you know the witches will still be looking for us."
Jade shrugged. "We've never stolen livestock before. I think I'll go see about that."
"Jade . . . no hunting." Teri eyed her. "Or . . . not in Karista. Go out to the New Lands and kill a miner, if you must."
Snort. "Powerless, boring miners . . . I'm bored." She tossed her head and walked away.
Hungry, more like. She's going to get us into trouble.
Chapter Eleven
Late Summer 1398
Karista, Kingdom of the West
The first ball of the fall season, held well before the Equinox, but the weather cooperated with a pleasantly cool breeze for the late afternoon garden party.
Heliotrope forced a smile, hand tucked into the crook of Asti's elbow, as she followed his parents into the Faloni's ballroom. She knew she looked good, but tonight she was planning on doing more watching than dancing. All the doors to the terrace and gardens were open, the windows on the opposite side channeled the breeze through.
Not that I really expect one of the Hors to show up, but I'm going to look.
Asti gave her a worried glance but said nothing.
I don't deserve him. He doesn't deserve a wife with so few motherly instincts. A . . . City Witch with minimal training.
"Looks like your sisters got here early."
She followed Asti's gaze to where Inky was smiling warmly at Lord Rally, to his poor wife's barely concealed fury. Waste of time though. His eyes zeroed in on Beige's chest and stuck there. Someone must have overdone a morph. She was huge.
"Lord Andre Througus. Lady Sashi Througus. Lord Asti Througus. Lady Heliotrope Trumpdaut."
Next year they'll be announcing me as Lady Heliotrope Througus. But everyone will know I'm a witch, anyway.
Asti steered her toward her family.
Yoderite, according to gossip, had been flirting heavily with five young men, all of whom were here tonight. Tirdal had mentioned wanting another child; she was looking at the fellows around them like a judge at a livestock show.
So. What men were here tonight. A gaggle of Princes. Garit and Brant. Plus all the ones that had been pulled out of obscurity by the succession crisis. Charl, Elrich, Granbi. Lord Ferit Iron.
The usual Army wizards, of course, half of them reporting back to Janic. She'd avoid Xen. Poor Asti still thought of him as a rival. She hadn't seen him for so long . . .
She needed a distraction.
"Prince Franki Negue, Lady Sandy Hell."
That should do it.
The men were all looking appalled and bug-eyed. The women tended to mix appalled with envy and automatic claw sharpening.
Heliotrope turned around and looked.
Sandy's dress was deep green with cream lace. Glittery stockings were well displayed by a hem gathered up various amounts in five places. The gather over her left leg was to mid thigh. There was enough lace to almost maintain the proprieties. The bodice displayed her slender waist, and emphasized her bosom, and there it stopped. Nothing above but flawless skin and jewelry. Tasteful and valuable, emeralds in go
ld around her neck, one wrist and in her upswept hair. Franki was in a black suit with a touch of sparkle to it. The lapels laid well back to display a vest of dark green, with gold embroidery, black velvet insets and edging over a cream colored lace front shirt with a dark green silk cravat. They were a spectacular pair.
Wheezing quiet laughter behind her. Xen and Garit.
Xen caught her eye and bit a knuckle. "Sorry, but they're having so much fun and what hostess dare complain when Sandy's wearing a small fortune in emeralds."
Heliotrope looked back at Sandy and Franki and caught them grinning happily at each other. "Well, I suppose one of us really ought to be a Princess."
"I suppose." Xen looked over at the rest of the sisters as they walked up. "You're all pretty thin on the ground, let me guess—too late learning that spell?"
Yellow, who was just as badly misnamed as Beige, walked up behind them. "Last time I saw Beige everyone male was falling under the power of The Bosom. What did she do?"
Inky snickered. "She had me do a physical morph as a joke, I overdid it a bit, but now she won't let me reduce it."
"I'll have to try it sometime. But not permanently. Goodness, she does jiggle." Yellow looked at Xen and Garit, and tsked.
"Umm." Garit said.
Xen nodded. "Yes. And she does it very well."
Inky snickered, and snapped her fingers in front of them. "Wake up. Bad Boys. Xen, I think I need a dance, for being slighted."
Xen looked innocent. "Slight? Oh, I'd never say such a thing, even if by comparison to Beige's . . . "
"You are so lucky you can slough off Daddy's effects." Inky hauled him off.
"Can I? I've lost track of how many dogs I have."
Heliotrope danced with Asti, and tried to ignore Tirdal disappearing outside with her dance partner. Tsk, tsk! And an Ash witch, Zebra Stripe, wasn't far behind. Really, she couldn't even blame Rip Crossing any more. The dance ended with her near her parents so she slipped over to them and scanned for more witches. Yoderite had a man on each arm and looked to be enjoying the dark glances shooting around. Zeolite was dancing with Prince Charl. The man was twice her age, but he was said to have money. And there went Yellow, heading for the dance floor with a foreign looking man.