Force of Fire

by Ali Vali

  Convel ate only a little, and she gripped her fork like she was getting ready to try to bury it in Kendal’s forehead. Kendal watched as she ate slowly. The anger that seemed to come off Convel like a bad odor almost made her laugh. What had happened between them had been so minor that she was amazed Convel had never let it go. After Convel finally dropped her fork, she stood and asked Convel to join her in the other room and put her hands up to keep everyone else in their seats.

  “I was sent to do my job all those years ago,” she said when Convel slammed the door of the study closed. “Not only the clan but your queen sent me, and at that time I had no choice but to obey because I’d given my word to carry out my duty. The were queen was tired of you skirting the line, but despite that, she wanted to respect your need for freedom while keeping you out of trouble that would eventually come back on the pack.”

  “You weakened me to the point that, afterward, I lost most of my friends to hunters. They depended on me to take care of them, and you ruined that ability for me.”

  “Your friends died because they continued to take what wasn’t theirs. The direction I pointed you in was full of game and everything you needed to survive, but you all thought the livestock was rightfully yours to take.” She spoke as she drew closer to Convel, and she could see how she was starting to shake her head as if she couldn’t control herself. A little more pushing and she’d shift. “You and everyone who followed you thought you were better than those people, and you took and took until they had no choice but to fight back. I bet the most surprising thing was that you weren’t invincible.”

  “So I killed my friends?”

  “I have no idea. Only you can answer that by remembering the type of leader you were then and are now, but maybe it’s time to let the anger go. You’re no pup any more, so grow up. I haven’t thought about you since the day we met, but it seems like you’ve carried this load all that time. Hate me if you want, but if you can’t dial back some of the hostility, then tell Tala you want no part of this. I don’t have time to fight you and whatever else is waiting for me out there.”

  Convel lunged at her with her fists curled tight and tried to connect with her jaw, but she sidestepped it and hit the side of her face near her temple. She pulled back at the last second, not wanting to break the skin, but Convel would have a hell of a headache for the rest of the afternoon. “Or don’t grow up and add some more scars to your collection. I have too many precious things in my life to let you anywhere near me. Next time, I’m not going to stop until you beg me to. And if you’re too full of pride for that, you’ll die at the end of my fists. I don’t need a sword to finish you off.”

  She left Convel in the study and met everyone in the living room, where the staff was serving coffee and Rolla was talking to Tala and Lovell. Morgaine lifted her eyebrows in her direction, and she shook her head when Convel followed her in, rubbing the side of her head, the bruise already darkening. Lenore sat with the archivists from the were pack, and Bruik was whispering something into Piper’s ear. The scene seemed like some average dinner party, but it was time to get to why they were there.

  “Queen Tala, will you share with us what your seers have predicted?” Piper asked, and Kendal moved to Piper’s side.

  “Trudy,” Tala said, and a young woman came forward whom Tala introduced as their seer. “Trudy was the one who found the old scroll about this situation and has worked ever since to try to find more answers to what sounded like an incomplete riddle.”

  “All I’ve seen so far is the actual dragons in flight. What happened to them or any other clue as to where we need to start looking hasn’t come to me yet.” Trudy opened a leather briefcase and handed a folder to everyone present. Inside was a copy of the old scroll Tala had mentioned, which was a record of the dragons throughout Europe a little before the site in Costa Rica had come into play. The were had worshipped the creatures, and the dragons in turn had come to befriend them in their animal states.

  “I think we have something to add to that,” Bruik said, and he nodded to Piper.

  “This morning I had a vision of the night the dragons were put to sleep and of your mother, Rawney. She and her sister were there, she said, because the dragons had brought them, and she knew that once she was done, death would come right after. Even if it hadn’t, she would’ve been lost to you with no way to come back from that distance with the ocean separating you.”

  “Did you see the actual ceremony of how she did it?” Rawney asked.

