Chapter 37
Emle's garden had never looked so beautiful, even in the dark. Nathaniel opened the carriage door as the horses stopped at the edge of the wards and gently shook Josiah.
"We're home."
The younger Hound opened his eyes. For a moment, panic bloomed in his gaze, and then he took a deep breath. "Home?"
"Yes." Nathaniel glanced at Amalea. "Will you wait? Please?"
"I have no wish to anger your Master," Amalea said. "But if you'd like, I'll wait with Brenna until he gives us permission to enter."
"You've been here before," Josiah said. "When our Master killed the troll." He stood, and hesitated before climbing out. "The wards will let you pass."
"I came here with Kyren to claim my brother's body, yes," Amalea said. "But I think I should wait out here."
Nathaniel did not like the thought of Amalea by herself outside the wards, but she could take care of herself. With one glance back at the carriage, he followed Josiah into the garden.
So far, no one had noticed their arrival. Nathaniel did not want to speculate what that might mean.
Josiah fell back as they approached the house. "Not a lot has changed," he said, and tears trembled on his lashes. He wiped them away. "I am sorry. I just--I never expected to see our home again."
By mutual consent, Nathaniel stepped through the door first. And although he expected their Master to be waiting in the doorway--or the living room, at least--the house was dark and cold and silent.
Josiah ran his hands across the nearest wall and the house responded with its peculiar ambient light. "Do you think something--Do you think something happened?"
"When I left, Lucas and Sennet were here," Nathaniel said. "I don't understand." Without the bond, he could not open it to contact any of the others, or to find out who was still alive.
Could something have happened? Had Magdalen attacked and spirited them all away?
The first place to check, of course, would be the cave, just in case their Master had left anyone on guard. Nathaniel took a step towards the doorway and heard a small sound behind him. He turned.
"You are alive," Zechariah breathed. "Then--" He spotted Josiah, paled, and took a step back. "Josiah?"
"Where is our Master?" Nathaniel asked.
"There is a traitor in the Council," Zechariah replied, still staring at Josiah. "He went with Malachi to Lucas' house to tell him."
"The traitor's name is Althea," Josiah whispered.
"Malachi felt well enough to leave?" Nathaniel asked.
Zechariah shrugged. "Probably not. But he did not protest." To Josiah, he asked, "You are truly here?"
A smile brightened Josiah's pale face. "Where else would I be?"
"Our Master will be pleased by your return," Zechariah said.
"He won't be so pleased when he discovers what happened," Nathaniel said. "Is Sennet still here? Josiah is still weak."
"She is with Thomas, in the cave," Zechariah said. "I'll go to Lucas' house--"
"Wait a moment, please." Nathaniel had no right to ask him to wait, in truth. But Zechariah did not protest. "Seth is gone, then, if Malachi is alive. He was ambushed, I think. I followed him, but he vanished. And then the bond--"
"We were all affected; Malachi even more," Zechariah said. "He almost died." Gently, as if he were afraid that Josiah might bolt, Zechariah approached him. "Are you well?"
"I am here; that is well enough," Josiah said. "Nathaniel, there is much we need to tell our Master--"
Which was true. Nathaniel closed his eyes. He was not used to making decisions that would affect the entire Hunt. "Where is Sennet?"
"I'm right here," Sennet said, appearing in the doorway. "Gabriel asked me to stay behind, just in case you returned." She saw Josiah then, and glanced at Nathaniel, confused. "Who is this? Seth has black hair--"
"This is Josiah," Nathaniel said. "I found him." He sighed. "No. I found Amalea, the elf who is waiting outside the wards. She found him."
"Seth is dead," Josiah whispered. Zechariah steadied him as he swayed, but Sennet knew when she was needed. She helped him to the bench against the wall, her hands already glowing.
"Someone has to go to Lucas' house," Zechariah said. "Either you or me or Thomas." He cocked his head. "And you said there is an elf waiting outside the wards?"
"And one of Stefan's Hounds, claiming sanctuary. She claims she saved Malachi's life."
"Zechariah, you go to Lucas' house," Sennet said. "Leave Thomas on guard. Nathaniel, you don't look like you would last the journey."
"You are wounded," Zechariah observed.
