Initiation

by Paula Millhouse

  “We’ve been waiting. You have all of them?”

  “Where’s my sister? Is she there with you? Tell her I found Sebastian.” Something was off, though, I was sure of it. Why hadn’t Cyn answered her phone?

  “Your sister disappeared about an hour ago.”

  Disappeared? What does that mean? A shiver of uncertainty snuck up my back. Had she gone to help Rosencratz? Worse, what if Rosencratz had come for her too? The lanky Doberman pup craned his head, stopped, and barked. I stroked his head. “Don’t worry, boy. We’ll find your mama.”

  As our little circus walked the last block, the lights inside the brownstone came on. Victoria bounded down the steps first, followed by the other witches who matched up to the familiars. The little monkey ran ahead of us and leapt into his witch’s arms.

  Joyous cries sounded out through the neighborhood as the familiars reunited with their witches. Max eased back away from the crowd, and slipped a hand around my waist. He kissed my cheek. “You did good.”

  “We did good.” I smiled up at him when the puppies ran to their owners. Everyone but Sebastian reunited with their witches. He sat at my feet. The brown wombat shuffled off ahead of us to meet his witch. “But we do have to talk about that shield of protection you conjured. How are you feeling now?”

  “Better. I think the half-shift is wearing off.” He reached up to run his fingers through his whiskers, and the little black fruit bat flew off his shoulder, and plastered himself onto Victoria’s shoulder. She nuzzled the little creature, and he squeaked with joy.

  Solomon whimpered beside me. I stroked the dragonlet’s head. His witch, Josh, ran out of the house, last in line, confused, looking all around at the menagerie. “Solomon,” he called, his face awash with relief when he finally saw the dragonlet.

  “There he is, boy. Go to him. Go to Josh,” Max said.

  The dragonlet looked up at me, and I swear he smiled. He flew up into the air, above everyone’s head, and touched down in front of Josh. The man was so overwhelmed with joy to see Solomon, he threw his arms around the dragon’s green neck.

  The night hadn’t been a complete disaster. At least the witches were reunited with all their familiars. But still, I’d failed at what was most important—rescuing my mother.

  Victoria turned to me. “What about Helmina? Did you see her?”

  My throat tightened. “We got everyone else out, but I couldn’t get to her.” I swallowed hard as the reality of the situation settled in. I might have lost my mom for good.

  Max pulled me closer. Victoria and the others crowded around us to listen. Miss Daisy wove her body in and out around my ankles, meowing, and Sebastian nuzzled her face.

  I looked Victoria in the eye. “Rosencratz used her magic to take her.”

  Witchy gasps sounded out in the night air. I searched their horrified faces, and my heart fell. Great. They were afraid of her. I crossed my arms, and pulled away from Max. “She’s gone over the line, people. I need your help to get Mom back. And maybe my sister, too.”

  Sebastian whined.

  Victoria, essentially the leader of the covens now that Mom was missing, slowly shook her head. I clenched my jaw. Damn this. Without her support, the others wouldn’t help us.

  Max and I were on our own. Rage started building a fire at the back of my neck. I jabbed my finger at the group. “She came here to help every one of you find your familiars. Now you’re just going to turn your backs on her? What kind of coven are you running here, anyway?”

  “While we’re grateful to be reunited with our familiars,” Victoria said, stroking the little fruit bat’s chin, “we can’t go up against Rosencratz.”

  “Can’t?” I spat the words at them. “Or won’t? There’s a huge difference, you know.”

  Max held out his hands. “You owe Sam a blood debt now. She returned your familiars to you. If this is what she asks, you are honor-bound to help her. We have to get Helmina back.”

  “Maybe you should call your monster-hunters, Samantha. You obviously prefer their company to ours. You always have.” Victoria’s words were sharp. She might have been covering her fear of Rosencratz with her insult, but she’d clearly drawn the line on the concrete sidewalks of Manhattan.

  I nodded, then stepped back away from them. “Fine. There’s a reason I enlisted in the HWB. No sense changing sides of the mystical world at this late date. I should have known better than to ever count on the likes of you.” I turned around, and stalked off into the night, down the sidewalk, Sebastian and Miss Daisy at my heels. I wanted to put as much distance between the witches and me as I possibly could. Fucking cowards.

