“It’s been a bad week for all of us,” said Branwyn, and went into the house.
Tara met her in the hall, shooing Neath ahead of her. “Branwyn. Rhianna’s in the office. Only a short visit for the weekend, she says.”
Branwyn relaxed momentarily. “Yeah, I know.”
“She’s been getting into trouble,” Tara added, her bright eyes moving to Marley and then down to Neath. “She won’t admit it, of course.”
“I know that too. She and I need to have a talk.”
Probably because she was eavesdropping, Rhianna appeared at the office door. “Branwyn! How did it go after I left?”
Branwyn curled her fingers into her palm. She and Rhianna hadn’t fought much as children, preferring to combine their energies to attack the rest of the world. But ‘much’ wasn’t the same as ‘ever’ and she was having strong flashbacks to being eight years old and smacking her annoying six-year-old sister upside the head.
“Let’s go out back and look at the garden,” she suggested instead.
Rhianna looked genuinely surprised. “Am I in trouble?”
“Yes,” said Branwyn quietly. “And I’d rather not bring it down inside the house, but here you are. Let’s go out back.”
Marley looked between Branwyn and Rhianna and said, “I think I’m going to stay in here, take care of some business, and raid the fridge. If that’s okay, Mrs. Lennox? I haven’t eaten in a day.”
Tara said absently, “You know where the kitchen is. Try my fresh salsa. There’s cat treats in the drawer.” Then she took Branwyn by the elbow, steered her to Rhianna, and took Rhianna by the elbow as well. “Yes, I think you two should talk. Does this have something to do with that terrifying young man who isn’t your friend, Branwyn?”
“Uh, yeah. If he shows up, tell him I’m out back.” Branwyn and Rhianna were propelled down the hall, past the kitchen where Marley was making a face at some green salsa, and out the back door. Tara shoved them out onto the deck and closed the door. There was a click.
The Lennox family backyard was bigger than it looked. One half of the partially fenced yard was dominated by a fig tree, while the other had neat raised beds among crushed gravel. There was an old plastic playhouse among the roots of the fig tree, and a tire swing hanging from a branch, and a platform in the branches of the fig itself.
Rhianna immediately skittered down the steps of the deck and ran over to the garden beds. A small persimmon tree was trained against an arbor and some of the fruit was falling already. Rhianna picked one from the ground and rolled it back and forth in her hand.
“Why is Grandma mad at us?”
Branwyn followed her, feeling old. She stopped just inside the edge of the shadow from the fig tree. “Because neither of us think through the consequences of what we do.”
Rhianna gave her a wary look and then transferred her gaze to the fruit in her hand, waiting passively for whatever Branwyn had to say.
“The kaiju are furious you brought your boss in, Rhianna.”
Rhianna shrugged, as if she wasn’t very worried by this. “Sometimes it’s hard to stay friendly.” Her eyes lifted in sudden concern. “Are they furious with you?”
“Kind of, yeah? Offset by how I basically did what they wanted me to do. But, Rhianna…” Branwyn ran her hands through her hair, tugging. “They want to kill you. Not hyperbole. And they don’t think your boss will save you. Given that you’re here right now and he’s not, I think they’re probably right.”
“He had to go and do some things. I wanted to see Grandma,” said Rhianna, and she sounded like a frightened, sulky child. “Why are you here instead of them if they’re so serious about wanting to kill me?”
“Because I made a deal to save your life,” snapped Branwyn, her frustration returning. “I wasn’t sure if they’d honor it but since they’re not here, I guess they are. I’ve got a year to punish you enough to satisfy them or else we both become targets.”
“Oh,” said Rhianna. “Well. I guess we’ll both be busy.”
Branwyn said bitterly. “I hadn’t really wanted to spend the next year figuring out how to murder a half-dozen celestials. Especially after today when I’ve seen just how hard it is to get one when they group up.”
“I’m sure Umbriel will help,” said Rhianna brightly. “And don’t you know a whole gang of monster hunters from Senyaza?”
Branwyn crouched down, putting her arms over her head, as if she could shut out the world. “I don’t want to talk about Umbriel right now. I can’t believe how casually you just—” She stopped.
“What did you expect me to do?” demanded Rhianna. “We’re trying to get the divinity circuit back.”