"Be careful." Nathaniel wondered what his Master's response would be to their return. "Tell him--Tell him I am sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry about," Zechariah said, confused. "You brought Josiah back."
"But I let Seth die," Nathaniel whispered.
"That was not your fault." But Zechariah seemed to realize that his words would not change Nathaniel's mind. "I'll be quick. Don't leave again." He shifted shape and ran out of the room before Nathaniel could prolong the argument.
Josiah was curled against Sennet now, his eyes closed.
"I'm surprised he made it this far," she said. "He is very weak."
"He killed one of Stefan's Hounds by himself," Nathaniel said. "He's stronger than you think." He did not know what to do about Amalea's presence--and Brenna's request. Malachi would have made a decision already, despite the possible consequences. Nathaniel cursed his indecision.
"Would he truly mind?" Sennet asked, as if she knew what he was thinking.
"I don't know," Nathaniel said. "I--want to say he wouldn't mind, but I don't know."
"And what would be the consequences?" Sennet asked. "His displeasure?"
"That's a--a bigger thing than you realize," Nathaniel whispered. "But yes, he would not be pleased." Did that matter now? His Master's displeasure would not mean a death sentence, even in the vilest of incidents.
"I always ask myself 'What's the worse that can happen?'" Sennet said. "When I am afraid to do something."
Nathaniel couldn't imagine Sennet being afraid. "You--" He shook his head. "But you are a Healer."
"Healers aren't immune to fear," Sennet replied, and turned her attention back to Josiah.
What was the worst that could happen? He had borne his Master's anger before, and this time, Josiah's reappearance would temper some of that. "I think--I think I will see if Amalea and Brenna want to wait inside."
He thought he saw Sennet smile, but she did not raise her head.
"That may be best." Her voice held no humor; no inkling that she thought his fears unfounded.
But her words helped calm those fears, and Nathaniel did not hesitate when he walked out the door and into the garden.
Chapter 38
The child slept with one arm wrapped around a pillow, her face smudged by shadows, her hair fine silk across her cheeks. Althea stood and watched her for a moment, then stepped inside the room. She did not know where the child's mother was--or Lucas, for that matter, and that meant she would have to move quickly.
The house's silence belied the urgency of the situation. Althea only had one chance to get this right; one chance to keep her reputation intact and escape from the fallout without a scratch.
She had decided, after much deliberation, that it would be easier to kidnap the child and murder Gabriel's whore. The loss of his whore would drive him mad, and Magdalen could hold his daughter for ransom--and demand that Gabriel bind himself to her as payment for his daughter's life.
It would be an offer he could not refuse.
With the utmost of care, Althea closed the door behind her, then crouched beside the child's bed. The girl awoke as soon as Althea shook her lightly, her eyes widening when she saw Althea's face.
"I'm sorry to wake you up, but Lucas asked me to bring you to the library." She kept her voice friendly, but not overly so. Not fake. "There's nothing wrong, but your mother is--" What to tell her? "Your mother is having the baby a bit early, that's all. Lucas went to find your daddy, and--"
The child scrambled up. "Is she okay?"
"She'll be just fine," Althea assured her, although the opposite would be true, in the end. "If you just come with me, I'll take you to her." She held out her hand.
The child hesitated, as if she heard something false in Althea's tone of voice, but she took Althea's hand after a moment. "Is someone going to tell my papa?"
"Of course," Althea said. "Lucas sent someone else to tell your papa." He'll be along in a minute, I'm sure." She tugged on the girl's hand. "We have to hurry, though--Lucas told me to hurry."
"But--But Mama went to see Sennet, and Sennet told her everything was fine!" With surprising strength, the child pulled her hand from Althea's grasp. "Where is my Mama?"
"She'll be dead soon if you don't do what I say," Althea heard herself say, and inwardly cursed the knowings of meddling Healers. "Do you understand?" She made a grab for the girl, but the freak shifted, and the teeth of a young Hound closed over Althea's wrist.
She shrieked, despite herself, and threw the dog down onto the floor with a strength born of desperation. As it rose to attack again, Althea kicked it in the ribs, and the creature yelped--a sound that would no doubt alert her mother and anyone else who happened to be listening.
