by Ann Gimpel
“We’ll be requirin’ blood from one of the witches.” The Sidhe with the Irish accent sat straighter in his chair.
“I’ll see you get it.” Duncan spoke crisply. He wanted to whoop and turn handsprings, but he could celebrate later. He wished he’d paid closer attention to the discussion that netted him what he wanted, but he’d been so certain the tide would flow the other way, he’d kept himself aloof on purpose. So he didn’t bash any of those perfect, Sidhe faces to a pulp.
He gathered magic to teleport away from their meeting place, but Ronin laid a hand on his arm. “You need to hear the rest. We will reconvene at my home on the outskirts of Penrith in one week’s time. The witches need to be there. Your task is to see that they are.”
“Will you allow them to have a voice in our plans?” Duncan asked and then kicked himself for not keeping a tighter rein on his mouth.
Another female Sidhe, with a riot of red curls framing her alabaster skin, drew near, brows quirked. “A bit protective of an inferior species, aren’t you?”
Duncan swallowed angry words. Up until very recently, he’d viewed witches the same way; shaming the speaker wouldn’t change her mind. Instead, he said, “I merely thought I should let them know what to expect.”
“Mmph.” Helena stalked closer. Duncan clapped wards around his mind, which earned him a knowing smile. “I think it might be a wee bit more than that.”
Duncan poured more magic into his warding and waited, but Helena turned and walked away. He exhaled, but quietly, and turned back to Ronin. “I shall do my best, but it’s possible they won’t want to come.”
“Compel them.”
Duncan bristled. “That’s how we secured their cooperation in the first place. It wasn’t right then and it’s not right now.”
Ronin made a clicking sound with his tongue and teeth. “Tsk. Tsk. When did you become such a champion of magical underdogs…brother?”
Ever since we decided Sidhe should rule the magical world. “I’m not sure that’s what I am, but I haven’t totally lost my sense of fairness.”
Ronin drew his arched brows into a disapproving line. Duncan felt the other Sidhe’s resentment spark and held up his hands, palms out. “Let’s not fight. We need to save our energy for what’s important.”
The other Sidhe clacked his jaws shut. “Just remember whose blood flows in your veins.”
As if I could forget. “A week is a long time. Are you going to do anything about that Irichna before it calls in reinforcements?”
Ronin glared through narrowed eyes. “I suppose so. The Celtic gods owe us a favor or two, we’ll call in our chips.”
“Good idea.” Duncan clapped him on the back with faux cheer. “I knew there was a reason you were our leader.”
Ronin snarled, but before he could come up with a snappy retort, Duncan summoned magic and teleported to the last place he remembered Oberon and Titania’s palace had been. The pair moved often and shrouded their location by magic, so locating them was often a challenge. Not that anyone looked very hard these days. He’d heard rumors Oberon had faded from all worlds, leaving Titania to rule for both of them.
He searched three different borderworlds and was hungry, tired, and close to giving up. Besides, now that he’d gotten a bit of distance from it, he needed to sort through what happened at the council meeting. The Sidhe had agreed, but it felt like a temporary concession with something behind it he couldn’t quite grasp. Perhaps the reason he’d been lost in thought by the refreshment table was because the others had snared him in a mild ensorcellment. That last thought chilled him.
“I’ll try once more,” he muttered and teleported to a borderworld he’d only heard about, but never visited. The royal castle rose before him, in pastel hues, with flags flying. He girded himself for what would come next. He’d wanted to find his sovereigns, but they could kill his dreams with a word. A triple sun floated lazily overhead. Butterflies clustered thickly; birds trilled. Hummingbirds landed on his arms, small wings beating in staccato time.
Duncan floated up the steps and into the castle. Gravity was mild here, its tug so minimal he had to use magic to force contact with the marble steps and entryway. He wasn’t surprised to find the castle deserted as he wandered through it in search of a throne room. Servants were summoned when needed. Because they were magical creations, they faded to invisibility the rest of the time.
