“Well, well, isn’t that a sight! I’ve been waiting to see you for years. Welcome to your new home, Ellida Astrid Vandermeer. Be a good girl and I might even keep your mother alive. And that boy. You’re probably feeling terribly guilty because he ended up here. The one that was in your office, unfortunately, we had to eliminate. But you understand, in a time of war, civil casualties are inevitable.”
For a moment my heart froze.
“Henry’s alive, Miss Spock. Stay calm!” I heard a familiar voice inside my head.
I was so shocked with my wolf’s sudden reappearance that it took me a long moment to realize that my mother’s gentle squeeze had sent me the same message: Seth was bluffing. Henry was alive. How my mother and my wolf knew, I didn’t know. They had their own ways.
I didn’t have time to dwell on the remarkable come-back of my wolf and its possible implications. I was very, very happy she was there. I instantly felt safer.
I concentrated on Seth, the very source of my deepest fears, my nightmare, my sworn enemy.
He was dressed in accordance with his surroundings. He wore a garment that resembled an early medieval soldier: a short burgundy tunic with a gold lion emblem on it, black pants and knee-high boots. A long sword in a sheath hung from the left side of his belt, a Finnish puukko knife on the right.
He used to be a handsome man; there was no doubt about it. He was tall and powerfully built, strong and agile, with brisk yet calculated movements. Broad face, firm chin and strong nose, high cheeks, high forehead.
And mad eyes. A mere glance at his eyes revealed his mental state. They either couldn’t keep their focus longer than few short moments, or they would concentrate on something that wasn’t there. They were feverish and alive at one moment, clouded and dull the next. They were wide-open and round when he talked to me, and two malicious, narrow slits when he addressed my mother. Even their color shifted from bright blue to stormy grey.
He turned to me, waving theatrically with his arms. “And now, I would like you to meet my son. We have a wedding to conduct so let’s not waste any more time.” He clasped his hands and the door opened again. “Tell Darius to join us here,” he ordered a guard, darting his gaze between my mother and me. “At least your mother will be present at your wedding.”
Darius came in, followed by a man in a police uniform. I glanced at him, hoping he was one of Darius’ allies, but then my eyes stopped on a pair of familiar hands. Ahmed! Thank God for his strange inability to change the appearance of his hands!
“Astrid, meet your future husband,” Seth said with a broad smile, openly satisfied with himself. “No reason to complain, huh?”
I slowly moved my eyes over Darius, assessing him. “Under different circumstances, perhaps I wouldn’t mind getting to know your son better.” Repeating the words I’d once told Darius in order to upset Jack, I nodded approvingly and smiled back at Seth.
I didn’t know what kind of reaction he had expected, but he looked taken aback by my unexpected statement.
He tilted his head, eyeing me suspiciously. He didn’t like this unpredicted turn. And he clearly didn’t know anything about me now. I was able to confuse him. He wanted me to fight the very idea of getting married to Darius, not to consider it, not even for a moment.
“What do you mean, ‘under different circumstances’?” he said warily.
“Be careful now, Miss Spock,” I heard my wolf’s voice once again.
“I thought you knew. The trip to Las Vegas? We have a technical problem, Seth, I’m afraid. See, if I marry your son, the marriage isn’t going to be valid. I’m already married. You must know that.”
His mad eyes scanned over me, trying to figure out what the hell I was talking about.
“Don’t tell me you don’t know,” I continued with my charade. It sounded unconvincing, but I couldn’t think of anything better. “I can’t believe your people didn’t inform you. I was sure I spotted a few of them in front of the wedding chapel. I assumed you’d know about my every move.”
“And I do. That’s why you’re here now.”
“That was clever. I’m impressed,” I said and gave him a flattering smile. “Anyway, I got pregnant that weekend, as you know,” I said, tapping the bump of my abdomen. “Jack insisted we should elope. We couldn’t tell anyone. Uncle James would have gone berserk; you know him. Why do you think your men didn’t tell you about the wedding?”