"You were supposed to live," Althea growled, and picked up the nearest heavy object--a bookend--she could find. "I intended to spare you and kill your mother, but since you won't cooperate--"
Human hands reached up to grab the bookend as Althea brought it down. The child twisted out of the way as the door opened behind Althea, and Emle's voice brought everything to a standstill.
"Eri? What--" Althea heard Emle gasp. "What are you doing?"
With exaggerated care, Althea grabbed the child's arm before she could escape and pulled her up. Tears left dusty tracks across Eri's cheeks, and a bruise darkened her arm, but she was largely unhurt.
"Close the door behind you, my lady," Althea said. "And do it slowly if you want your daughter to live."
"She wants to kill you, Mama!" Eri tried to twist out of Althea's grasp, but a small spell of binding left her helpless, bound hand and foot with invisible ropes.
"If you say another word, I'll gag you, child," Althea said. "Your mother and I have a lot to talk about."
"We have nothing to talk about," Emle said, her eyes narrowed into slits. "Let my daughter go. I'm not sure who you're working for, but you cannot imagine you'll get away with this!"
Althea could feel her smile stretching almost ear to ear. "Oh, but I do intend to get away with this," she said. "I only have to deliver one of you as ransom; the other will die. Which one of you will live, my lady? You or your daughter? The baby dies with you, of course, if you choose yourself."
Emle's hand strayed to her belly, as if attempting to shelter her unborn child from Althea's words. "You cannot expect me to make a decision like that!"
"Then I'll make it for you." Althea called up a suitable spell and dragged the child farther into the room. Emle followed, as she must, of course, her hands clenched into useless fists.
"Please--"
"You have a decision to make," Althea said, her voice as hard as steel.
Emle did not respond. And before Althea could cast her spell, Eri--that damned brat--shifted shape again, and in her Hound form, the ropes fell away like they were made of water. She snapped at Althea and twisted out of her grasp, bounded off the bed, and cowered behind her mother.
"Your mother can't save you, little Hound," Althea growled, and took one step towards the two of them, her hands raised to kill them both.
Magdalen could clean up the mess by herself.
Inexplicably, the doorbell rang, audible even through the closed door. Althea hesitated as it rang again, and then she heard muffled voices--Lucas, yes, and someone else. Who? Gabriel?
She readied her spell, but knew at once that she was out of time as the door burst inward, and let in the destruction of her dreams.
Emle assumed Althea intended to cast a spell, but she never got a chance to begin. Gabriel burst through the door, closely followed by Malachi and Lucas.
Althea bared her teeth, her hands still outstretched. "Lucas?" She seemed not to notice Gabriel or Malachi.
"Althea, I think you have some explaining to do," Lucas said, his voice grave. "Gabriel just informed me--"
As Gabriel enfolded Emle into his arms, Althea noticed Malachi's presence for the first time. "You!"
She cast her spell before anyone could stop her, throwing something vile and black through the air. Emle shrieked, Lucas yelled, Eri screamed, Gabriel lunged for his Hound, but Malachi--
Malachi threw up his hands, flinching back as the spell reached him. He fell against a table and knocked everything on it to the floor. Then he slid down the wall, lurching sideways, his eyes closed.
Lucas reached him first, throwing up what Emle presumed was a ward to block any further spells. She had to grab her daughter to prevent her from disturbing Lucas--Eri sobbed against her belly, her whole body shaking.
When Lucas touched Malachi's shoulder, Malachi jerked awake, his eyes wide now, staring over Lucas' shoulder at Althea.
Gabriel was an immobile rock beside her, his arms around her still, his face remote as he, too, stared at Althea.
Emle had to crane her head to look at her. As soon as she did, she wished she hadn't looked--the spell Althea had cast had very obviously not hit Malachi, as she intended.
"Lucas--" Gabriel kept his voice low. "I think Malachi learned well."
"What do you--oh." Lucas turned around as Althea collapsed.
"She--put a truthspell on me," Malachi whispered, and Emle thought that he looked close to collapse. "She was there, with Magdalen and Stefan."
"You can check the truth of his words," Gabriel said. "To see who cast that spell."
"I am sorry." Malachi sat up and leaned against the wall. "I could only think of a mirror, my lord. I--"
"May I?" Lucas asked, and held out his hand. Malachi hesitated, then placed his hand in Lucas' grip, glancing at Gabriel as if for permission--or reassurance. When Lucas released Malachi's hand, his mouth was set in a grim line. "You're right," he said, and glanced at Althea--Althea's body, Emle supposed. "Did she have something to do with Josiah's disappearance as well?"