Branwyn unfolded her arms. “Not for Umbriel!”
“When we found out where it was and we had a plan, why wouldn’t I tell him?” Rhianna crossed to the shadow of the fig tree. “Wait, what do you mean ‘not for Umbriel’?”
“What do you mean, ‘trying to get it back’? Didn’t he get it back from Hadraniel already?”
Rhianna scowled and sank her fingers into the soft persimmon, pulling it apart. Quivering fruit innards spilled over her hands. “No. Hadraniel wouldn’t return the circuit and Umbriel couldn’t force it. It told Umbriel it was sorry for the theft but it had something important to do first, which would make everything right. That you were just a backup plan. It sounds like it’s planning to come back for you later, Bran. And then Umbriel’s Sword started acting weird and I had to leave.”
“Huh,” said Branwyn. She wondered if the kaiju had known that would happen. She’d noticed that they didn’t seem to think the target had changed; they’d still talked about going after Hadraniel even when she thought Umbriel would have reclaimed the device. “How was his sword acting weird?”
“Nuh-uh. Your turn. What did you mean, ‘not for Umbriel?’”
Branwyn curled suddenly unsteady hands into fists. “If I get my hands on the divinity circuit again, I’m destroying it.”
“What?” Rhianna froze, her green gaze shocked and hurt. “Why?”
“Because Senyaza was right to create the Hush! I felt the full power of an angel’s direct attention, Rhianna, and I never want to feel it again.”
“So have I.” Rhianna’s face was pale. “I’ve felt worse. Like when Dad died.”
“Did Umbriel make you love him?” Branwyn’s chest ached just asking the question.
“No!” said Rhianna impatiently. “I’ve told you before I don’t love him. Did you think I was lying?”
Branwyn muttered, “I just don’t know why you’d be a part of an organization that spies on people and takes away their rights, working for a guy who can control your mind if he decides it’s a good idea.” She heard her mother’s car pull into the driveway on the other side of the house.
“You think Senyaza is any better?” There were spots of color high in Rhianna’s cheeks. “At least we’re trying to manage the faeries! At least we’re thinking of everybody, not just ourselves.”
Branwyn stared at her and thought of Titanone. “No. No, I don’t think Senyaza is any better.”
“But look at you, getting rich off your work for them. I never thought you’d be the one to sell out, Branwyn.”
Branwyn was silent. What could she say? She hadn’t meant to sell out? But, just as she’d told Rhianna, sometimes the consequences snuck up on her. All she could do was try to deal with them the right way when she realized what had happened.
The back door burst open and Meredith hurtled out, squealing in joy. “Rhianna! Branwyn! Rhianna, did you hear that Branwyn is sending me to school? Isn’t that amazing?” Their baby sister flew down the deck steps and threw herself at Branwyn, hugging her tightly while inspecting Rhianna. “What are you doing in town, Rhianna? I had a dream you would come visit. Is it sneaky stuff? In my dream you’d been here for days.”
“I came to deliver presents,” said Rhianna solemnly, and Meredith promptly detached herself from her eldest sister to glom onto her
second eldest sister. As she did, Rhianna and Branwyn met gazes over her head.
Then in response to Meredith’s urging, she explained, “My boss—my direct boss, Bran, not my boss’s boss—is a woodcarver. I convinced him to make something for each of you kids, since he owed me a favor.”
“Where is it? What is it?” demanded Meredith.
“Inside, silly goose. Bran and I were talking. I’ll come inside in a few minutes after we’re done.”
Meredith took the hint and ran back inside, her long hair streaming like a ribbon behind her. Rhianna watched her go fondly and then turned her attention back to Branwyn. “At least the school will be great for her.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” said Branwyn, unaccustomed anguish bubbling up.
“It’s not so bad,” Rhianna offered. “I mean, it’s not like you’re selling out selfishly. Sacrificing your integrity to make the world a better place for others is kind of noble, really.”
Branwyn gave Rhianna a death-glare but her sister had developed an immunity to those in second grade. That really felt like a tragedy right now. So instead she said, “I’m going to destroy the divinity circuit, Rhianna.”