  How could they desert us now?

  I stopped at the next intersection, and pulled out my cellphone, then dialed Shade. He picked up on the first ring. “I need a pickup. I’m coming in for the night. I need to speak to you about my mother.”

  Something soft brushed my hand. Max and Miss Daisy were suddenly at my side. She meowed, then stared up at me with her almond-shaped green eyes, and said, “I need to speak to him about Helmina too.”

  Four kittens streaked across the sidewalk behind her, and meowed at Miss Daisy’s feet. She licked each one of them, then looked back up at me. “Tell him to make room for all of us. The Hunters’ Watch Brigade owes us, big time. I have a feeling this fight with Francesca Rosencratz has just begun. And tonight, we’re all going to need sanctuary.”

  Chapter 24

  Sam

  THE HWB CABBIE, a tall vampire who almost looked human, whisked us off the street a few moments later. He drove us through the heavy traffic to an undisclosed address on Times Square. Sebastian rode up front, twitching his taped ears, and whining at passersby whenever the driver stopped in traffic.

  The four kittens stretched out between Max and me on the backseat, nursing from Miss Daisy, who cuddled them close during the ride. I stroked the kittens’ fur, and their purrs vibrated against my fingers, settling my nerves.

  Max stared out the limo’s window on to the spectacle that was downtown Manhattan. He shook his head. “All these people. Does this place never shut down?”

  “Nope, greatest city in the world, if you think about it. With all this traffic, no one would ever notice anything out of the ordinary, right?” I had to hand it to the organization. The Hunters’ Watch Brigade had picked the perfect spot for its headquarters. “It’s the best hiding place for supernaturals like us. Right out in the open, with humans none the wiser.”

  I stroked Miss Daisy’s calico coat. She purred, pulled away from the sleeping kittens, and leapt over into my lap. “Despite what those bitchy witches did, I’m glad you came and saved us,” she said, licking my chin with delicate kitty kisses. “Shade will help us get your mother back.”

  “I’m counting on it. Right now, I’m worried about my sister, and where she disappeared to.”

  The cabbie driver zoomed in under a skyscraper’s pavilion, leapt out, and opened our doors. Two tall bouncer-looking dudes, who looked a lot like they might shift into werewolves at any second, appeared to escort us up to headquarters. It was nice to have backup, just in case Rosencratz pulled anything else tonight.

  I carried Miss Daisy inside the high-rise, Sebastian on my heels. Max strode at our side with the four sleeping kittens snuggled inside his coat pockets. Once the express elevator swept us up to the nosebleed section of the tower, the doors opened to a secure foyer—the entrance to HWB headquarters.

  We were admitted. If Times Square was busy, HQ was a mini-version of the same, just a little weirder. All manner of supernaturals filled the well-lit space. I felt like I could finally breathe. These were my adopted people, my brothers-and sisters-in-arms. I fit in here. That was more than I could say for the covens who’d abandoned us in our hour of need.

  Shifters, vampires, werewolves, angels, the fey—they were all in a
ttendance, holding court with each other, talking about assignments, perusing giant worldwide maps where targets of supernatural activity was an issue. “Home sweet home,” I murmured. I loved the bustling excitement of this place.

  Max stared around at everyone, surprise etched across his handsome face. “I never would have imagined . . . is that a werewolf?”

  Two armed guards escorted a handcuffed, nine-foot-tall furry wolfman through the great open room of headquarters toward the back, where interrogation rooms waited. I wondered what the charges against him were. The werewolf looked pissed. Sebastian growled, and I patted his head. “Shh. Sit,” I said, but I was glad he would protect us.

  Shade stomped into the room toward us, his expression filled with fury. He ripped his sunglasses off, stood in front of Max with an accusing glare in his violet eyes, and said, “About damn time you came in, Cat Man!”

  Shade circled Max, looking him up and down. “What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you sporting cat ears, Kitty Ra-Ra?”

  Miss Daisy hissed and leapt down from my arms. As soon as her feet hit the floor, she shifted into a woman. We all stepped back. Max’s jaw dropped. “Mother . . .?”