Rich, meaty smells came from the kitchens. Duncan detoured, intent on dishing up a bowl of whatever was cooking, and found Titania, skirts rucked up, her bare feet propped on a table. Silver hair cascaded about her and pooled on the floor. Her unlined face could have belonged to a young woman, but for her world-weary eyes. The queen had always been tall, but now she was so thin her skin held a translucent quality. Duncan wondered if she’d begun the process of fading into the Dreaming. It happened to all of them when they’d had enough of immortality.
“Duncan!” She waved a gravy-soaked heel of bread at him. “Dear boy. Come share a meal with me. It does get terribly lonely here.”
He bowed, nodded his thanks, and filled a bowl for himself before settling at the table across from his queen. “Thank you, Your Highness. I should have asked before I sat, but may I get you anything?”
She smiled and handed him an empty glass. “There’s a mead cask in the far corner. Feel free to help yourself.”
By the time he returned to the table, he’d ordered his thoughts and come to a decision. It was manipulative as hell, but he spent the next hour eating and making small talk with Titania. It was obvious she was starved for companionship and so they talked of people they’d known and places they’d been. He thought about asking where Oberon was, but decided not to since the queen hadn’t mentioned him.
At length, she set her glass down and speared him with her pale blue gaze. “This has been delightful, but I’m through deluding myself that this was a social visit. You went to a great deal of trouble to run me down. Why?”
Duncan squared his shoulders. This was it. He couldn’t beat around the bush in the face of Titania’s frank stare. “I’ve fallen in love with a mortal, a witch, and—”
She made a chopping motion with one hand. The beautiful planes of her face twisted into something so unpleasant that Duncan looked away. “Fuck her all you want,” the queen snapped, “but I will not see our blood further diluted by matings outside our line.”
He opened his mouth to protest. The air sharpened with magic so ancient, it scoured his skin, burning him. Duncan summoned a ward. By the time it was in place, Titania had vanished.
Chapter Nine
Colleen pushed to her feet, keeping the blanket wrapped around her. Her clothes were right where she’d left them, and she stuffed them into her small backpack and slung it over a shoulder. Despite having had very little sleep, she felt surprisingly alert.
Bubba tugged on the blanket. “I want breakfast.”
“Me too.” She grinned at the changeling. “But first I’m going to take a shower and get dressed. Maybe by then, Roz and Jenna will be up.”
“Do you think anyone would mind if I scouted through the kitchen?”
Colleen thought about Mathilde and decided the crone would probably mind very much, particularly since Bubba wasn’t known for being neat. “How about this?” She cocked her head to one side. “This is an old house. There have to be lots of mice. Remember that nice fat one you caught in the basement?”
“Oh, all right.” Bubba made a face. “I know where this conversation is heading.” He spread his arms wide in mock surrender and bowed to her.
“I swear, you missed your calling. You could have had quite a career on the stage.” She flicked magic his way. He shrank into his black cat form and paced out of the room with dignity, tail held high.
She picked up his clothes and followed, but by the time she made the main hallway, he was nowhere in sight. Colleen sent a silent prayer to whoever might be listening that the changeling wouldn’t get himself into trouble and mo
unted the broad, formal staircase leading to the home’s upper floors.
It didn’t take long to find a bathroom with a deep, claw foot tub and a shower attachment. She’d just soaped herself when someone barreled into the bathroom, letting in a cloud of cold air. Colleen threw magic outward and recognized Jenna’s energy.
“Thank Christ you weren’t bothering to mute your aura when you came in here,” the other witch said. “Hurry up.”
Colleen’s heart jolted into overdrive. She peeked around the curtained tub into the steamy bathroom. “Why? What’s happened?”
“Roz scented the Irichnas from the other day.”
Colleen dunked her head under the shower spray and rinsed shampoo from her hair. Water running down her body took care of the rest of her. She flipped the taps off and grabbed a large, fluffy blue towel she’d laid next to the tub.
“I’ve got to go.” Jenna turned toward the door. “Meet us in the foyer downstairs.”
“Could you round up Bubba?”
“I suppose so. Where’d you see him last?”
