by R. L. Naquin
Then again, the way everyone backed away left the buffet wide open for me to graze unhindered.
I plucked a piece of bacon from a platter and crunched as I strolled. A pyramid of glasses sat at one end, with champagne bottles and carafes of orange juice next to it.
“Don’t mind if I do,” I said, and poured myself a champagne-heavy mimosa. I sipped my drink as I wandered—taking a strawberry here, a mini croissant there. I’d already had a huge breakfast, but the buffet was inviting, and the people weren’t.
Maybe I should have been freaked out. Maybe I should have questioned what had everyone’s panties in a bunch. But in the past year, I’d been nearly sucked dry of my life essence by an incubus, attacked by sharks and a polar bear, threatened by leprechaun thugs, and faced down magical psychopaths on two separate occasions.
Snub me if you want, people. Whatever you’re worried about isn’t my problem. I’m off duty. This is not my assigned territory. I’m only here for the buffet. And this girl has had enough adventure, thank you very much.
After a fourth trip wandering the buffet line, I made my way through the milling, wary people and found an empty table near the podium. Rolling the stem of my third glass between my fingers, I waited. It wasn’t long before Bernice appeared at my side.
“Zoey,” she said in a stage whisper. “We have to talk.”
I nodded. “Apparently, I have a third ass cheek, toilet paper stuck to the bottom of my shoe and a nasty case of leprosy. I’d love to hear what the problem is.”
Bernice’s gaze darted around the pavilion, as if trying to find a private place to talk. She made distressed, huffing noses as she took in all the faces staring in our direction. “I don’t... Maybe we could...”
I pushed the chair next to me with my boot. “Sit. Explain. I know something scared you. It’s scaring all of them too.” I tipped my head at the crowd. “And I know it can’t really be me they’re afraid of.”
She let out a heavy sigh and settled in the seat. “I shouldn’t have brought you with me.”
“I kind of figured that out. Didn’t any of the other moms get to bring their Aegises with them? Is this a no-Aegis zone?” I took a good swallow of my mimosa, in case someone from the Buffet Police tried to take it away.
Bernice fiddled with one of her buttons. “I’m sure they’d all love to bring their Aegises with them.” Her hands shook, and she dropped them in her lap.
“Bernice.” I touched her scratchy sleeve. “Tell me what’s going on. What has you so scared?”
She dragged her gaze to my face. “We’re not the only ones who’ve experienced losses.”
I frowned. “They’ve lost some of their Aegises?” I thought about the gremlins losing their Aegis. “Or do you mean government officials, like you, lost board members?”
Her hand fluttered to her head and tucked a stray curl under her ridiculous hat. “Both. Nobody’s government has been left whole. And...” She swallowed hard, and I offered her my half-empty mimosa. After a grateful sip, she pulled herself together enough to speak.
“Zoey, they’ve lost nearly all their Aegises. You, your mother and a handful of others are the only ones left. A small handful.”
I tilted my head in confusion. “What, in Europe?”
“No. In the world.”
I shivered in the damp morning air. “That’s not possible. You told me there were hundreds of Aegises across the world. Katy killed most of us in America, but she never left the country. She didn’t have time for that kind of mass destruction.”
When Katy had broken out of her cell, it had been on Bernice’s watch. In fact, Bernice had been under Katy’s considerable influence at the time and had no memory of it, so Bernice may have been the one who let Katy out. We had no way of knowing for sure. This didn’t make Bernice feel any less responsible, however, and was one of the reasons she’d given when she asked me to come along on this trip.
She didn’t trust herself, despite Katy being very much dead.
The person—or thing—who’d been directing Katy’s rampage had killed her for failing to complete their deal. My mother and I were still alive, and it had cost Katy her life.
Bernice crossed her ankles and rubbed her fingers over the crease between her eyes. “Whoever set her free did the same all over the world, setting psychotic, angry people loose and cutting a deal with them to kill the Aegises.”