It was an insanely risky gambit. Seth didn’t know about our trip to Vegas so there couldn’t have been any of his men there. But, in Seth’s delusional state of mind facts and fiction were so thoroughly mixed that I hoped with all my heart he wouldn’t notice my terrible bluffing.
I played on his madness and vanity. It was a see-through and unconvincing maneuver, as illogical and irrational as Seth himself, therefore, there was a chance of success.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Ahmed turning paper-white and my mother swallowing hard. Darius kept his eyes on Seth, whose own eyes twitched while he jerked his head left and right several times.
I was right. His vanity wouldn’t admit he hadn’t known about my Vegas trip. He thought he had me under surveillance all the time, so he had to know. Somebody else had screwed it up.
He laughed nervously. “I knew about your trip. Heather told me.”
“I thought so. I’m afraid the wedding is going to be postponed.” I carried on in a care-free voice, as if we were discussing the weather. I turned to Darius, “Nothing personal, Mr. Withali.” I smiled and then looked back at Seth. “So, what now?”
Seth shrugged. “Well, you are soon going to be a widow anyway. Then you can remarry.”
Okay, I’d bought us some time, but we had to get out of this castle, into the open, where my people could see me. I couldn’t hear sounds from outside, and the room didn’t have windows, but I knew my army was close. They’d probably already crossed the Copper Ridge borders. They would be in the town any minute.
Seth’s eyes took on a faraway look before his maniacal laugh broke the silence. “You saw them in front of the wedding chapel, you say. Darius, who did I send to Las Vegas?”
Blessed vanity! He was more concerned with a possible betrayal than with the fact his grand plan had just gone down the toilet.
“Gunter, Stallman and Lester were in charge of following Ellida’s every move outside Red Cliffs, father.”
Three bastards par excellence, I would say by the readiness in Darius’ voice. Three fewer of Seth’s people to worry about.
“Arrest them. They’ll be executed this afternoon. In lieu of the wedding. And send that Kincaid witch here. She’ll keep an eye on Astrid and my dear wife.” He turned to Ahmed. “You, what’s your name?”
“Tariq Arslan, sir.”
“Arslan… Arslan… Ah, you’re my Chief of Police, aren’t you? You stay here and help. Heather will watch over our guest and her mother. Don’t worry, our Ellida can’t use her witch wand. She’s pregnant. My wife, well, she misplaced hers long ago anyway.”
He laughed hysterically, apparently finding himself exceptionally amusing.
I let out a silent sigh of relief. Seth didn’t know the name of his chief of police, but he trusted him to guard his most important prisoner. And he indeed didn’t know my mother had regained wizard powers. Good.
As if we were not his concern anymore, he turned on his heel and left us to our own devices.
In a few long strides Ahmed was beside me. “Are you okay, Astrid?”
I nodded. He looked at my mother still sitting on the floor and knelt beside her.
“Ms. Vandermeer…” His hand reached for her bruised face, to examine her. It was a spontaneous reaction of a doctor upon seeing an injured person, but my mother jerked away.
“Don’t touch me,” she said. “Astrid’s already examined me. By the way, who the hell are you, Tariq Arslan, for surely you’re not our Police Chief?”
Ahmed’s face and body instantly rearrange into his own appearance. Standing up,
Rowena tilted her head and raised her eyebrow.
“Remarkable,” she said.
“Mother, this is Ahmed Demmir, my friend,” I said. “He’s a doctor. He disabled one of the kidnappers and came here with me.”
Her eyes zeroed in on Ahmed, surveying him. “I know who you are. My son told me about you.”
“Can you walk? Let me help you,” Ahmed said.
She declined. “I can walk. I don’t need help. We should wait for Heather. If they come back with her and find the room empty, they’ll go after us. We’ll take Heather with us and maybe buy some time.”
“Ahmed, where are our people?” I said.
“Already here, I suspect. Darius’s men were waiting for them at the border and let them in. Not that Seth’s pitiful tribal magic would stop Livia Blake from crossing the border.”
My mother smiled. “Aunt Livia’s coming? And Tristan?”
“Aunt Livia?” I said, laughing, despite the grim situation we found ourselves in.