  “It’s the one thing she wiped from my mind—not the actual moment, but the words she’d said to do what she needed to do. All I know is that in every family there’s always a strong leader like Tala, but that night she put Drakon and his mate Peto into an everlasting sleep, and the dragons seemed to understand and accept that move.” Rawney joined them on the sofa after Bruik had moved, and Piper slightly shook her head as if signaling not to ask her any more about what she’d seen.

  “If you look at page six of the file,” Trudy said, opening it to that page, and they noticed the highlighted section. “Eventually the children of fire will try to undo what’s been done, and only a force of unlikely comrades can stop that from happening.”

  “Would that have something to do with me?” Convel said, finally opening her mouth and making Lovell look at her like she wanted to add a bruise to the other side of her face.

  “To find the children of the fire, and I mean all of them, will take more than what Asra and her slayers can do alone,” Trudy said, pointing to the page. “We need the powers of the children of the night to mesmerize information out of potential members, and we need you or another willing were to track what’s been lost. I wish I could tell you what that might be, but that’s all the scroll says.”

  “So I’m going as a sniffer dog? Can’t they just get a bloodhound and be done with it?” Convel said, sounding totally disgusted.

  “I don’t think that’s what it means.” Tala shook her head. “When I read it, I took it to mean that Asra or Vadoma’s people would be spotted and immediately put them on the defensive. But a wolf, while foreign to the area, wouldn’t raise the same alarm.”

  “So where are we going if this doesn’t even give a clue?” Convel asked.

  “Costa Rica,” Kendal said. “We’ll land in San José and take a smaller plane north.”

  “Do you have any idea where this is?” Tala asked.

  “I do have a centralized location, but the watchers who were supposed to be guarding the area will lead us there, or they’re going to lose more than just the comforts of the house we’ve paid for,” Kendal said, and everyone nodded. “I’ll need to know who’ll be going from your end, Tala, and if we get all our paperwork in order, we can leave in about two days.”

  “That sounds good. Lovell and I will stay until then, so we’ll head back to town until we’re ready to go.”

  “Actually, highness,” Molly said. “If you and Lovell would like, you can stay next door. It’s empty, and we have enough rooms for all your staff. I’m sure the hotel is comfortable, but our home will give you more privacy.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Marmande. If you really don’t mind, I wouldn’t mind stretching my legs, with Asra’s permission,” Tala said with a smile.

  “If you head west from the back of the house, you’ll find plenty of interesting things you might like in the woods. Just try not to spook the horses,” she said teasingly.

  “We’ll try our best, but it depends on how frisky Lovell’s feeling.”

  * * *

  Piper checked on the baby after her grandparents left to get Tala’s people settled. Lenore promised to meet her upstairs once she’d gotten Anastasia for her afternoon feeding so they could sit and talk. She was sure her grandparents didn’t really know what Tala meant by stretching their legs, and Tala asking for Kendal’s permission meant they’d be doing their own brand of hunting.

  Hali was awake but not fussy, so she took time to bathe her and change her outfit bef
ore she sat in her rocker and got ready to feed her. No matter what, she wasn’t leaving their daughter behind, so hopefully Kendal was on the same page when it came to that. “Wherever we’re going, sweet girl, you’re coming with us.”

  “You know there’s probably not going to be anything sweet about them in five years or so when they’re both following our beloved spouses around begging for little swords,” Lenore said when she came in holding Anastasia. “Let’s trade before we start, to see if yours looks as much like Kendal as this kid looks like Morgaine,” Lenore said, laughing.

  “Down to the cute butt, so you’re probably right.” She laid Anastasia down on her empty lap until Lenore took Hali. “She’s beautiful,” she said as she ran her finger along the wisps of blond hair the same color as Morgaine’s.

  “Same goes here,” Lenore said, holding Hali in her lap so she could really examine her. “How lucky are we?” She touched Hali’s cheek and laughed when the baby raised her arms. “She does look a lot like Asra, and she’ll have a ready-made friend in Ana. Hopefully they’ll be as good friends as Morgaine and Asra have been.”

