by Patti Larsen
***
Chapter Fifteen
A furry white bundle bounded across the yard toward me, Sass leaping up into my arms as I slipped my feet back into my high heels. He settled against me, breathing hard as Clover tentatively stroked his fur.
“Nice to see you again,” he said. “Now, take us to your mother, there’s a good girl.”
Considering Clover was probably in her early twenties, his gentle but condescending tone should have pissed her off. I guess it was a testament to the treatment she was used to receiving from her domineering mother that Clover simply bobbed a nod and turned into the tunnel she’d left open for us.
I thought you were going to help the Kennecotts with Pender, I sent to the silver Persian as I followed Clover into her sorcery. A thin shield was all I needed to protect us from the hunger of her power. Not that she would have fed from us, only that this particular mode of travel left me unsettled, like being inside the belly of a starving whale in icy darkness.
You left me behind on your little excursion with the Zornov brothers, he sniped. That tiff of yours with Quaid caught my attention, so I headed home. But when I felt Clover arrive I thought you could use my help. We exited the other end of the tunnel into the back hall of a quiet house. At least, I guessed it was a house. The walls were dark paneled wood, old school, and reminded me of Harvard. Giant bookshelves climbed their stately way to the ceiling, a sliding ladder on wheels tucked in one corner. I could only guess there wasn’t a genre novel among the collection as Clover turned to me, voice soft and nervous.
“This is the Steam Union house in Nottingham,” she said in her soft English accent.
“Nicer than the sewers,” I said, recalling the last time I’d seen her. When the Brotherhood imploded the Steam Union, they’d fled to a safe house under the city. While fragrant, it managed to keep them protected.
Clover wrinkled her nose but didn’t comment past a flash of a smile. “I managed to escape Mum’s notice long enough to come for you, but that won’t last long.” She froze, looked toward the large door at the other end of the room. Faint light filtered in through the heavy curtains, dust motes doing their dance of joy in their brief respite from the dimness. The scent of oppression was everywhere, age and mildew paired with unbending pride, like the house itself was stuck up. “Mum was controlling before now, Syd. She ran a tight ship.” Like that was a good thing, at least from Clover’s explanatory tone. But the tension in her face, the hurt in her eyes, told me things had changed to the point even loyal members like her own daughter were afraid. “Now, she’s paranoid. As though everyone is out to get her.” Clover shivered, hugging herself inside her pale blue button up sweater. “Especially Piers.”
“He’s been working on her.” I knew that much.
Clover bit her lower lip. “Actually.” She paused. “He’s been under house arrest since he returned.”
So the messages he was okay… “Your mother’s been faking his contact with me.” The bitch.
Clover looked away, embarrassed. “No,” she whispered. “I have.”
“Why?” I thought she loved her brother, was on his side. Was I wrong?
When Clover looked back at me, I saw the conflict in her and felt, for the first time, compassion for Piers’s sister. She loved her mother and her brother. And was doing her best to hold her family together. But something had changed, enough she brought me here, to center of her mother’s power.
That made me far more afraid than it probably should have.
The door slammed open with a thundering boom as Clover and I, Sassafras tense in my arms, turned toward the now gaping entry. Eva Southway stormed through, a handful of her people at her side.
“What is the meaning of this?” She glared back and forth between me and Clover before her face twisted with cruel glee. “Well done, child. You’ve caught an intruder.” Eva stalked closer, eyes shining with her own particular brand of madness. And while I usually felt badly for those I’d known who’d lost their minds, Eva’s insanity stank of self-preservation. Which meant I wasn’t about to cut her any slack.
Unless she’d find a way to hang herself with it.
“I’m here to see Piers.” No way was I showing an ounce of respect or ground giving. I pushed past Clover and matched Eva’s stance, the silver Persian in my arms holding still, amber eyes glowing in the gloom.
“You are an unwelcome intruder,” Eva snapped. “And you will leave immediately or I will make you leave.”
I almost laughed in her face. “Piers, Eva,” I said. “Now.”