  “Don’t you dare speak to my son in that tone, Shade Vermillion.” I had to look up at her, because, in her human form, Miss Daisy stood almost six feet tall. Her calico fur had transformed into long, feathered, tri-colored hair, but her almond-shaped green eyes remained the same. I’d never seen her shift before. Mom had never mentioned it, but it made sense, considering her kittens were often shifters. Shade scrambled back, because she went right for him.

  Miss Daisy stabbed the hulking vampire in the chest with her index finger. “You know, if it hadn’t been for Max’s magic, and Sam’s quick thinking, I’d still be under that witch’s thumb.”

  “They went in without authorization, Daisy. I can’t have uninitiated shifters running amok—”

  “No. I’ll tell you what you can’t have.” She waved her hand in his face to silence the vampire. “You can’t have renegade witches practicing black magic in New York City, for crying out loud.” She poked Shade again, this time harder, her eyes wide with accusation. He actually backed away from her, which impressed the hell out of me. “Max will learn about his shifter powers soon enough without your insults. I want to know what you’re doing to stop Rosencratz.”

  Whoa. I’d never seen anyone stand up to Shade like that. Was he afraid of Miss Daisy?

  She pursued. “Moreover, I want to know what you’re doing to get Helmina away from that crazy woman. Huh? What about Sam? If it hadn’t been for Max and his shield, none of us would have escaped, no thanks to you and the Hunters’ Watch.”

  “We’re working on it,” Shade argued, covering his chest with his muscular arms so she couldn’t poke him anymore. I grinned. It was good to see him take a rash of shit, considering how much the big guy dished out.

  “I’m calling that bullshit. I want an explanation. What’s your plan?” Miss Daisy was pissed. I couldn’t help but grin. She’d really taken my boss down a notch.

  I took a deep breath. At least someone was standing up for my mother, for all of us. “Tell us what you know, Shade.”

  He pierced me with his icy violet stare. “It’s not good.”

  He’d never lied to me about a mission, or the risk involved. But now he was talking about my mother. I swallowed hard. How much worse would this get before we found her?

  “Details.” Max gestured to me with an open hand. “Sam needs details, Fang Man.”

  The vampire curled his fingers at us. “Fine, Kitty-Ra-Ra. Follow me to the war room.” He turned around, and walked away across the brightly lit headquarters, toward a bank of secret rooms in the back.

  Max took my hand, and we followed the vampire, Miss Daisy at our side, Sebastian the Doberman flanking us.

  Shade led us into a debriefing room, a private area with corporate tables and chairs, telephones, and computer screens flashing HWB intelligence data against two walls. Three other vampires, a werewolf shifter, and a wizard in purple robes gestured and spoke in low tones to each other as they analyzed images on the screens.

  HWB Commanders. I recognized their additional red stars on the shoulder insignia on their black uniforms. A fourth man waited quietly beside them, staring at Max.

  In the middle of the group stood my sister, pointing to the screens, answering their questions. I drew in a sigh of relief. “Cyn . . .?”

  Their conversation halted. Sebastian bolted forward, and ran straight to her.

  She dropped to her knees and greeted the puppy. He danced in a circle, whining, happy to finally see his mother. “Who’s a good dog? Sebastian! Oh, boy, am I glad to see you.” Cyn stood, then ran over and threw her arms around me. “Thank you for finding him.” Her smile was genuine, and contagious. So this is what it felt like to have a sister who was glad to see you. I kinda liked it, honestly.

  “No problem. He’s a good boy. What are you doing here? I mean, I’m glad to see you . . . but how’d you get here?”

  She pulled back, and scrutinized me with those dark eyes. “Shade convinced me to come in and share what I know about Rosencratz with the commanders.”

  I looked back at them. These guys were high-ranking HWB agents, sworn to our cause, and not to be disrespected. A sensation of dread flipped around in my belly, and I swallowed hard. If they were here working on this case, our mother was in dire straits.

  “Samantha Silverton, Maximillion Ra, Miss Daisy. Meet commanders Nicholson, Updike, Jameson, and Caine,” Shade said. They nodded at us. “And Commander Caine’s under-sergeant, Weston,” Shade said.

