by Patti Larsen
His big hand clasped me on the shoulder, loving eyes on his gravid wife. “She never complains,” he said.
True enough. “Any idea what this is about?” I waited in line with them, the two Enforcers at the door carefully checking magic signatures. I understood the caution but found it irritating nonetheless.
“Not a clue,” Yana said with mild curiosity. “Though, it’s been gratifying to see such rapid forward motion.”
I nodded as they took their turn at the door. I’d say this for Femke, she knew how to get things moving. Every meeting like this one carried us closer to forming a true whole, from signing actual treaties between territories, to enlisting paranormals in all areas of the plane to join hands with the witch councils.
Yana hugged me quickly as they passed within. “Come visit soon,” she said, looking down with love at her belly. “The kids miss you and yours. Once this little one arrives in a month, I’ll be swamped.”
With murmured promises to bring Ethie and Gabriel to see her, I waved them off to their seats before dutifully sharing my magic signature with the two Enforcers. They knew who I was, clearly, but I sighed and complied just to keep the peace.
When I entered, I realized I was late. The Council room was full of witches, other werewolves besides the king and queen, even a few overly dressed humans I could only assume were vampire representatives. Probably best I wasn’t forced to come face-to-face with their queens just yet, considering what I’d done last night. I scanned the room, the low table at the far end inconspicuous despite the gravity of the Council sitting behind it. No grand station here, no posturing. Just a line of paranormals headed by Femke Svennson.
They’d already taken their seats and the small, square man with round glasses who stood at the end was talking some mumbo jumbo about territorial disputes. I slipped down the aisle and into the open seat on the end next to Mom who slid her arm through mine and pulled me against her side.
You’re tardy, she sent with a twinkle in her eye.
Long night, I sent, not meaning to be so grim.
Mom stiffened, stared. What happened?
And though maybe we should have been paying attention to what was going on in front of us, I told her everything about the vampire situation.
Mom’s fingers dug into my arm as she bit her lower lip in frustration. Damn her, she sent. Why didn’t Sunny ask for help before it went this far?
Who knows, I sent, grateful Mom was on my side. The sting of Sunny’s personal attack didn’t seem so sharp with my mother’s power hugging me.
You did the right thing, she sent. From the sound of the situation Sunny would have ended up dead and Frank a prisoner of Piotr. Syd, we have to deal with it.
I’ll talk to Femke when this is over, I sent. She might be able to do something. But at least the old Empress is willing to work on the rest of the queens.
We’ll see, Mom sent. Anything else I should know about?
I didn’t get a chance to go on. Not when a black tunnel of power burst into view just a few feet from me, flooding the aisle beside me with darkness. I surged to my feet, my own sorcery blooming outward in response, ready to take down whoever came through that gap. Only to freeze in shock at the sight of Eva Southway stomping her way out of the black. She came to a halt facing Femke and the Council, face pinched and angry as the tunnel collapsed behind her.
“Leader Southway.” Femke stood, nodded to Eva with way more composure than I would have had in her place, gestured to a seat in the front row. “I was hoping you would finally join us. Your input is invaluable to this Council.”
Eva didn’t seem to be in the mood for gracious hospitality. Her sorcery slapped Femke’s offer away with a crack of power against power while everyone gasped at her arrogance. Except me, of course. I was already on the move down the aisle, heading for her, when Femke’s magic hit me hard and stopped me in my tracks.
Let me handle this, she sent before cutting off.
I was getting really tired of hearing people say that and not following through.
“I have no interest in your little game or your pathetic Council,” Eva said, voice carrying sharply around the room, fed by power. “I’ve come to inform you the Steam Union is off limits and the next spy you send to us will be summarily executed.” She gestured, a second tunnel opening, a young witch falling through with a groan. He collapsed on his side, shivering, wide eyed. I understood his reaction. Traveling through sorcery tunnels was a particularly soul devouring experience the first time around. And, from the look of things, he’d been mishandled before he was put in the tunnel in the first place.
The Council stirred, anger on their faces, Femke’s hardening, blue eyes and pale skin framed by light blonde hair giving her the regal appearance I always compared to an ice queen.
“There was no need to harm him,” she said, holding her ground. “None. He was a peaceful envoy, Eva.”
The Steam Union leader stepped away from him, disgust on her profile as I circled slowly, my power feeding him, warming him up. He scuttled out of the way at last, heading for Femke as Eva spoke.
“You heard me,” she said, a wave of sorcery washing over the room, smothering everyone. She wasn’t taking power, just pushing hers over ours. To her, a clear demonstration of her superiority I could only imagine. “Stay away from us from now on. We want nothing to do with you or your troubles.”
Femke nodded sharply. “Very well,” she said. “You may go.”
I might have been still pissed with her, fed by her attempt to keep me from smearing Eva on the carpet under my high heels, but I had to admit my friend was brilliant. The Steam Union leader’s face darkened to scarlet, lips a slash of fury across her face. She twitched in rage, tunnel opening almost on top of a small cluster of witches who were forced to leap out of the way, scattering their chairs and colliding with others in their row.