Before she could respond, Clover slipped up to my side. “Please, Mum,” she said, voice shaking. “If you would just let him go—”
Eva’s entire attitude changed, rage flaring over her face, power bubbling up beneath her like a mutant vine bursting from the ground. “Traitor,” she hissed at her daughter. “You brought her here! I should have known not to trust my own blood.”
Clover shrank from her mother while my temper heated up a notch.
“Listen up,” I said. “I won’t ask again. Bring Piers here now or get the hell out of my way.”
“You have no right to be here,” Eva snarled at me while her people watched and waited. Some seemed eager to back her, but the rest were as nervous as Clover. I wondered if push came to shove how many would stand at their leader’s side against me.
“I have every right,” I said, “considering my friend—who is no longer one of you, by the way—is being held against his will.”
“So you say,” Eva said, eyes narrowing. “Where is your proof?” I could feel her power testing me, but no way was she brave enough to call me out. I’d crush her and we both knew it.
“Let me see him,” I said, “and I won’t need any.”
“We’ll see about that.” Eva’s magic guttered as she reached out, past the walls of the house. What was she doing? “I demand you come and remove this witch at once!”
Before I could figure out who she was talking to, blue fire flared and two figures appeared a few feet away. Femke’s jaw clenched when she laid eyes on me, my husband’s dark gaze taking in everything, but avoiding mine. Eva wasted no time pointing at me as though I’d eaten her unborn child with strawberry jam and a nice bit of biscuit. “Time to take out your trash, Femke.”
I quivered with fury, but Sass’s mind touched mine.
Patience, he sent. Don’t stoop. She’s lost it, Syd. We need to be in control.
I knew that.
Damn it.
“Are you here uninvited, Coven Leader Hayle?” Femke’s tone was flat, cool. She’d warned me to stay away from Eva, after all.
“No,” I said. “I was asked to come, brought here personally by Steam Union member Clover Southway.” I glanced at the girl, gratified to see her bob a frightened nod at the Council Leader.
Lucky, Syd, Femke sent in a private burst. “If that’s the case,” Femke said, turning her chill on Eva, “why am I here exactly?”
“She’s yours,” Eva said. “And even if my disloyal daughter brought her here, I want her out. Now.”
“Considering you rejected the entire Council in the first place,” Sassafras spoke up, as dry and cold as Femke, though far more cutting as was his way, “I’m surprised you think Leader Svennson or the World Paranormal Council would in any way assist you when you asked for such.” He bowed his head to Femke. “It was most courteous of you to come here, under the circumstances.”
Too clever by far, she sent to both of us. But thank you for that, Sassafras.
“Which means,” I said directly to Eva, “you can’t just call on them whenever you want to. Just so you know.”
“Since we’re here,” Femke said, “may I ask why I was taken from a very important meeting to deal with this?”
“She’s holding Piers against his will,” I said. Clover nodded again, her misery clear as she ducked behind me. Her mother’s piercing gaze of rage was all the reason I needed to step between Clover and Eva. She might be gro
wn up, but Piers’s sister had never been allowed to mature past a bullied girl. By her own mother, no less.
“Again, you have no proof past the lies of that creature.” Eva practically spit in my direction. She’d disowned her own daughter with those two words. The mother in me wanted to punch her in the face and hug Clover tight while we watched her bleed on the floor.
“Perhaps not,” Femke said in a thoughtful tone, as though there wasn’t enough tension in the room to cut all of us to the quick if we made the wrong move. “But I, too, would like to see Piers.” She smiled faintly at Eva. “Kindly have him brought here, if you don’t mind.”
Eva twitched under Femke’s gaze. Take that, you crazy cow.
“He is under arrest,” Eva finally blurted. “For crimes against his people that have nothing to do with you.”
Femke shrugged delicately, stepping back from us. “Then, by your own admission, my presence here is a waste of time. You can’t have it both ways, Eva. Either I speak to Piers right now or I leave and you deal with your intruder alone.”
At least she hadn’t hung me out to dry.
“Eva.” Her husband, Felix, separated himself from the gathered Steam Union members watching. One hand settled on her shoulder which she shrugged off. He had the same soft features as Clover, even under the dark beard. His eyes were far too kind, too gentle and I knew where his daughter got her meekness. “Perhaps it would be best to just let Piers go.”