My mother smiled. “When I was very, very young, I thought Livia was Ella’s sister, and I called her Aunt Livia. I loved her dearly.”
“No way Livia would miss this,” Ahmed said. “She’s bringing her ‘quick reaction forces’ with her. I saw them. Trust me, they alone would be more than capable of dealing with this bunch of bandits. And then, there are sixty well-trained and very angry werewolves, who’ve been waiting for this for a long time. Darius’s people, Ingmar, Ellida, the Nakamuras and fifty of Winston’s most capable warriors.”
My mother gasped. “Mom and Dad? Are they coming, too?”
“They’ll be there, Rowena. You’ll see them today.” He paused for a moment and then continued cautiously. “Brian’s parents will be here as well. They came to Red Cliffs a while ago, to help us.”
To my amusement, a warm smile lit my mother’s face. “I thought they would.”
WE WAITED for Heather to come. I wasn’t sure it was a good idea, but decided to trust my mother’s instincts.
I sat on the floor between Ahmed and my mother, holding her hand. I could hear the two of them talking, their voices no more than a soft murmur. I lost track of time. It could have been minutes or hours before I heard the door opening again, letting Darius and Heather in.
“Let’s go,” I said. “How many guards outside, Darius?”
“Ten, but we aren’t going that way. Follow me.”
A glance at Heather’s petrified face told me she’d realized the tables had turned. She frantically moved her eyes from Ahmed to Darius to my mother. She opened her mouth to say something, but my mother stopped her.
“Oh, don’t even think about it,” she snapped and cast a spell. The expression on Heather’s face froze. She tried to move her lips, but no sound came out.
“Listen to me now, Heather Kincaid! You committed an unspeakable crime. You betrayed your own Ellida just to get even with me. You didn’t bother to learn the truth first. Now let me ask you something. How did Seth convince you I ordered Hal and Brian’s death? Did he show you the written confessions of men accused of committing the murder?”
Heather was nodding vigorously nodded, still unable to talk.
“Of course they confessed,” my mother continued, angrily. “In front of Seth and for Seth’s own purposes! Seth has several different confessions, none of them true. Those men were tortured, they would have confessed to anything. They exchanged their confessions for an end to the torture and a swift execution. Oh, they did it, true; they ambushed Brian and Hal, and I don’t feel sorry for them. But they followed Seth’s orders, you stupid woman, not mine! Now you know!” She let out a heavy sigh. “Heather, if he has a chance, he’ll kill you. You know that, don’t you? You’ve served your purpose. Now, will you keep your mouth shut? Nod if you agree.”
“Mother, don’t. She’ll call for help,” Darius said.
“It’s all right, son.” She cast another spell and Heather coughed softly.
“I don’t believe you, Rowena!” Heather’s words came out in a hot whisper. “I saw their confessions with my own eyes! You had him murdered, the only man I ever loved. You didn’t love him, not as much as I did… I saw the confessions with my own eyes,” she repeated in a broken voice.
“And why do you think Seth kept that a secret?”
“To protect you.”
“If there was a kernel of truth there, Seth would have used it against me long ago, don’t you think? He couldn’t because too many people suspected he had Hal and Brian killed. You really believe he would take my blame if he was innocent?”
“Mother, we need to go. Can you walk?” Darius said.
My mother nodded. “Of course. Heather, don’t try anything stupid, I’m warning you. Your idiotic games cost too many people too much. When this is over, you’ll tell everyone, including your daughter, your true role in the events of twenty-five years ago. I’m tired of being the chief villain.”
“Rowena, please let’s go,” Ahmed said. “Darius, show us the way.”
Darius opened a small, hidden trap door in the floor and led us through the narrow passage. It was dark inside and we made many turns, going down, then up, then down again. My mother didn’t stop asking Heather questions and impatiently forcing her reluctant answers.
“They made me phone Astrid from Frances Colby’s house,” Heather stammered. “I didn’t want it to come to this. You must believe me. I didn’t want to harm Astrid. Seth promised she wouldn’t get hurt. I knew Jack would come to rescue her… I don’t know what I wanted… I just wanted you to feel the fear and pain I’ve been living with since Hal died… Even before, I didn’t want anybody to get killed. Not Hal! He was my life, everything to me… I thought he would come back to me once you were out of the picture. I just wanted him back.”