  Miss Daisy rushed over to Weston and greeted him with a solid hug. “So good to see you, son. It’s been far too long.”

  I searched Max’s face. The resemblance was clear between them, only Weston wasn’t sporting ears today. He must be one of Max’s older brothers, but as the two men sized each other up, it was clear they’d never met.

  The vampire Shade had introduced as Updike kissed Miss Daisy’s hand. “Thank you for your service to our organization, Miss Daisy. So, this is your younger son?”

  She nodded, and smiled brightly at Updike. “Yes. This is Max. He’s just recently shifted.” She glanced back at Max. “Well, um, he’s just learning about his guardian magic, so he’s caught in a half-shift, I’m afraid.”

  The vampire smiled, nodding. “Good stock, I see.” He reached for Max’s hand and they shook, but Updike stared at Max’s furry hand as if it was a foreign appendage. “I hope you’ll consider joining Delta Class when you enlist. We’d be most happy to have you. I’ve turned out seven guardians in my time with the Hunters’ Watch.”

  My gut cramped. Shade might be willing to let Max stay with me until we found my mother, but after that, he’d be inducted into service. No matter what I wanted, or how badly he wanted to stay with me, we’d be separated once this was over. The sooner I got Mom back, the sooner I’d lose Max.

  Not a good day to be a monster-hunter.

  The wolf shifter interrupted Updike by edging him out of the way, and shaking Max’s hand. “Not so fast, son. Don’t let Updike enthrall you with his promises. There are other groups to consider in the Hunters’ Watch, and some of us are warm-bloods, like you. My name is Caine. Samson Caine. And this is Weston. One of your older brothers, I believe.”

  Max nodded, and shook Caine’s hand, careful to retract his claws. “Nice to meet you, sir.” His eyes slipped to Weston’s.

  Weston eyed Max’s cat ears, and his whiskers. “You used your shield.”

  Max nodded, and reached for my hand. “To protect her from a witch named Rosencratz. Is this part of the alleged family curse?”

  Weston nodded, and pointed to Max’s ears. “We have so much to talk about. Not to worry, though. The half-shift won’t last long. Your sa
crifice is noted, and something to be proud of.”

  Max frowned. I didn’t get the impression he felt any pride with his half-shift.

  Caine interrupted their exchange. He spoke in an easy way, with a distinct northeastern American accent. “I head up Wolf Class. Weston is one of my finest shifters. If you ever need anything, you just call us, okay?” Caine pressed a business card into Max’s hands, which were looking more and more like those of a human now. I took a deep breath. Maybe Max would be okay if he joined Caine’s class of the HWB. It seemed to have worked out for his brother, Weston.

  “Gentlemen. Ladies. Perhaps we should address the issue at hand,” the wizard said. “My name is Penobscott.”

  I studied the wizard. He waved his palm to the bank of computer screens. “Wilhelmina Silverton is in grave danger.” He regarded me with steady gray eyes. “You’re her youngest child, Samantha? Not human—a demigod? Utterly fascinating.”

  I nodded. “Daughter of Poseidon.”

  When he reached out his hand to me, I took it. A jolt of power surged through us. Penobscott was a powerful wizard, and he wasn’t hiding it from me. His expression turned grim. “I wish we’d met under different circumstances, young lady. It appears your mother made this witch very, very angry.”

  “Rosencratz is a woman scorned. My father chose my mother over her, and she’s hated her ever since.”

  “Ah, yes, but it goes much deeper than that, I’m afraid.” Penobscott turned to Shade. “You should tell her so she knows what she’s up against, vampire.”

  What was this? Was Shade hiding more intel from me?

  Miss Daisy spoke up. “Their history complicates things for certain, Sam, but Rosencratz could have acted before, if that was all there was to this.”

  “She did. Several times,” Shade said. “You were kidnapped when you were three years old. Your mother gave you into our care when Rosencratz made another attempt on your life at age twelve.”

  Memories of all that rushed back in. My father giving me the trident. My mother introducing me to Shade. My decision not to practice as a witch, but to become a monster-hunter with the HWB instead. They’d done it all to protect me from Rosencratz. “It’s no secret she wants me dead.”