  “Let’s hope they wait on that really-good-friends part until they’re older,” she said, and smiled teasingly at Lenore. “I was jealous of your partner for the longest time, but she seems more settled and happy with you.”

  “I didn’t think she could be, but she’s a completely different person, especially now that the baby is here. I finally believe her when she says that she loves me and, more importantly, only me.”

  “So, do you think Aphrodite lied a little bit when she said these guys won’t be a complete reincarnation of the two souls trapped in the Sea Serpent Sword?” Anastasia started to fuss, so she traded with Lenore and led her outside to the comfortable chairs on the balcony.

  “We have to take her at her word, but that wouldn’t be so bad, if it came to that. Would it?” Lenore sucked in a breath when Anastasia started nursing, and then she glanced at her with a serious expression.

  “No. I want them to be friends and anything they want to be to each other, because you and Morgaine mean so much to us. But I hope it’s their choice, and Kendal wants that as well.”

  “They’re Morgaine’s and Kendal’s children, and you think they’re not going to have their own minds?” Lenore said and laughed. “Those two are as hardheaded and opinionated as they come.”

  “That’s what they probably say about us when we’re not listening.” She laughed until someone cleared their throat from the doorway. Rawney stood there with an almost haunted look, and she felt for her. It sounded like her mother had simply left one day, and Rawney and her cousins had never gotten an explanation of what had happened to them.

  “Is this a bad time to talk?” Rawney asked.

  “Please sit, Rawney, and I’ll tell you what I saw. It’ll save me from having to repeat it for Lenore.” She patted Hali’s bottom as she started her story, and Rawney had tears rolling down her face when she finished. “I think Aphrodite and her fellow gods existed even then but didn’t make themselves known to very many people. Your mother and your aunt must’ve been some of the people blessed with her presence, but carrying out her wishes cost you something precious.”

  “She died right after the spell?” Rawney said, wiping her face.

  “The men of the Order of Fuego killed them both once it was done, but I think she knew it was coming and did it anyway because Aphrodite made promises about you and your cousins.” She glanced down and smiled when Hali sucked like she couldn’t get enough before slowing down and glancing up at her. “She told me the one thing you have to remember is how proud of you she was and how much she loved you. She also said she has every confidence in you to find the key.”

  “The key to what?” Rawney said, sounding lost.

  “She didn’t explain, but now that I know where she is, maybe I’ll get to go back there, only earlier, and ask her some more questions. Believe me, my sight isn’t perfect, and while I mostly just witness something, every so often I’m able to interact with the people in the past. Your mom was a special woman, and the other interesting thing she said was that their ashes still carry the history of their betrayal and of who they were. I’m not sure what she meant by that either, but it sounded like it was important for you to know.”

  “Please don’t let Asra leave without me,” Rawney said, tentatively stretching her hand out until it was on her forearm. “I have to find the answers or the crumbs she said she left for me. Like your Kendal and how long she lived for the one true purpose she had before you, I’ve lived all this time to carry out the job my mother and the clan set aside for me.”

  “We’re going to be a big traveling group, but no one is staying behind,” she said, gripping Rawney’s fingers. When they touched she saw a young woman waking with a gasp as she touched her forehead. Her head of thick black hair was matted with blood, and the clear blue eyes of the clan darted around as if she was confused as to where she was.

  “Piper, are you okay?” Piper heard Lenore ask from what sounded like downstairs.

  “What does Aishe look like?” she said, peering at Rawney, and she gave a description of who she’d seen. “I’m not sure where she is, but she’s okay. She just woke up from whatever happened to her, and she’s desperate to talk to you, so you won’t worry anymore.”

  “Thank you, Piper, and I’m so glad you accepted Asra’s proposal. If I could cast a love spell that would result in what you have for her, I’d be a rich woman,” Rawney said and smiled. “The love she has for you, though, can’t be cast. It has to be born in the heart and expressed through the soul.”

