I pulled my spare clothes on, looping the necklace-shaped spell around my neck. The mark on my forehead vanished, fading into the background. Ghosts could still see it, but nobody else could. Which suited me just fine.
I returned downstairs to find Hazel passed out cold, while River and Morgan sat in separate armchairs in the sort of uncomfortable silence of two people forced to interact who had absolutely nothing whatsoever in common with one another.
“I threw out the plants,” said Morgan. “Your boyfriend says there’s no Summer magic here at all.”
I opened my mouth to argue with the word ‘boyfriend’, then decided it wasn’t worth the energy and sank into the remaining armchair.
“Your defences are out,” River said. “However, the salt barrier is still intact, and there’s an iron barrier circling the house, too.”
I glanced at Hazel. “She must have set it up herself. I haven’t been home much since June. Guess she got the idea from you.”
He inclined his head. “It’ll keep out the dead, at least. This magical drain isn’t the result of a spell, otherwise I’d be able to detect it.”
“But Summer magic can’t switch off,” I said. “It’s supposed to remain in balance, no matter the season. Unless… no. It can’t be to do with Mum, either. Or Hazel. The magic depends on the Court, not the Gatekeeper.”
“Precisely why I think we should speak with the Summer Court,” River said.
“Hasn’t anyone found Arden yet?” I asked. “That’s not my job. I hate the little bastard, he isn’t going to listen to me.”
Morgan snorted. “You think he even knows who I am?”
Hazel lifted her head. “Shit. Maybe he’s serving Holly.”
She might well be right. Arden served both Gatekeepers, though he’d failed to mention that slight detail until he’d already passed on pertinent information on our family to the Winter Lynns, not to mention framing me for murder. Sure, he might be as much a slave to the faerie Courts as any of us, but I didn’t like the idea of depending on him for anything.
“Arden,” I called. “Oi, Arden. We need to send a message to the Summer Court.”
Silence. Suspicion brewed inside me. “You know… maybe I should go to Winter after all.”
Hazel pushed into an upright position. “Not without me.”
“Hazel, you need to recover your strength. Maybe go to the grove. I’m just going to look at Winter’s house. I can use my spirit sight to check who’s there without even walking up to the doors.”
“I’ll go with you,” River put in.
I pressed my mouth into a line. I didn’t want to be alone with him, especially now, but of the others, he was best equipped to handle anything we might run into. “Okay, then.”
“I’ll watch from the house,” Morgan said. “If there’s anything seriously nasty out there, I can come and help.”
“Sure. We won’t be long.” I already had the talisman in my pocket, but I added some knives, salt and iron filings to my weapon arsenal before leaving the house. River carried his own talisman, a faerie-made sword gleaming with runes carved on its hilt. Its silver sheen usually carried an emerald tint, but it didn’t now. “Is your magic working okay?”
“It’s difficult to tell,” River said. “I haven’t been using it as often as I should, and considering the presence of the dead sapped my magic, I’d have to get closer to Summer to check.”
His tone was polite. Non-confrontational. That was the worst part about his betrayal—we’d had no time, and there’d been too many people around, for us to confront the matter head-on. Besides, there was nothing more to say. He’d had his orders and obeyed them. It wasn’t like he’d never disobeyed a faerie vow before, and if he’d honestly wanted Hazel and I to know the truth, he’d have found a way to tell us. Okay, we’d have probably gone charging off into the Vale to rescue Mum despite her supposedly not needing to be saved, but still.
For now, I’d hold him to his word. Forgiveness would come in time, if at all. The important matter was dealing with the house—and finding out if Winter was responsible.
The fence alongside our garden didn’t stop when it reached the forested area at the garden’s end, hiding the gate to the Seelie Court. As the trees thickened, there was a shift where they turned from evergreen to snow-covered, and our territory became Winter’s. The shape of the Winter house appeared on the other side of the fence, facing away from us. The house had been abandoned for nearly four months, and I’d begun to worry her daughter, Holly, wouldn’t return before the Winter Sidhe’s deadline. But if the wrong Gatekeeper had come back, we were in serious trouble.