“I’m done being treated like a slave,” Eva snarled, gaze traveling over the crowd while I wondered what the hell she was talking about. “And being looked on like the enemy.” Okay, she’d clearly cracked her nut. Except I remembered the reaction of the witches of the shadow council and finally, grudgingly, understood. She had to be facing opposition and, in some cases, blame from those who suffered at the hands of the Brotherhood. Still, it was her own fault for not acting, not taking the initiative to help us in our time of need.
“We aren’t the Brotherhood,” Eva’s voice swelled, warbled as she glared like she’d just been mortally insulted or personally attacked. “But if you’re looking for an enemy, I’ll give you one!” Before anyone could react, even me, Eva stepped backward into the tunnel of darkness and vanished with a soft pop of dissipating power.
The outcry began immediately. I helped the displaced witches right their chairs before returning to my aisle seat beside Mom. By then, Femke was tapping her glowing blue gavel on the table, the ringing sound bringing order.
“We can’t allow the Steam Union to run free with that woman leading them.” The big king of the werenation surged to his feet two rows and the room’s width away from me.
“We will handle the Steam Union and Eva Southway,” Femke said. “I assure you of that, King Danilo.”
“Like you’ve handled the Brotherhood?” I didn’t know the witch who spoke up, but her accent identified her as from somewhere in India. So Yamini Dhavan was sending her people here to cause dissent, was she? The Indian Council Leader probably wasn’t working alone.
But no. The moment the witch fell silent, another stood up and focused her power on the complainer. I could tell from the force of her magic, the tone and touch of it, she came directly from Yamini. “We have had six short weeks,” she said, dark skin and hair a match for the other witch’s coloring, as was her accent. “Our own Council Leader is behind the WPC one hundred percent. And we’ve made great progress in a very short period of time.” She sat down in a huff, looking up at Femke who smiled faintly, nodding.
“We realize there is a great dea
l to be done,” Femke said, her voice soothing, a soft wave of power embracing all of us and, in doing so, proved to me yet again why she was the best choice for this job, like it or not. “And we are taking aggressive steps to ensure the safety of all paranormals. To that end, we would like to announce the creation of our very own Enforcer order.” Murmurs of surprise ran through the room, including mine. It was a great idea, absolutely. “We will be drawing from the other Council Enforcer ranks in the beginning, starting with only a few to ensure we don’t deplete the best and brightest.” Made total sense to me and I wasn’t the only one to think so from all the head bobbing. “Moreover, we would like to ask any werewolf, Sidhe, sorcerers or vampires who would like training in the Enforcer order to submit themselves for testing. It is our goal to make this a truly inclusive group, dedicated to the protection of all paranormals.”
Okay, she was absolutely brilliant. Even I hadn’t thought of that.
“All will be trained in every discipline possible for their race,” Femke said, “and formed into teams of diversity to ensure the greatest chance of success.” I could just picture the logistical frustrations and grinned. Glad I didn’t have to deal with it. “All will be fully trained in sorcery, so they will never be at risk from that dark power at the hands of the Brotherhood.”
Mom was nodding in time with me. I was ready to go hug Femke. This was exactly what we needed.
“That being said,” she went on, “our new force needs a powerful leader, one who has experience in dealing with all manner of magicks.” That was a tough one. My mind sifted over the few Enforcers I knew well and discarded them all. Had to be a European or something.
Or something.
“Please,” Femke said, gesturing toward the back of the room. We all turned in our seats as once while she went on. “Welcome World Paranormal Council Enforcer Leader Quaid Hayle.”
Oh.
My.
Dead man.
***
Chapter Twelve
I gaped in shock, heart thudding painfully in my chest as Mom hissed in my ear, not composed enough to connect mentally.
“Did you know about this?”
I shook my head, mute, as Quaid walked past me dressed in an Enforcer robe, cuffs banded, not with blue, but with all the colors of magic. He came to a halt next to Femke who stepped out around the table to join him. Together they faced the crowd of whispering paranormals.
“Enforcer Leader Hayle has a unique perspective. As the husband of Coven Leader Sydlynn Hayle, his exposure and experience with a multitude of magicks makes him the perfect selection for our new Enforcer order.”
I choked on her smooth explanation, eyes boring holes through my grim faced and serious husband. Did he feel how angry I was? He had to be burning up from it. Had to be.
What the hell was he thinking?
“Thank you, Council Leader Svennson,” he said in his deep voice, warming up as he nodded to the crowd. “I am honored to accept this important position and will do everything in my power to uphold the laws of our Council.”
If he survived me kicking his damned ass across the plane.
Mom and I sat together, fuming side by side, the occasional muttered curse escaping her. I barely had time for her anger, though I understood it. She’d been grooming him to take over for Varity Rhodes. I wondered if the old Enforcer leader knew about Quaid’s defection.
How could Femke do this? Just steal Quaid out from under me? And he didn’t say a word, didn’t talk it over with me, nothing. Nada. Just took the damned job and that was that.
You do realize, my vampire sent softly, Quaid is his own person and doesn’t require your permission.
That burned my socks. We’re married, I snapped at her. The least he could have done was warn a girl. Damn it, how long had he known?