“Downstairs hall. Um, he’s a cat. His pants and shirt are on the floor, right in front of you. If you could change him back, and…”
“Crap!” Jenna grabbed Bubba’s clothes and hustled through the door, not bothering to shut it. “If he’s a cat, he could be anywhere. We don’t have any time to spare.”
Cold air continued to swoosh into the bathroom. Colleen pulled on underwear, pants, top, and jacket as fast as she could over her still-damp skin. She tested her magic while she laced her boots. Damn! It hadn’t fully recovered from yesterday’s trip to the underworld.
“Why are you still here?” Mathilde stood in the open door, hands on her hips.
“Because I was taking a shower.” Colleen zipped her jacket and blew out an exasperated breath. “I thought this was a bathroom, not a gathering place.” She snatched up her rucksack and slung it over one shoulder.
“Get going.” Magic flashed from the crone’s hands. Colleen sidestepped it, all but for the smallest jolt, which zapped her leg.
Her temper raced to the fore. She warded herself and stalked forward until she was scant inches from the other witch. “If you want my help—or Roz’s or Jenna’s—you will never deploy magic against me again. Do you understand?”
“I do what I deem necessary. Right now you’re slowing down progress,” Mathilde barked. Power bounced off Colleen’s ward.
“You bitch! Stop that immediately, or I’ll be forced to fight back.”
“You can’t talk to me like that.” Mathilde wove her fingers together; the next blast buffeted Colleen, making her stagger slightly.
“I just did.” Colleen pushed past her and trotted down the hall.
“Ha! It worked. At least you’re on your way to get rid of those demons.”
Colleen skidded to a halt and spun to face Mathilde. “No. For the record, I’m not. I’m going to get Roz, Jenna, and my changeling, and we’re leaving. I told you what would happen if you raised your magic against me. You didn’t listen. Catch the demon yourself. I’m done.”
“You can’t just leave.” Mathilde materialized by Colleen’s side, her dark eyes alight with fury.
For a moment, Colleen was confused, and then she understood the other witch must have teleported. She hadn’t known it was possible over such a short distance. “Watch me,” Colleen gritted through clenched teeth.
“I outrank you. I order you to—”
“You missed something, sweetie. I’m not part of your Coven. Rank doesn’t come into play here.” Colleen wasn’t interested in trading barbs with Mathilde. She skittered down the long, curving staircase and nearly barreled into Roz and Jenna. Bubba, in gnome form again, raced to her.
“Finally,” Roz muttered. “Come on. Let’s get going before the old bat that runs this place gets hold of us.”
“Old bat is it?” Mathilde shrieked, as she catapulted down the stairs.
“Did I say that? I have no recollection of any such thing.” Roz’s voice held persuasion.
Half a dozen witches, including a couple of men, marched out of one of the downstairs rooms, formed a circle around Mathilde and herded her, still shrieking epithets, away from them. “Sorry about that,” one of them called over a shoulder. “Just get going. For some reason, your presence riles her.”
“We’re going all right,” Colleen said. “We’re leaving.”
Roz laid a hand on Colleen’s forehead, as if testing for fever. “There’re two demons out there. Hunting them is what we do.”
“I don’t care.” Colleen hastily summoned a teleport spell. “Do you all have everything? We can sort this out back in Fairbanks.”
“What about my car?” Roz asked.
“Shit! I forgot about it. Where’s it parked?” Colleen asked.
“Around back,” Jenna answered.
“I found a couple of different back doors.” Bubba sounded proud of himself.
“Lead the way,” Colleen told him. When Jenna and Roz hung back, she grabbed each of their arms. “Come on! Mathilde attacked me. We can talk about this in the car. It’s a long drive back home. Or maybe I’ll think of a better alternative when I’m not so pissed off.”
Jenna narrowed her eyes. Roz’s eyebrows drew together, but at least the other witches took off after the changeling at a dead run. Colleen drew up the rear. Moments later, they piled into Roz’s battered Subaru Outback and headed toward Interstate 5, going north.
“She’s going to complain to Coven Central about us,” Roz predicted from the back seat, after they’d been driving for a while.