“Stop talking now! You’ll make me puke,” my mother snapped. “Try not to get killed today, so that you can repeat this to James, Betty and Jack.”
I was listening without interfering. Now we knew the truth, at least a part of it. My mother hadn’t committed any crime. All of Red Cliffs despised her for Brian Canagan’s and my father’s deaths, while Heather had continued to live there, nurturing hatred and anger in her heart.
We were close to the exit. I felt a cold breeze on my hot face, mixed with smoke. I could hear noise coming from outside: a cacophony of shouts, screams, swears, orders… clashes of metal against metal, shattering of glass … The sounds and smells of battle.
Darius opened a thick, metal door and let us out.
Forty-Four
Astrid
LIKE THE night before, the early morning was chilly and misty. I involuntarily shivered, more from fear of what I was going to see than from the cold and my inadequate clothing. I was still only in my white doctor coat and pants, and running shoes.
Jack… Oh, God, was Jack okay? My family? My friends?
My mother’s hand grabbed mine. “It’s going to be fine, love. Everything’s going to be fine.” She turned to Darius and Ahmed. “You two, stay with Astrid. Don’t let her out of your sight. I can’t cast a protection shield around her alone. I’m too weak.”
“I can try,” Heather whispered.
My mother turned sharply. “You won’t touch her if you value your life.”
“Heather, do not talk, do not move and do not try anything,” Darius said in a low, threatening voice. “If I can’t go into the battle, I can still kill the nearest enemy.”
“Mom, Ahmed and Darius have to go. I’ll be okay,” I said.
“No, tatlim,” Ahmed said. “We’ll stay and hope our protection will be enough. Don’t underestimate Seth.”
Darius took my other hand. “This is only the finale of my battle that I’m missing. I don’t feel bad about it, don’t worry. I did my part, and I think I did it well. And I still have you and Mother to protect.”
We carefully walked forward. As we turned around one of the castle towers, the noise of the battle became louder.
My eyes quickly scanne
d over the battlefield. The main conflict seemed to be happening in the heart of the town, on the central square. There the united forces of Red Cliffs and Copper Ridge fought with the majority of Seth’s mercenaries. I immediately spotted Jack slashing his way through the enemy lines. I sobbed in relief: it didn’t look like he was in any trouble.
The werewolves on both sides had started fighting in their human form. Bound by the ancient werewolf war codex, they wouldn’t change into wolves, no matter the course of the battle. Fighting as men, however, meant more wounds and possibly more casualties.
About a dozen ferocious creatures—Livia’s Tel-Urugh friends—were engaged with several smaller groups of Seth’s hirelings. The Tel-Urughs were of similar height, dressed in the same black clothes and wore the same horrific expressions on their faces. That was part of Liv’s show. I was sure that in everyday life they looked and behaved like ordinary people.
But now, beautiful and terrible in their deliberately accentuated vampire mode, they were fighting fiercely. Seth’s mercenaries, about a hundred of them, began retreating, only to stop in front of a sturdy formation of fighters—they had to be Ellida Ariel’s warriors—who blocked their only escape route.
Winston’s wizards and werewolves stood in firm rank, arrayed for battle, impressive in their dark blue and silver uniforms and shiny silver helmets. They let Seth’s soldiers come closer. Acting as one, the cool, stone-faced Winstonians drew their long swords and, without making a sound, advanced toward enemy lines. The mercenaries turned and ran back, in a weak attempt to push their way back through Jack’s forces, only to be stopped by the pursuing warriors from Winston.
On the edge of the town square, not far from the place where we stood among the sparse birch trees that stood at the park entrance, James fiercely attacked a gang of five of Seth’s personal guards. I recognized them by their uniforms—the men who had escorted me from the ambulance to the castle had the same one—cursing and laughing at the same time. A few yards from him, on a small hillock, stood the father and son Nakamuras, shooting arrow after arrow from their bows, each one unmistakably finding its target.
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