“Only if you get to it first,” said Rhianna lightly. Then, more soberly, she said, “But if I get to it first, I’ll let Umbriel know about your objections. Maybe he’ll listen. He does, sometimes.”
It hurt, realizing that her sister’s loyalty was to somebody else. Branwyn couldn’t understand it. She kept thinking about how upset it would make their great-grandmother, who had passed on years ago but who had loved family above all things.
She tried to focus on what was important right now, though. “Does your precious Umbriel know what Hadraniel is going to do now? If we can anticipate it, we can lay another trap.”
Rhianna licked persimmon juice off her fingers. “With the kaiju? Won’t that be fun. But just what I said before: that Hadraniel has something important to accomplish. Important enough to burn bridges with Umbriel. Can we figure out what that is?”
Branwyn went through what she knew about Hadraniel, ticking items off on her fingers. “It set up the massacre in Belgium to distract Senyaza from the attack on the twins. It’s a traditionalist. It has access to a lot of power via both the divinity circuit and that weapon. It doesn’t want to hurt humans, other than mind-controlling them.”
“Unless they get in the way. Umbriel stopped it from doing more damage at the bookstore, I noticed that.”
Branwyn nodded absently, staring at her fingers. “It’s on speaking terms with Corbin.”
Marley spoke behind Branwyn. “It’s going to do something to the gala.”
Raising her eyes, Branwyn furrowed her brow at Marley.
Marley reached over to her and unfolded another finger on her unused hand. “Corbin hates Senyaza right now.” She unbent a second finger. “Marley’s been seeing everybody associated with Senyaza covered in blood for days now. And everybody’s going to be at the gala.”
“Neither of those are about Hadraniel,” objected Branwyn. “I had a system here.” She looked down at her fingers again. Marley was always worth listening to, even if Branwyn could personally come up with a handful of horrible ways for the gala to go wrong that didn’t involve a vengeful angel. “You might be right, though. Maybe it’s thinking, ‘Hey, look at how much damage we did with just some mortal weapons in Belgium. What could we do in Half-breed Headquarters?’ And, ooh, for an encore, it can go wreck the Extraworlder Conference.” Then she shook the facts off her fingers and put her hand on Marley’s shoulder. “Do you think that’s why Corbin told it where to find the divinity circuit? Does he want a repeat of Belgium?” Even as angry as she was with Corbin, it hurt to suggest that.
Marley’s face was pale. “I can’t believe that. He must have had another reason. I don’t think anything could push him into supporting… that.”
“Hey, wait,” said Rhianna, stepping back. “What do you mean, Corbin told it where the divinity circuit was? How did Corbin know?”
Marley’s mouth twisted. “Sometimes Corbin knows things. Even before the virus….” She trailed off, her gaze going distant. “The virus made my magic stronger,” she said slowly. “Before Skadi cured me, I felt like I was drowning in my magic.”
“He just knew?” asked Rhianna skeptically. “We have a lot of security! Magical security, too. No peeking through the curtain, nothing.”
“Magic is a bitch like that,” said Branwyn callously. “He knows secrets that somebody else already knows and Marley knows things that haven’t happened yet. Which is harder to believe?”
“It’s just intersections and consequences,” muttered Marley.
“And she’s not always right,” pointed out Rhianna, still nettled. “It’s just projecting. Computers can do projections. They can’t just pluck secrets out of thin air.”
“Your security really isn’t that great,” Branwyn argued. “Not only did Corbin and Hadraniel both circumvent it, so did Max The Intern Wait No Kaiju.”
Rhianna flushed unexpectedly and shut up. Branwyn eyed her, then said, “Go inside and see Mom since she’s home now. I’ve got stuff to do.”
“Don’t think you’re getting to the divinity circuit before me,” mumbled Rhianna and fled inside the house.
Marley looked up from the ground she was studying with unusual interest. “I need to go to Senyaza. Before the gala. Nowish.”
“Yes. I thought you might. I want to go talk to Titanone, anyhow. But one moment.” She pulled out her phone, took a bracing deep breath, inhaling the scent of the persimmons and the tomato plants, then called Severin.
“Cupcake,” purred his voice, right behind her head. “Did you deal with your sister already?”
“Don’t be an idiot. Do you know what Hadraniel will be doing next?”
