“So were the Gatekeepers ever involved?” I asked.
“I think they were, with the original council,” Ivy said. “According to Frank, anyway. But the council disbanded after most of them died in the invasion and most of the records were scattered. I don’t know how long your mother’s been Gatekeeper, but it might have been before her time.”
“Then Grandma’s ghost could have told us.” A pang went through me. I hadn’t had chance to properly think about what her no longer being around meant. I hadn’t spoken to her for years before I’d returned to the Lynn house, but I missed her all the same. “Is there a record somewhere of past members?”
Ivy frowned. “I thought there wasn’t, but perhaps there is here. Vance—Lord Colton—will know. I’ll ask him after the meeting.”
“Is it even starting today?” asked Morgan. “Or are we waiting for the Sidhe?”
My heart lurched. “They’re not coming here?”
“No,” said Ivy. “You have no idea… actually, I think you can probably guess how hard it is to get them to commit to a meeting place and time.”
Hazel snorted. “We spent ages trying to convince them there was a traitor in their own Court, but they ended up getting us thrown out instead. And now we know who the traitor is, but telling them will get us all killed.”
“Who is it?” asked Ivy.
“The Seelie Queen,” I whispered.
“There isn’t a Seelie Queen,” said Ivy. “Unless… actually, I’ve heard someone mention his father was assistant to the Queen… holy shit.”
“Assistant?” said Hazel. “Not—Lord Daival?”
“Never met him, but I’ve heard the name,” Ivy said, frowning. “Damn. What did the Seelie Queen do?”
“Told us she’s planning a coup and threw us into the Vale,” I said. “I got us out, but… I reckon it’s to do with the immortality thing. The Sidhe were already pissed off because someone got murdered in the Summer Court.”
Ivy’s eyes widened. “Thought that might happen. They used to kill one another to gain power all the time, apparently. All that happened was that the person they killed came back, told on them to the Court, and cue exile.”
“Charming,” I muttered. “Yeah, they flat-out refused to speak to us. I don’t suppose you know what’s wrong with the Erlking?”
She shook her head. “They’d never tell me. So you’re saying the Seelie Queen is working… with the Vale outcasts?”
“And possibly the Winter Gatekeeper’s ghost,” I added.
Ivy swore. “You’ve got to be joking.”
“The Sidhe are in charge,” Morgan said. “I don’t know why this is a surprise to anyone.”
“It’s not a surprise,” said Ivy. “It’s just fucking inconvenient. I can’t help with the Gatekeeper… I’m about as far from a necromancer as you can get. That I can walk between realms as a ghost is a side effect of my magic.”
“So the original owner couldn’t do that?” I said, keeping my voice so quiet, Ivy had to lean closer to hear.
Her eye twitched. “No. The Sidhe… I doubt it would have occurred to them.”
“Not the Sidhe.” My hand reached out of its own accord to the hilt of her blade. Power brushed my hand, alien yet familiar. Intelligent. Alive.
Ivy’s whole body went deadly still, like a coiled viper ready to spring. “I really wouldn’t do that. I don’t think it recognises you as a threat, but—”
Morgan moved his chair back so quickly he nearly fell off it. “Can you not throw your weird magic around in here?”
I dropped my hand. “Sorry. I wish I knew where the book came from, that’s all. The Sidhe won’t believe any of us. All we have left to use against them is knowledge. They try to bury their own past because it terrifies them. I reckon that’s where the answers are.”
“Never mind the past,” said Morgan. “It’s just us now, isn’t it? We need to fix it.”
“You can do both,” Hazel said in a low voice. “Ivy… Ilsa said you have a talisman like hers. Does that kind of thing run in the family, too?”
“This?” Ivy tapped the blade hilt. “No, I won it from a Sidhe by accident. I’m new blood. The connection with your family is distant, if at all.” She leaned back, her eyes narrowing in suspicion when River took the last empty seat in the row. “You were with them, too?”
“Yes, I was. My father is Lord Torin… I believe he has some connection with your council.”
“Oh. Quentin’s other family,” said Ivy. “So you’re in on this.”
“I was initially hired to protect the Gatekeeper with my life,” River said. “Afterwards, we worked as colleagues at Edinburgh’s necromancer guild.”
Her expression remained distrusting, and the look in her eyes told me quite clearly that she was assessing whether or not he was a threat. Like when I’d put my hand on her talisman. It was a challenge. Most people, faced with Ivy, would run for the hills. River’s eyes narrowed. I liked Ivy, but I had to squash the urge to tell her to stop glaring at him.
Power crackled overhead, drawing my attention to the front of the hall. Everyone fell silent. Several mages gathered on the stage, with Mage Lord Colton taking up central position. Immediately, all eyes went to him, and it was easy to tell why. His presence was like lightning contained in a bottle, radiating enough power to bring the whole building crumpling down like it was nothing.
“We’re gathered here to discuss the future of the council, particularly in light of recent events in the faerie realm and in this one,” he said. “No word of this meeting will leave this room without my permission.” He paused as though to let the message sink in. “You may have noticed we have a few guests. Lady Montgomery of Edinburgh’s necromancer guild has joined us, in addition to the city’s mage council… and the heir to the title of Summer Gatekeeper.”