She spun on him, hand flying across his face with a slap so hard he staggered back, the sound of contact echoing in the sudden quiet.
“I WILL NEVER LET HIM GO!” Spittle flew from her lips, sprayed him with soft dots of moisture as he straightened with a terrible, broken grief on his face. Was that what this was about? Piers leaving her? He was clearly far more like his strong willed mother than his weak father and sister. Did Piers’s defection begin Eva’s downturn? “Do you hear me? NEVER.” She spun back on Femke and Quaid. “Get out of my house.”
Syd. Femke’s mind touched mine, a hint of desperate anxiety in it. Be careful.
Don’t worry about me, I sent back as I gently set Sassafras on the back of the chair next to me, prepping for a fight just in case. Get out of here. Wait about ten minutes. Then send body bags.
Her mind twitched, pushing against me even as a fresh tunnel of darkness opened and Gram and Demetrius stepped through. Eva drew a breath to scream at them, too, I was guessing, only to be beaten to the punch.
“Eva Southway,” Gram said in a booming voice, “as a duly accepted member of the Steam Union, I declare you unfit to lead our order and demand you step down in favor of fresh blood.”
***
Chapter Sixteen
Go, Gram.
And while I hadn’t been expecting this turn of events, I took advantage immediately, linking my power to my grandmother’s.
“Witnessed,” I said. “As an impartial third party.”
Sure was.
I thought Eva’s little temper tantrum over releasing Piers showed the massive fault line in her psyche. Gram’s nuclear bomb drop set off a visible chain reaction in the over stressed Steam Union leader. I watched her thought process—such as it was—crawl across her face, her whole body, from shock to horror to fear and, finally, inevitably, into absolute crackerjack rage.
Before she could blow Mount Southway, Gram spun and addressed the Steam Union members who watched with pinched expressions and true fear on their faces.
“We all know our order is suffering under her leadership.” Gram wasn’t pulling any punches, Eva twitching with every word that left her mouth. “The downfall of the Steam Union will only continue if Eva Southway is allowed to continue pulling us into the dark ages with her.” A few hesitant nods, looks about from the others. Clover shivered next to me, Felix staring down at the floor, though his clenched fists told me there was more strength in him than I’d given him credit for. “It’s time for a new direction, a fresh outlook.”
“Are you volunteering, Ethpeal?” Eva had somehow regained control of herself, though the venom in her glare as she stared at my grandmother through slitted eyes would have done serious harm if backed by magic.
“Of course not,” Gram snorted, rolling her eyes at the Steam Union leader with casual grace. “Couldn’t pay me enough to shake up this lot.” The watchers didn’t seem to mind she’d offered a mild insult. Were they that crushed by Eva they couldn’t even muster emotions of their own past sadness and anxiety?
“Then who?” Felix raised his head, tears on his cheeks, dripping into his beard. Eva spun on him but he took a step toward Gram, ignoring his furious wife. From the calm and expectant look on his face, I figured Felix already knew what she was going to say.
“I nominate Piers Southway,” Gram said, power pushing her words outward. I could only guess she used her magic to make sure every Steam Union member heard her.
Good choice, I sent to my grandmother as a sigh tinted with relief rolled around the room.
No other, Gram sent.
Eva’s eyes crackled with power. “He’s no longer a member of this order,” she snapped.
“So?” Gram’s flat anger cut through the Steam Union leader’s protest like a splash of icy water on a simmering fire. “That can be easily rectified.”
“I can see,” Femke interrupted before Eva could respond, “things are well in hand.” Like hell they were. “Knowing now this is an internal matter, I will take my leave.”
Thanks for the backup, I snapped at her.
I suggest you do the same, Syd. Femke’s mental tone was soft, careful. Please, don’t make this worse. There’s nothing I’d rather see than Piers leading the Steam Union. Give him the chance to depose his mother and make this right.