“Oh, possibly. Did you enjoy its company that much? I never thought you’d be vulnerable to an angel’s glory.” His lazy mockery brushed across exposed nerves.
“Have you thought about the consequence of presenting me with a choice between my sister and your kindred?”
“With pleasure,” he assured her. “Especially the sister who wants so badly to use your skills for an angel’s empowerment. That must burn.”
“Not as much as you will,” said Branwyn darkly.
“Me?” Severin protested in exaggerated shock. “Was I calling for your sister’s head?”
Branwyn stopped as she realized he hadn’t been. “You—never mind. This isn’t why I called. We’re pretty sure Hadraniel is going to crash the Senyaza gala tonight.”
“Ah,” said Severin, thoughtfully. “You might want to skip that party, then.”
“What? No—I was thinking you and your friends could catch ol’ Hadra there.”
“Now that’s flattering,” he said. “You think we can just stroll into Senyaza, especially tonight.”
“Can’t you? You don’t seem to have any trouble getting anyplace else.”
“No, that’s me getting under your skin, Branwyn.” The sudden dryness of his voice was like an unexpected bucket of ice. “Think with your head instead of your gut and you’ll notice all sorts of places it costs me more than it’s worth to get into. You’re as close to death as I want to get right now, cupcake.”
Branwyn was silenced for a moment, allowing Severin to go on. “Nah, Max and Dolores could probably get in but the rest of us would be noticed. We’ll just have to catch Hadraniel later. If the half-breeds don’t get lucky,” he added thoughtfully.
By then, Branwyn had recovered some of her footing. “I hadn’t expected you to be a coward,” she jabbed, and noticed Marley wincing as she loitered nearby.
“Well, it’s about what’s in it for me. What exactly do I get out of going to a Senyaza gala that I can’t get by waiting a few hours nearby?”
“The chance to dress up and dance the night away until an angel wrecks the evening by murdering everybody?” she said brightly. Marley covered her face and Branwyn
wondered why.
“You’ve got me confused with Tarn. Ouch. But you have fun, cupcake. Try not to die. Maybe once Hadraniel busts the wards down I’ll peek in and see what all the fuss is about.” His voice faded, and the phone clicked off.
“What’s wrong with you, Marley?” demanded Branwyn as she put her phone away.
“Is he coming?” she asked in response. “All dressed up?”
“No,” Branwyn said. “He’s a delicate flower and he can’t expose himself to how stunning we’ll be.” She paused. “We need to make sure we find time to get dressed up, don’t we?”
Marley nodded. “Otherwise, Penny is going to kill us.”
Branwyn said, “Ah. Yes. You’re right. You can call her while we drive over to Titan One.”
Chapter Twenty
Marley
The commercial levels of Titan One were as busy as they ever were on a weekday afternoon—Neath enjoyed the pet-friendly policy of the mall and the opportunity to terrorize several dogs smaller than her—but the business floors they passed through were nearly empty. Branwyn and Marley peeked in the monster hunter headquarters but the place was empty. Branwyn turned away immediately. “I guess everybody’s getting ready for the party. Figures.”
Marley looked around a moment more and finally spotted a note on Simon’s desk. GONE TO PERCH SEND HELP.
She picked it up and waved it at Branwyn. “Simon’s gone to the bar. Aren’t they trying to stop him from drinking?”
Branwyn looked distracted, trailing her fingers along the wall. “Yeah, he’s there. So is Mr. Black.”
“Oh God,” said Marley. “Let’s go see if we can intervene. I need to talk to that asshole anyhow. Neath, put that down!” The cat looked up, a sheathed knife with feathers dangling from the hilt in her mouth. “You know, this is why I don’t take you more places.”
They went to the Perch, a bar on the 18th floor mostly frequented by Senyaza personnel. Personally, Marley wouldn’t have called it a bar. A lounge, maybe. Or an old style club, although it didn’t have anybody standing at the door limiting access. It had ancient heavy wooden furniture, lovingly cared for: beautiful armchairs, little round tables, cozy booths and a beautiful dark oaken bar top that was the best possible afterlife for a tree. Maroon walls were decorated with paintings and framed photos, all of Senyaza luminaries Marley had never heard of before the first time she’d entered the Perch.
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