I gasped. The idea that Katy had only been one of many rather than a one-off crazy sent a shiver through me. The same horrific scenario we’d barely survived had been enacted across the world. At least Mom and I weren’t the only ones who’d come out the other side with our lives.
“How many is a handful?” I asked. “How many of us are left?”
Bernice sighed. “Less than ten, maybe. They’re still trying to figure it out, now that everyone is together to discuss it. I don’t have all the details yet. Several regions managed to capture the killers, but not until most of their officials and Aegises were lost. And like Katy, once the killers were subdued, they were destroyed by whoever sent them. The details are different from ours, but the end results are the same.”
As the information trickled through my brain into understanding, I glanced around the pavilion. No wonder everyone was staring. Not only was I something of a miracle, I was also completely stupid for leaving my house.
Whatever wanted all the Aegises dead now had only a few of us to focus on. And its reach was worldwide.
I was so far outside the safety zone, I might as well have had a bull’s-eye painted on my ass.
“Holy shit,” I said in a low voice. I snatched the champagne flute from Bernice and downed the rest of the drink.
Bernice nodded. “Exactly.”
Anger bubbled in my belly. “All those people dead.” My gaze scanned the faces around me, sending disgust and fury at all of them. “And why? Because nobody wanted to tell anybody else they were in trouble.” Whatever the hell was after the Aegises had played those government people. It had known they wouldn’t share information until the Gathering.
She smoothed her hands across the tablecloth. “I’m so sorry, Zoey. I never would have asked you to come.”
Bernice had been the last to arrive at the Gathering. And she’d been the last to know what was going on. I tried not to judge her for her ignorance, but I had a hard time understanding at that moment how she’d ended up in charge anything more than making dinner reservations.
I shifted in my seat. “I need to call my mom and warn her.”
“Tell her to stay in the house.” Bernice stared at the empty mimosa glass, a miserable expression on her face that I wasn’t sure was due to the current circumstances or the emptiness of the glass.
Either way, her instructions weren’t necessary. Of course I was calling to tell Mom to stay put.
My home was probably one of the safest places on the planet. A fairy mushroom ring around the property provided an early alarm system. Plus, anybody with ill intent attempting to cross the mushroom threshold was pummeled by fairies. And the backyard had the soundproof bubble around it that disguised the area from outside eyes and ears.
Anyone staying in my house was also protected by the mind-boggling variety of visiting and resident creatures.
Maurice, my closet monster roommate, looked harmless unless he transmonstrified himself into a huge, slobbering beast. It was an illusion, but a convincing one.
A she-yeti kept watch for intruders from the surrounding woods, and she was no illusion. Tashi could bury a person in the yard, knee deep, with one slam of her fist on the top of his head. I would not want her angry with me.
My ex, Riley, didn’t look scary at all, but as a reaper, he could rip a person’s soul right out of her chest. Hidden who didn’t know him tended to give Riley a wide berth.
To me, the scariest was Darius, though he didn’t live with us. He came and went often, since he worked freelance for the Board of Hidden Affairs as a soul catcher—similar to a reaper, but
he chased after escaped souls instead of the ones stuck inside a body. That wasn’t what made him scary, though. Darius was a mothman. It doesn’t get more terrifying than that. Inducing fear is one of his powers, and if he felt like it, he could feed on fear. In a twist I hadn’t seen coming, it turned out he was also my mother’s boyfriend.
So, yeah. My house was pretty safe.
I pulled out my phone. “I’ll call her.”
At that moment, Lord Chilford climbed the steps to the podium and tapped his finger on the microphone. “If everyone would take a seat, please, I’d like to get started.”
I frowned at the phone in my hand. Now probably wouldn’t be the time for a phone call. Instead, I tapped in a quick text message to Maurice. He was the most likely to take me seriously and act immediately on my instructions. Due to the time zone differences, he was also the only one likely to be awake.
Can’t talk now. Keep Mom in the house when she gets up. Do not let her outside for any reason. If he’s not already there, call Darius and get him there ASAP. I’ll call when I can.