River strode on, blade in hand, pausing out of sight of the house. I took in a breath, and tapped into my spirit sight. Greyness flooded the world, bleaching out all colour, as I searched for signs of life. Living spirits shone bright, dead ones were paler. In cities, it was confusing to tell them apart, but out here, the only living beings within reach were the two of us. I pushed outward with my mind, extending my awareness in the direction of the Winter house. Within, there was an unmistakable glow. I moved closer, my heart beating fast.
The glow… I took a few steps forward in the waking world, honing in. Definitely a living spirit.
This time, there were no spirit barriers, and no Winter Gatekeeper—aside from Holly Lynn, my cousin. But was she friend or foe this time?
2
I turned off my spirit sight. “Holly.” I looked to River, who nodded.
“It’s her.” He continued to walk alongside the fence. “She’s not using necromancy. There aren’t even any redcaps around.”
“Probably because the house has only been in one piece again for a day.”
When I’d killed the Winter Gatekeeper, the house had been in ruins. But Winter magic ran here as strongly as Summer magic was supposed to run in Mum’s house, and had clearly repaired the damage. The house’s stark white walls and the smooth snow-coloured lawn made our non-functioning magic look all the more suspicious.
River caught my sleeve in his hand as I opened the gate. “Are you certain?”
“She can’t harm me.” Thanks to an argument between Aunt Candice and Mum, no Lynn could inflict damage on one another. Besides, Holly hadn’t been hostile when we’d parted. More like heartbroken. She’d tried to stop her mother’s deranged spirit from escaping, but it’d cost her dearly.
I approached the door and knocked before I changed my mind. Several seconds passed. Tapping my spirit sight on, I honed in on Holly’s spirit. She hadn’t moved.
I knocked again. No response. The curtains were drawn. It wasn’t that late, though I felt like several lifetimes had passed in one single day. I was worn down, far from ready for a confrontation… but I knocked one last time all the same.
“CAW.”
Arden swooped down and landed on my head. I jumped off the doorstep, catching myself against the wall. “Dammit, Arden.”
“Nevermore.”
“You’re damn right. Why isn’t she answering the door? For that matter, why are you serving her?”
“I serve only the Gatekeepers.”
“Thanks for nothing, then,” I spat. “You knew, too, didn’t you? You know where our mum is.” I ignored River’s warning hiss. I didn’t care if Holly heard. “Is she draining our magic?” I demanded.
“No,” said the raven, fluttering his feathers. “If I were you, I’d ask your Court.”
I swore under my breath. “You’re the only one of us who is capable of asking Summer, on our behalf. In fact—that’s exactly what we need. An audience with the Seelie Court.”
“Caw. I will provide.”
He took flight in a flutter of feathers. “I meant after you explain what the hell’s going on, Arden.”
The door flew open, and Holly scowled at us. “Haven’t you people done enough?”
“Oh,” I said, awkwardly. “Hi. Yeah, we came here to see if it was you who’d come back, and not… someone else.”
Her eyes narrowed. “No, my mother’s beyond the gates where she belongs. I’ve come back to take my rightful place as Gatekeeper.”
“Er… good. I think.” Awkward silence, much? I’d basically killed what was left of her mother… who’d tried to kill me and my sister, and almost succeeded. Pretending to forget either of those things was impossible for both of us. Holly herself looked about as exhausted as I felt, her dyed black hair in disarray and bags under her bright blue, Winter magic-tinted eyes. “So you got your house back. Did that happen when you accepted the magic?”
“Ask your sister what the ceremony involves.” She scrubbed a hand over her forehead. “Look, I’m tired as hell and I’ve been running around for the Court all day, so if you don’t have anything useful to say, come back later.”
“You’ve been to Winter?”
“That was implied, yes.”
Damn. They actually had forgiven her for betraying them. That, or they’d had no choice, because if Winter didn’t have a Gatekeeper, war would break out with Summer.