“We might get a chance to tell our part of things. Depends who’s presiding,” Jenna said. She and Bubba sat up front with Colleen, who was driving.
“Oh, for criminy sakes.” Colleen’s hands tightened on the wheel. She ferried the car across a couple of lanes, onto an off-ramp, and into a Starbuck’s parking lot. Once the car came to a stop, she lowered her forehead and rested it on her hands, folded atop the steering wheel. “None of that matters. What matters is getting back to Fairbanks and our own Coven, and the closest thing we have to a power base.”
“What exactly did Mathilde do?” Roz asked.
“Attacked me with magic because I wasn’t out hunting down Irichna fast enough to suit her.”
“Was it an actual attack?” Jenna asked.
“If I wouldn’t have warded myself, I’d probably be dead.”
Bubba threw himself into her lap and hugged her tight. Colleen stroked his head. “It’s okay. It all worked out. Something’s definitely wrong with Mathilde. I thought she was…odd while she questioned Duncan, and today pretty much capped it. I’ve met her a time or two before and she was always a crusty, old thing, but reasonable. It’s almost as if she’s possessed.”
“Mmph.” Jenna nodded. “Maybe that’s why Roz’s sense of the Irichna faded in and out before we got there.”
“It would explain a lot,” Roz murmured. “Um, are we going after coffees?”
“Yes. Anyone want a breakfast sandwich, or a sweet roll?” Colleen asked.
“How about if we all just go inside. We’re far enough from Witches’ Northwest, we could probably risk the few minutes it will take to get coffee and food.” Jenna pushed her car door open and got out.
“I’ll stay here with Bubba,” Roz said. “Get me a large black coffee and that maple scone thing they have.”
“But I want to go,” Bubba protested.
Colleen disentangled his arms from her shoulders. “I know, sweetie, but your appearance is odd enough people would remember you and we want to slip in and out unnoticed.”
“We need to practice me taking a form that looks more normal.”
“We do, but not right now. When a demon is around, you borrow from their energy to shift. So far, you and I have only managed your cat form, but we’ll work on doing better than that. I promise. Tell me what you want from inside.”
The changeling bowed his head, lookin
g sad. “Breakfast sandwich with bacon, coffee, and two sweet rolls.”
“You got it.” Colleen set him on the passenger seat and ruffled his hair before getting out.
By the time she walked across the parking lot and into the coffee shop, Jenna was halfway through a long line. Colleen sidled up next to her. “I’ve been thinking.”
Jenna snorted. “Could be dangerous.”
“Not this time. It’s something like twenty-two hundred miles to Fairbanks. Even if we manage five hundred miles a day, it will take the better part of five days.”
“Roz isn’t going to take kindly to abandoning the car.” Jenna followed the queue as it inched forward. “Do you have a better idea?”
“Yeah, I do. We can put the car on a ferry in Bellingham, with instructions for them to park it at the ferry dock in Haines.”
Jenna’s face lit with understanding. “Which is only about six hundred fifty miles from Fairbanks.”
“Um-hum. We could drive it in a very long day, since the roads aren’t all that great. Maybe a day-and-a-half.”
They finally reached the counter, placed their orders, and had the barista put their coffees into a cardboard carrier. Colleen moved to the small counter with cream, sugar, and powdered flavorings. She doctored her coffee and Bubba’s. Jenna hovered, waiting for their food order.
Cups and bags in hand, they pushed through the swinging door and started for the car. “Won’t it take the ferry a few days to get to Haines?” Jenna asked.
“Three, if I remember right.”
“So we’d go home and just teleport back to pick up the car?”
Colleen set the coffees on the car’s hood and opened the door. “That was my plan, let’s see what Roz thinks of it.”
“Let’s see what Roz thinks of what?” the other witch demanded and held out a hand for her coffee and scone.
Colleen mapped out her plan while sipping coffee and munching on her English muffin sandwich.
Roz mopped sugary crumbs from her mouth with a paper napkin. “I like it better than driving for the next week.”