Still, she sent. Perhaps a gentler approach than anger might yield better results.
Whatever.
The meeting broke up a few minutes later, though I held my place until the room was almost empty. The cowardly bastard didn’t look my way once, though I was sure he knew I was there. When he finally lifted his chocolate gaze to mine, his face was set and blank.
Don’t give me that look, I snapped in his head. Don’t you dare, Quaid.
He moved toward me, sighing in my mind. I don’t suppose you’d understand why I needed to do this. My husband came to a halt beside me while Mom glared up at him. She stood, her power pushing against his chest, not a blow, but a steady pressure like a fist.
“I need to go,” she said, voice cold, brushing her lips over my cheek. “It would appear I have a new Enforcer leader to train.” Quaid’s brow furrowed, one hand reaching for her, but she was already pushing past him without a word, fury in every line of her body. Blue power flared and Mom was gone, leaving him to my tender mercies.
If meat hooks were tender.
“I’m keeping the job,” he said, anger in his tone though he kept his voice low, arms crossing over his chest. “No matter what you say.”
He did not just try to bully me.
“I don’t give a hot damn about the job, Quaid.” With every word I poked him hard with power. “Not one hot damn. What I do care about is the fact you didn’t tell me.” He flinched, guilt smothered by returning temper. So, he knew he was wrong and was trying to justify it to himself, huh? Now all his long days and absences made sense. He’d been splitting time working with Mom and with Femke, playing both sides.
“I was going to,” he said. “But I knew what you’d say.”
“What’s that, then? Hmm?” I pulled away from him, shaking my head. “Since you can read my mind and everything.”
“Can we not do this here?” His face darkened as he glanced right and left at the few paranormals still chatting nearby.
“You do not get to dictate anything to me,” I snapped. “Now, answer the question, Quaid.”
“You would have told me it was too much and that you needed me home with the kids.” He turned his face away. “For the good of the coven.”
Was he freaking kidding me? “You’ve gone so far off your rocker you’ve landed on your ass,” I said. “What the hell made you think I’d say anything like that?”
He didn’t answer, face stony.
Okay, Syd. Deep breaths. This was my husband, the man I’d loved since I was sixteen years old, had fought and clawed and bled to have at my side. Was he right?
Quaid finally turned back, a hint of sadness in his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said, though his voice was dull.
I wasn’t ready to accept an apology. “We’re not just married,” I said, lowering my voice. “We’re best friends, Quaid. You just broke my trust with this little stunt. I only want what’s best for you and if you believe otherwise, you don’t know me as well as you think.” Damn it, the waterworks were showing up and I didn’t know if I could hold them off. “Who do you think asked Mom to change the damned law to let you be an Enforcer again in the first place?”
He flinched from that. “Syd—”
I couldn’t help it. I batted his hand away. I didn’t want him touching me right now.
“We’ll talk about this later,” I said, turning away from him. “Once we’ve cooled off. I just can’t have this conversation right now.”
Quaid let me go as I walked away. But I didn’t make it far. My breaking heart solidified into jagged splinters without my consent, aimed right at the tall, blonde woman who walked toward me with one hand half raised in a wave of welcome. She must have seen something that shocked her because Femke came to a halt with her blue eyes wide and lips parted in surprise as I stomped to her side and got in her face.
“You had to have my husband.” I didn’t mean it that way. Quaid would never cheat on me, I knew that. But the fury I felt at him came out at her.
Her surprise turned to shuttered anger in a flash. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Did it cross your mind maybe Mom wouldn’t appreciate you poaching her n
ext Enforcer leader?” My fisted hands trembled at my sides. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Femke’s coldness sent a chill down my spine as her power pushed me firmly but gently out of her space. I let it.
“I am, as all of you have requested of me, doing the very best I can to make this Council strong and viable.” That was a dig at me, yup, sure was. She was still pissed I suggested she take the leadership. She could suck that up right now and choke on it. “Quaid is the best possible choice, as I said.” A hint of doubt crossed through her eyes. “He didn’t tell you.”
“No, he didn’t,” I said, disgust so powerful I had to back away from her. “And neither did you.”
Her anger was still there, but flavored now with self-recrimination. Didn’t do much to ease my temper, but the self-righteous crankass in me was happy to see it.
“I’m sorry for the misunderstanding,” she said.
Misunder… Snap.
“Besides,” she leaned in, temper flaring, whispering the next words to me. “This isn’t about poaching, is it? It’s about Quaid, controlling him. Like you try to control everyone around you.” She might as well have punched me in the face. “You should be happy for him, not beating him up for taking such a dangerous job.”
I could barely breathe, lips working as I tried to speak past my fury.
“Oh, and Syd?” Femke’s tone turned sweet, though her anger still flared in her eyes. “Stay away from the Steam Union and Eva Southway. I don’t need your particular brand of help. I’d rather the whole plane didn’t implode because you thought your way was the right way. Is that understood?”
She turned her back, Quaid brushing past me, the scent of spices and his warm musk just driving my anger higher. With a snarl, I tore open the veil and leaped through, screaming my fury into the darkness until I could only sob in frustration.