His attention went to Hazel. She sat up straighter.
“The Gatekeepers are peacekeepers bound to work between the faerie realms and this world,” Lord Colton went on. “Their title refers to the gates between this realm and Faerie, which are under their watch.”
There were a few mutters of dissent, along the lines of they did a great job keeping the peace, didn’t they? The whisperer probably meant the invasion. Indignation spiked on Hazel’s and Mum’s part, though I held my tongue.
“We keep the peace with the Courts, not the Vale,” Hazel said, rising to her feet. “The Gatekeepers and the Council of Twelve worked in secret to maintain the peace even in the face of evil, even when it almost destroyed us. And let’s just say it’s not a voluntary position. My mother is the current Gatekeeper for the Summer Court. She’s on Faerie on a mission, which means there’s a faerie vow controlling her every move. You know what happens when you disobey a faerie vow?” she asked. “You die. One of her children could get killed and she still wouldn’t be allowed to return home.”
“You’re requesting, what, an escort into Faerie?” said one of the mages.
“No, we’re asking that you don’t talk shit about us behind our backs,” Morgan said from behind her.
He was right, but this wasn’t how I’d imagined the meeting would go.
“The Gatekeepers have something to say about recent events,” said Lord Colton. “Let her say her piece.”
I hoped Hazel knew what she was doing. She stood tall, in the same commanding way Mum did. Her circlet blazed. She must have doctored it with a spell to cover for her magic fading.
“The recent activity on the Ley Line was due to one of our own betraying us in an effort to cheat death and attack the Sidhe,” said Hazel. “Ilsa stopped her. But it created a knock-on effect. Wraiths, faerie ghosts most people can’t even see, are escaping into this realm. Half-faerie ghosts are attacking people, and again, most people can’t see them until it’s too late. And we think they’re working with a group of outcasts in the Vale, through Death. Oh, and someone’s trying to bring down the Summer Court, too, and they won’t listen to us,” she added. “That’s it.”
“We cannot negotiate with the Summer Court if they don’t send representatives to us,” said Lord Colton. “Unfortunately, they prefer to talk on their own territory, on their terms. If there is indeed another Vale threat, then they would require proof at the very least.”
I figured. The council had been a long shot, and even the people in this room would be hard-pressed to outdo the Sidhe. Besides, I didn’t want to kick off a war. I just wanted them to believe the truth, without putting anyone at risk of ending up in the crossfire. Since their enemies were also Sidhe, potentially with godlike powers, it was no wonder they hadn’t managed to kill all of their outcasts. The same immortality that kept them existing indefinitely had kept their enemies alive as well.
“Most of us aren’t able to walk into the Vale on our own power,” said Hazel. “Since we don’t know the nature of the threat we face, we’re asking for the cooperation of the necromancer guild and the council. That’s all we ask. For access to the necessary information to deal with this threat.”
She sat down again. Only Morgan and I could see her hands shaking. And possibly Ivy, too, but she was tensed, her attention on the shifters. None of them was paying any attention. Two were even asleep. Really.
“Does anyone else have any points to address?” said Lord Colton.
As one of the other mages began talking, Ivy leaned back in her seat. “Did you say wraiths?” she whispered to Hazel.
“Yes,” River said quietly. “They’ve been escaping into this realm for some time. Even within Faerie itself. It was the first sign of the conspiracy in the Vale, but the Sidhe won’t believe they’re a threat.”
Ivy gave him an assessing look. “That doesn’t surprise me. So you can destroy them?”
“Most human necromancers can’t,” I said. “And my talisman is the only thing I know that can kill the worst type.”
Ivy nodded. “Then I’ll help you find the records. If we end this conspiracy, we end the wraith problem along with it.”
“There’s just the slight issue of one of the most powerful people in the Seelie Court being involved,” I said. “Don’t tell anyone the full story until we have proof.”
17
To my surprise, Lady Montgomery waited for us outside the meeting room when the gathering drew to a close. A stern-looking woman with her grey hair pulled back in a bun, she looked us over with an expression close to relief, particularly River. At her side stood Jas, who looked almost as out of place as we did.
“I’m glad to see you made it back,” said Lady Montgomery. “I wasn’t aware all four of you had security clearance at the council’s meetings, however.”
Ah. “Er, the Gatekeeper’s family has authorisation,” I improvised. “While our mother is occupied in Faerie. And River’s our companion.”
Jas’s eyes bugged out, and I could tell she wanted to ask a bunch of questions. I assumed she’d been given some level of security clearance to be here at all, even if her only job was to translate the boss’s notes into legible English. We really should have rehearsed a cover story beforehand, but I hadn’t realised the guild’s top ranked members would be here.
Lady Montgomery waved a hand. “Never mind the reasons. River told me you were in your family’s home, but he didn’t mention you’d be coming here this soon. I assumed you had family business to take care of first.”
“We sort of do,” Morgan said. “It wasn’t meant to take this long, but Faerie took two weeks from us.”
“I understand how Faerie works,” she said. “What I don’t understand is why none of you asked me about the Gatekeepers’ involvement with the council sooner. I might have been able to help you find the information.”