I guess you’ll find out what happened after it’s all over. Irritation at her chastisement, as gentle as it was, just fired me up further. Seeing my silent husband standing next to her reopened the fresh hurt I’d as yet to deal with to my satisfaction. Run along, now, World Leader. I’ll clean up the mess witches leave behind. As usual.
Her mind shut down, a wave of fury hitting me. Okay, maybe I’d gone too far. But damn her, this was important. And I knew if—when—Piers took over, he’d join the new WPC. Femke needed to be here.
Gram’s eyes narrowed as she looked back and forth between Femke and me. “Thank you, World Council Leader,” she said. “We can handle it from here.”
Femke nodded once, sharp and angry, she and Quaid vanishing in a flare of blue fire.
Poorly done, girl, Gram grumbled in my head. She deserves better from you.
I didn’t bother responding. I’d figure out a way to fix it later. Right now, Eva Southway was recoiling inward. Which told me she was planning something I wasn’t going to like.
Gram returned her attention to her leader. “I demand to see Piers,” she said. A few muttering agreements joined hers, Demetrius nodding at her side. “Immediately.”
I watched Eva look around at the majority of nodding Steam Union members, took personal note of those who seemed to be as sullen and dangerous as she—a small minority, thankfully. And though I could tell she wanted to protest, there was really nothing Eva could do.
“Bring him,” she snarled, waving in the general direction of the door.
He’ll need your support, Gram sent as we waited in silence for the two young Steam Union members who went scrambling at Eva’s order to return. This is going to get ugly.
She doesn’t have many on her team, at least, I sent. From what I can tell.
Agreed, Demetrius sent, his soft touch tinted with sadness. But there are enough of them if Piers doesn’t seize power immediately, they could sway others to oppose him.
Politics. My favorite.
Movement at the door drew my focus, though Eva didn’t turn with the rest of us. She stood in the center of the room, scowling at the floor, arms crossed over her chest. Felix took two steps toward me, one arm extended to Clover who went to him, both of them st
aring toward the doorway. At the tall, handsome blond who entered.
Piers was always lean, aristocratic features sharp, pale hair a silken fall almost to his knees. But the man I watched come toward me wasn’t the lanky, proud and self-assured Piers I knew so well. His shoulders hunched forward, cheeks hollow, dark circles under his translucent gray eyes. The lustrous hair he was so proud of hung in a stringy mass, button up shirt torn and dirty, a large hole in the knee of his dress pants. His shoes were long gone, bare feet crusted in soil. When he lifted one hand to brush away a lock of hair from his drawn face, I couldn’t help but notice the wide, black bruise ringing his wrist.
A few soft gasps met his appearance, horrified looks passed from Steam Union member to Steam Union member. Clover covered her mouth with both hands, turning her face away, but I forced myself to stare, to take in his roughened condition and to burn the fury I felt at his mother deeper into my soul.
“Your own son,” I said.
“We had no idea.” A young woman with pale red hair took a step back as I locked onto her with my furious gaze. “None.”
“You told us he was here willingly.” An older gentleman in a three piece suit spoke up, bitterness in his tone, small, white mustache curling up at the edges as his lips tightened. “Eva, how could you?”
“Where is Zoe Helios?” I slapped them with the question, backed by power. And though they were sorcerers, they flinched from my magic.
“Here.” I turned to find her hurrying forward, stopping with tears on her face, staring at Piers as though she’d never seen him before. “Oh, my love,” she whispered.
He didn’t turn his head. Didn’t react at all. I reached for him but he blocked me out, refused to allow me inside with iron will so powerful I retained hope this might end in our favor after all. Piers wasn’t broken. Just hurt to the core of his heart.
Zoe hurried to my side, tucked in next to Gram and me. “They held me prisoner here,” she said in her clear voice. “Against my will, refused to allow me to see Piers or even leave my room. Threatened me with harm if I tried to escape.” She met my eyes, tears trickling down her cheeks. “I couldn’t leave,” she choked on her words this time. “The fire wouldn’t take me. I couldn’t help him.” Frustration warred with sorrow in her voice. “Damn you!” She threw the curse at Eva. “He loves you and you betrayed him.”