  “I’m a lucky woman,” she said and closed her eyes when Rawney kissed her cheek. Her skin was warm, and she smelled like jasmine after a summer rain.

  “I’m sure she’d disagree with that assessment, and that’s why it’s so real you can almost touch it. The same goes for you and Morgaine, Lenore.” Rawney stood and touched both babies on the head. “I don’t think the goddess would’ve given you these beauties if that wasn’t true.”

  “I wonder what that thing about the ashes means?” Lenore asked when Rawney left.

  “She said it so casually when I was standing on that platform with her that I didn’t think about it until just now. Now, though, it seems like one of the most important things she shared with me.”

  “Do you think there’s anything left to be found there?” Lenore asked as she burped Anastasia.

  “The pyramids hold the dragon pack leader and his mate, as well as some of their offspring. I’m not sure if the people who dug there realized that, but they’re actually hidden in plain sight.”

  “Let’s hope they don’t figure it out until we get there, and let’s hope we figure out why we have to tote that ass Convel along with us.”

  “With the side of her head bruised and swollen like that, I’m sure she’ll be a pleasure to be around.”

  “I’m sure, but let’s pray the answers come faster and much more clearly than they did the last time we did this,” Lenore said, and Anastasia spit up on her. “Or it could be as messy as this.”

  She laughed as Lenore grimaced at how well covered she was in baby vomit. “We’ll have to wait and see, but you know how patient we all are, so our job will be to keep Kendal, Morgaine, and Charlie from slicing everyone they see with those spiffy new swords.”

  * * *

  “Thanks, Gran,” Piper said as she handed Hali over while the nanny Lydia cleaned the changing table. “We have to go meet this guy Hill brought over, so call if you need anything. I won’t be far.”

  Kendal was waiting for her in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in her hand, reading the file Trudy had given them one more time. The white linen shirt she had on let some of the tattoo on her chest show through, and Piper put her hand on it when she got closer. “Pick out anything new?” she asked.

  “It must’ve been a rule back then to make things as foggy and cryptic as you could manage when putting these
scrolls together,” Kendal said, placing her cup down but keeping the file.

  “I guess they didn’t think some of this stuff would come true, so they didn’t put a lot of effort into it, or maybe they had to go to the trouble of finding the answers, so they didn’t want to make it easy on us.”

  “Probably, which makes some of our ancestors assholes,” Kendal said, making her laugh. “Let’s go see this Leonardo guy and hear his sad tale.”

  “Mind if we come with you?” Morgaine asked as Lenore walked at her side. “Since we’ll be in this together, we might as well start to get on the same page as far as information-gathering.”

  “I doubt this guy knows anything about this,” Kendal said. “He’s been after Hill to introduce him to Kendal Richoux and Piper Marmande longer than all this stuff came along.”

  “He got half the equation right anyway,” Piper said. “Should we bring him back in here or go to Charlie’s place?”

  “Let’s go out there,” Lenore said. “There’s too many strangers in the house to take chances.”

  The staff had cleared the land around Charlie’s home, and the big farm garden for the kitchens was starting to take shape. Charlie had gladly given up the care and maintenance of the gardens to the new staff, but he still kept the home he’d shared with his family. He was the overseer now but concentrated more on his defense lessons than anything else.

  Kendal waved to him when they saw him sitting outside the cabin, and he followed them inside, where Hill was keeping an eye on their guest. “Leonardo, I’m Kendal Richoux, and this is my wife Piper.” Kendal sat across from the man.

  “I need to talk to you alone,” Leonardo said.

  “Since you’re the one in need, it’s all of us or nothing. You choose,” Piper said, sitting on the arm of Kendal’s chair.

  “Fair enough, ma’am. My employer—”

  Kendal put up her hand to shut him up. “I need names from here on out. You know me and my wife, so ‘your employer’ isn’t going to cut it.”