Thirty seconds later, my phone vibrated with a return text.
Got it. Be careful. Come home safe and soon.
Maurice was rarely so brief. He was probably juggling all sorts of security arrangements I would never have thought of. Even without an explanation, Maurice was on top of things.
If I ever lost him, I wouldn’t know what to do.
Lord Chilford, meanwhile, addressed the pavilion of oddly dressed characters from around the world. A steady murmur accompanied his words, as translators echoed him in other languages.
“For centuries,” he said, his gaze spread across the crowd, “we have regarded one another with a rather cautious wariness. We hold these meetings every half decade in order to strengthen friendships, share information and release some of the tension that comes from our particular line of business.”
Mumbles and nods from some of the tables punctuated his words. He paused before he continued.
“Historically, we’ve had to keep our distance from one another. Border feuds, policy arguments and, yes, even hostile takeovers have been the norm. No more. We must work together if we’re going to survive the coming days.”
Personally, I thought that was a little melodramatic, though probably true. Chilford sipped from a glass of water and cleared his throat.
“We’ve taken heavy losses recently. All of us. Had we trusted one another, we might have avoided the near destruction of our governing bodies, and...” He trailed off midsentence scanning the crowd. His gaze stopped and rested on me. “And the loss of nearly all our Aegises.” He took another sip of water. “This is why I stand before you now, begging your mutual cooperation. We must trust each other. Work together in an unprecedented manner. Join forces as our forefathers did so many centuries ago.”
Lord Chilford stopped speaking and dabbed sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. Puffy bags hung beneath his eyes, and desperation clung to him like static electricity.
A chair scooted behind me, and I turned to look. A small Asian woman with enormous purple eyelashes stood with one hand on her hip and the other resting on the table. “Lord Chilford,” she said. “What about the Covenant? If all the rumors I hear are to be believed, the governments are barely able to do their jobs to maintain the Hidden, and only a few Aegises remain in the world to care for them. Is this not a breach of the Covenant?”
The crowd erupted in animated conversation. I couldn’t make out entire sentences, but my name popped up several times.
I wasn’t quite clear on this whole Covenant nonsense. I’d only heard about it a few months ago, and no one seemed to give me a straight answer. Mostly, I got the impression that a breach of the Covenant would mean the end of the world. Hidden would no longer remain hidden. War. Famine. Disease. Flying butt-monkeys from outer space flinging neon-pink space poop. Sonic wedgies and other signs of the apocalypse nobody thought to tell us about. Game over.
I honestly didn’t know how to react to all this apocalyptic fearmongering. I suspected the people yelling the loudest knew the least about it. I had enough worries on my plate without adding some Great Older Than Time Unknown to the pile. Thus far, no one had produced a copy of this mythical Covenant. I needed to know more before I ran around waving my hands in the air over the end of the world. Global warming, a giant meteorite or fracking might get us there just as easily. Who knew?
It wasn’t that I was unconcerned. But I wasn’t an alarmist, either. The threat of being murdered by some entity who wanted all the Aegises dead was a lot more immediate.
My phone vibrated, and I checked the display.
Sara had texted to ask if I was alright. That meant two things: she was probably having insomnia problems again and Maurice had been with her when he got my message. As usual, rather than worry about herself, Sara was more concerned about me. I texted her back that I was fine and I’d explain later. No need to add to her insomnia.
But no, I was not alright.
I wanted to bolt the minute nobody was watching. Unfortunately, I didn’t think there would ever again be a minute when nobody was watching me.
I was a superstar. I was an anomaly. I was a painful reminder of their losses.
And I was probably putting everyone in danger by sitting there with them. I glanced at the sky. Lightning could strike me down any second, taking out anyone dumb enough to stand in my vicinity.
Sorry, Bernice. We both managed to stay alive against all the odds, and now you’ll die a painful death because we sat at the same table. We never should have left the safety of home.