The spirit I’d defeated had seemed to think Summer and Winter were on the brink of declaring war on one another anyway… which was another issue I’d kind of forgotten, considering all the other crap we’d had to deal with. Holly and I might not be outright enemies or even rivals, but it wouldn’t do to forget our respective Courts hated one another.
“Okay,” I said. “Just wondering, since it’s been months since you were here last. Is everything… normal here?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Is anything about this shit normal?”
“Point taken. I mean, the house was in ruins, your magic was pretty much gone. You didn’t have any trouble taking it back, or…”
Her eyes flashed bright blue and the air went even chillier than usual. That’s a no, then. Months might not have passed at all. The house was as white as the snow coating the trees, sturdy and upright and gleaming with magic. It wouldn’t do to confide our own weakness to her, and hell, if the answers were within the Summer Court itself, it definitely wasn’t Winter’s business. I was too tired and drained to run an interrogation on someone who hated my guts.
“No,” she said, through gritted teeth. “This delightful curse of ours ensures that I’ll wield this magic until I die, and so will my children. Nice seeing you again, Ilsa.”
She closed the door, firmly. I raised an eyebrow at River. “I’ve had worse family reunions.”
“Her territory isn’t draining yours,” River said. “If the source is in Summer, they ought to respond to Arden’s request quickly.”
“I know they did last time, but it was nearly the end of the world. Mitigating circumstances.”
I shook my head at the door and turned away. As we walked through the field alongside the fence back towards home, I gave the Winter house one last glance over my shoulder. Normal. As though it hadn’t lay neglected for months. Holly lived there all alone. It was kind of sad, really. Her mother hadn’t left much of a legacy behind. No wonder she still seemed to nurse a strong resentment towards the Lynn curse, and our common ancestor.
“Is it true?” River asked. “The curse passes directly through the bloodline. Does that mean Hazel’s children…?”
“In theory, but I don’t think the curse is that specific. As long as both Gatekeepers belong to the Lynn bloodline, it doesn’t matter if they’re the Gatekeeper’s own children. I’m sure there have been incidents in the past of one of them dying young, or even switching sides if one branch of the family didn’t have kids.” I shrugged. “So Holly might choose not to have any children in order to beat the curse, but then if Hazel or I do… they’re liable to be hauled off to Winter.”
River didn’t say anything for a long moment. I stole a sideways glance at him, wishing I hadn’t brought up the subject of children, or even marriage. It wasn’t as though I’d ever thought much about the subject. I’d barely begun to live my life, let alone someone else’s, and Mum’s hands-off parenting approach was down to her having one foot permanently in the Seelie Court.
“Is that why you can’t move away from the Ley Line?” River finally asked.
“Wouldn’t surprise me. Any reason?”
“The terms of the vow,” he said. “They’re not usually very complicated, in words at least.”
“Why does that matter? It’s not like we’ve ever found the person who actually bound us. Unless there’s something else you didn’t tell me.”
He shook his head. “No, of course not. Does the title automatically pass on, then?”
“What, when the Gatekeeper dies?” I forced my thoughts to go in the direction of the deceased Winter Gatekeeper rather than the unthinkable. “Yes, it does, but it doesn’t have to happen that way. If the Gatekeeper decides to retire, then they can choose to voluntarily give up the circlet. The Sidhe encourage it, to be honest. They want the Gatekeepers to be at the peak of their power and strength.”
We came within sight of the Summer house. The smell of burning drifted from an open window. “Shit.” I didn’t see smoke, but picked up the pace all the same. “Tell me it isn’t fire imps.”
“It’s not the faeries,” River said.
It wasn’t. I found Morgan in the kitchen, a burned pan in the sink. At least it wasn’t actually in flames. “Hazel went to shower. She wants someone to cook, so…”
“You decided to set the kitchen on fire.” I sighed. “Look, we might not have functioning magic, but honestly.” I opened various cupboards looking for something edible. “It’s not like we can call for takeout to be delivered here.”