“There was no time,” I responded. I decided not to add, and you thought we were villains at the time. “All along, I assumed one of my ancestors worked for the necromancer guild. Then that ghost showed up. What she said implied the Gatekeeper at the time when she was alive was just passing through. But when I was looking for records at the guild, I should have been checking the mages’ records instead. Most Gatekeepers weren’t necromancers.”
Lady Montgomery nodded. “Lord Colton was right to say that many records of the original council were lost in the invasion, but they had a working partnership and shared resources, which is a position we’d like to return to.” She beckoned us into the room behind her, a dusty library filled with tall shelves. “Jas can help you find what you’re looking for. The first council worked on a large number of missions concerning the supernatural community, many of which also involved the necromancer guild.”
“I thought so,” said Hazel. “Honestly, we’d like to know if there were any Lynns connected who weren’t Summer or Winter Gatekeeper. We’re trying to find out which generation first started using the book.”
Perhaps it didn’t matter. What we faced was on a scale beyond anything we were equipped to deal with, and even the necromancers’ records likely wouldn’t tell me where the book had originally come from. Considering none of my ancestors had been thoughtful enough to leave instructions behind, I doubted anyone else would have admitted to making a deal with the gods. If they’d even lived to tell the tale.
Lady Montgomery took a stack of papers and passed them to me. “These are the names of previous council associates, as a starting point. I looked them up when Ivy told me you were coming.”
So even she was on speaking terms with Ivy Lane.
I took the papers in hand. Names, names… Lynn.
“Great-Grandma,” said Hazel, reading over my shoulder. “She died before we were born, when Morgan was a baby.”
“I don’t remember her,” Morgan said. “I do remember Grandma, but she wasn’t Gatekeeper like Ilsa.”
“And the generation before was the one who trapped the ghost, right?” I said. “So there have been at least four generations who wielded the book. Do you know all the past Lynns on Winter’s side, too?” I asked Hazel.
I’d once had the family tree memorised, but memories faded with time, and I’d always harboured a sense of resentment towards them for banishing the non-Gatekeepers from the records.
“Not Winter,” she said. “Not a Gatekeeper. But maybe she was from Winter. The sister of the current Winter Gatekeeper. Dammit, I wish someone had an actual family tree…”
I thought back to the names on the walls of the mausoleum. I’d walked through there enough times, seen the names engraved deep into the stone.
“The book passed from Winter to Summer,” I said. “They wielded it first. Maybe one of them was first to claim it. No wonder none of our history books mention it.”
And no wonder Holly had felt entitled to its power.
I looked down to see Jas watching me across the table. “You weren’t kidding about that power you have, were you?”
“No.” She also wasn’t supposed to know about it, but I was pretty sure everyone at the necromancer guild knew my magic was an unconventional type by now. “I didn’t know you knew the council.”
“I don’t. Lady Montgomery requested I search the archives on your behalf, since I’m already here and I’m familiar with how the necromancers’ archives work.”
Hmm. Before, the idea of letting yet more people in on our family’s secrets worried me, but at this rate, it’d all go public soon enough.
“Okay,” I said. “I guess I can read this, but knowing Aunt Candice, she dragged her top-secret family information right into the afterlife with her.”
Jas paled. “What?”
There was a tremendous screeching noise from outside, and Ivy ran into the room, her talisman gleaming blue. “That was the emergency alarm. Someone breached the security.”
Lady Montgomery moved swiftly out the door, pausing in the entrance hall as the rest of us hurried out of the library behind her.
“Jas,” she said, “take a warning to the council.”
Jas’s eyes widened. “But—"
“Go. Someone has to.”
She took of
f, while I tapped into the spirit realm. There was an odd shimmer when Jas ran past that caught my eye for a moment—before my attention was drawn to the greyish light up ahead.
“It’s in the spirit realm,” I warned. “The Ley Line. Something’s coming through.”
As we ran through the open doors of the guild, the air split apart in blue light. Solid-looking ghostly shapes blotted out the sky, and I stopped running. “There’s too many.”
Too many wraiths to count, and they all hovered directly above the crowded tourist district. Oh no.
Lady Montgomery ran to the guild’s exterior walls. The air above them shimmered with light as protective glyphs activated, and a grey filter indicated a powerful iron spell on the gates in addition to the iron built into the building itself. Behind the shields, we were safe. Outside the walls, the first screams rent through the air along with the smell of undead and burning.
I dug a hand in my pocket, pulled out a knife, and checked the spells Agnes had given me were within easy reach. Panicked people ran down the street, away from a group of undead lumbering along, some glowing with the taint of those possessed by wraiths.
Ivy ran out to meet them, her talisman flashing bright blue. Apparently her faerie magic came with grace and speed to go with it. River ran alongside her. Within seconds, all the undead lay in rotten pieces, the wraiths’ lights extinguished.
“Guys, River and I will lure down the ones in the sky,” I said to Morgan and Hazel, passing by the wards. Lady Montgomery took off in the opposite direction to Ivy, a blade in her hand and determination etched on her face.
The Gatekeeper's Curse- The Complete Trilogy Page 59