The noise died down, and Lord Chilford resumed his depressing speech.
“So far,” he said, his voice notably quieter, more worn, “the Covenant has held. We still have a few Aegises, and most of them are kept under close guard for their own safety.” He glared at Bernice. “I know my people are out looking for new Aegises across the U.K., and I’m quite certain you all have your own people doing the same. Our governing bodies have been diminished, but here we stand, continuing to work for the good of both humans and Hidden. We’re still doing our jobs, even under these difficult circumstances. The Covenant remains in place.”
Lord Chilford said something I missed, then smiled a weary smile. “Before I turn the floor over to Australia’s Councilor Emily Brower, I want to beseech you all, one last time. Put aside old enmities. Share your stories with honesty, and listen to the stories of others without thinking of ways to cash in on their misfortune. We’ve all suffered. It’s time to unite as one.”
Polite clapping showed they were at least willing to give it a try.
He smiled, a little less weary. “Thank you. And now, I present to you—”
A girl of about twenty, with mousy hair and watery eyes, stepped from the shadows and hesitated before she tugged his sleeve. He frowned in annoyance at the interruption. She stood on tiptoes, covering his ear with her cupped hand and whispered something, then handed him a slip of paper. He read it, and the color left his face.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he didn’t look any calmer. “My friends.” His voice cracked and he tried again. “My friends, it seems the stakes are already higher than we believed.” He paused again to gulp water and pat his forehead with the limp hanky. The man was a drama king if I’d ever seen one.
For once, everyone sat still and quiet, waiting.
Chilford blew out a breath and waved the piece of paper in the air. “I have terrible news. It seems a portal has opened in South Wales. There’s been a possible werewolf sighting.” He fixed several seemingly random individuals with a dire stare, then rested his gaze on me, his expression softer. “The Covenant is weakening.”
The place erupted. Everyone spoke at once and chairs overturned as people stood in haste.
Before I could sort out what Chilford’s information could mean, a gentle hand cupped my elbow. “Alright, poppit? Best come with me.”
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Confused, I glanced at Bernice, who nodded, then at the man holding my arm as if it were a delicate work of art. Wiggy, the hotel manager/bartender smiled down at me with his laughing eyes. The rest of his face was solemn, but those eyes never stopped smiling.
Marcus stood behind him, and he nodded too. The four of us ducked out of the pavilion and trekked through the grass back to the hotel. I tried to ask questions, but Wiggy pressed one finger to his lips to shush me.
Once we made it safely into the pub, Wiggy locked the door behind us. “It’s safe now. Let’s get you packed, my angel. It’s not safe here, and every minute it gets more dangerous.”
Bewildered, I followed him up the stairs with Bernice beside me and a silent Marcus trailing behind.
“Did Chilford say ‘werewolf’?” I asked.
Bernice made a pained face. “You live with a closet monster and the existence of werewolves is where you draw the line on what’s believable?”
“Well, no, I just thought... I don’t know what I thought. Why are we leaving in such a hurry?” The tension from the people around me skittered across my shoulders and made me itchy. But I didn’t share their unease. The most I could muster was curiosity and a little irritation at not knowing what was going on.
“We’re not,” Marcus said from a step behind me. “You. Wiggy will get you home fast. We’re staying here till the meeting is over.”
Wiggy opened the door to my room with his master key, and I stepped inside. My suitcase was already packed and laying on the bed. Wiggy frowned. “Did you know you were leaving?”
“Nope.” I shrugged. “I guess the gremlins got wind of what was going on.” I glanced around the room and saw nothing unusual. “Thank you, guys!” I said to the walls. I paused, hoping they’d come out to say goodbye. I turned away, disappointed.
Wiggy grabbed my suitcase. “Well, come on, then. Let’s get you home.” He held his hand out to me, and I took it.
“I should probably go to the bathroom before we leave—” A sound like a speeding train shook me, and a strong wind gusted around us, interrupting my sentence. It stopped a few seconds later. “—for the airport.”