A thoughtful look crossed his face. “If we’re still linked up to Edinburgh, technically…”
“You’re not supposed to use the Paths for that,” I said. “Mum would be appalled.”
“She also wouldn’t want us starving to death.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Don’t be melodramatic.”
“What’s going on?” Hazel said from the doorway.
“Our brother thinks we should use your highly secret and dangerous magic to order a takeaway delivery from Edinburgh. Did you leave the Path open?”
“Yes. You’re right, Mum would kill us. Let’s do it.”
I sighed. “You have zero faith in my domestic skills, don’t you?”
Everyone looked at River. “Can you conjure up a decent meal using your faerie magic?” asked Hazel.
“Unfortunately not. I’m a bodyguard, not a chef.”
“Two votes for the Path. I’ll make the call.” Morgan left the room. “Is the house phone still in here?”
“Yeah, it is,” I said. “Is drawing more people to our house a good idea?”
“Humans are fine,” Hazel said. “Did you sense anyone at Winter’s place, anyway?”
“Holly,” I said. “It’s her. Not… the other one.” Like a weird superstition, I couldn’t bring myself to say her title aloud. Like our distant and deceased Aunt Candice was listening.
“Oh. So she did take the job.” Hazel nodded. “You spoke to her?”
“Tried to. She said she got accepted to train as Gatekeeper and something about a ceremony that you’d know about. Didn’t really want to talk much.”
“Damn. Did she drain all our magic to rebuild her house?”
“Nope,” I said. “Arden was there as well, but he flew off to ask the Court for an audience rather than coming back here with me. He implied that Summer might know why our power’s being drained.”
All eyes went to River again. He frowned. “It’s the first I’ve heard. I haven’t actually been in Summer since I resolved my last mission, which is why I don’t have a direct invitation to go back. But the magic around the gate doesn’t seem to be functioning any more than your defences are.” River took a step towards the door. “I can take up my old bodyguard job, if you like.”
“There’s no need,” I said. “Three of us are necromancers who can pick up on any intruder who isn’t a wraith.”
Wraiths couldn’t be detected until they w
ere directly on top of us, but the salt barrier ought to keep them from getting close to the house. Few enemies could even find our house thanks to its rootless nature, hovering in the gap between worlds. But Hazel looked uncharacteristically nervous. She wasn’t used to being underpowered. I’d spent enough years in her position to feel sorry for her despite the small vindictive part of me who thought having a day without her magic might make up for years of her being the only Lynn sibling with any at all.
I pushed the thought away. Hazel had never been smug about being the one chosen and not me, though admittedly, she’d also been mostly oblivious to how shitty it’d been to be mistaken for her, or worse, targeted by the Gatekeeper’s enemies. Morgan might be the oldest, but once it’d become clear he wouldn’t have magic, he’d mostly been left alone. Being the Gatekeeper-in-Training’s once-identical twin had been hazardous and depressing at once, depending on the day.
Morgan sprawled on the sofa, opened a beer bottle and took a swig. “What? It’s been a long day.”
“Yeah.” I fell into the armchair next to him. If I half closed my eyes, I could pretend this was like old times, when the two of us had watched movie marathons while Mum and Hazel were off serving the Seelie Court or doing magical training. Of course, Morgan himself was usually running around causing trouble, but things had been a hell of a lot less complicated then.
“Don’t mess up the house,” Hazel said. “We’re leaving it exactly as we found it, for when we bring Mum back.”
Nobody argued about how impossible that seemed, though Morgan wore a sceptical look, and River, the only one of us who hadn’t sat down, shifted imperceptibly backwards.
Hazel looked sharply at him. “Is there anything you haven’t told us? Where exactly was she?”
“I told you everything I know. Your mother wouldn’t tell me the nature of the quest she was sent on, and it’s difficult for me to say where she was when the Vale arranges itself according to the person who enters. I didn’t spend long there, only enough for her to give me the order to come and guard the Gatekeeper. I knew nothing of your family before we met—I didn’t lie.”
Hereditary Power Page 2