He stood, and bent over Althea for a moment to check her pulse. "She's dead."
"You said yourself that you had to take someone's name off that list to place Josiah's name on it," Gabriel said.
Emle gently disengaged herself from Gabriel's arms and knelt next to Malachi. "Are you okay?"
Eri stopped crying long enough to peer at him. "Malachi?"
He was shivering slightly, a natural reaction to Althea's venom. "She's dead?"
"But to go this far?" Lucas shook his head. "She could have reapplied."
"And would you have accepted her?" Gabriel's voice had deepened to a growl. "Lucas, she lied to you to get what she wanted. I know she knew what happened to Josiah."
"She would have killed you," Emle said, trying to reassure him.
"She was a member of the Council," Malachi whispered, and closed his eyes.
"Malachi?" Eri touched his cheek and he grasped her hand. She took that as an invitation and threw her arms around him. He stiffened, then relaxed, hugging her back.
Emle smiled.
"She could not have known that he was a Hound," Lucas said.
"She didn't," Malachi whispered. "Magdalen forced me to tell her--she wanted to know who created the wards. She didn't know." He shuddered. "She wasn't pleased when I told her."
Emle glanced at Gabriel and saw his lips tighten. "I heard Eri cry out, and I found Althea with her--"
"She told me you were having the baby early, and that I should come with her," Eri said, her voice muffled against Malachi's chest. "But I didn't go with her."
"And I'm glad you refused," Lucas said. He almost sounded--embarrassed. "Gabriel, I apologize for this. If I had any inkling that she was involved when Josiah vanished, I--"
"I know," Gabriel said softly.
"My house is obviously not safe," Lucas said. "And I've been a foolish old man, it seems. Gabriel, Emle and I were talking--" He tucked his hand inside his jacket.
The doorbell rang before he could finish his sentence. Gabriel stiffened. Malachi growled.
"Surely you don't believe this Magdalen would be so bold?" Emle asked. "Could it be someone else?"
"I'll find out," Lucas said. "Wait here." He hurried down the hall.
"My lord, I killed a member of the Council," Malachi whispered.
"I know," Gabriel said. His voice held no inflection.
"Gabriel--" Emle struggled to her feet. "Must you punish him? He thinks--"
"You learned what I asked you to learn, and you protected yourself," Gabriel said. "You did well."
Malachi nodded. Emle stayed close to him, just in case her presence helped his fear. But he seemed more at ease now than he had any other time before. Perhaps Eri's presence helped.
Lucas returned a moment later with Zechariah in tow.
"You left Thomas alone?" Gabriel asked, his voice harsh.
Zechariah didn't even bother to flinch. "No, my lord. I left Thomas with Nathaniel and Sennet. Nathaniel--" He stopped, then, when he saw Althea's body, and his eyes widened. "Nathaniel found Josiah, my lord."
While Emle's heart soared at that news, Zechariah's words also meant that Seth's death had broken the bond and shattered the Hunt into pieces.
"Josiah is alive?" Gabriel asked, his voice soft.
"Sennet is caring for him," Zechariah said. "There are others, too, my lord--a Hound named Brenna--"
Malachi stirred at this news. "My lord, she saved my life. I told her I would try to help her shift shape."
"Then do so when we return home," Gabriel said. "But you said others?"
"And an elf--Nathaniel did not tell me the whole tale, my lord. I came right away." He glanced at Althea's body again. "Josiah said that she--Althea--was a traitor, but I guess you already know that."
"Althea tried to kill Malachi," Lucas said. "And he blocked her spell quite--effectively. I would have liked to question her, of course, but she should never have been a member of this Council."
"There is still Magdalen and Stefan," Gabriel said. "This isn't over yet."
"Oh, I think it's over," Lucas said. "They haven't realized that they've lost quite yet. Gabriel, before you go, there is something I have to do." He pulled a folded piece of parchment from his jacket pocket. "Emle suggested this, and I see no reason why such a thing cannot occur." He hesitated. "Five years ago, I assumed control of the binding. No one wants to admit that the Council holds you in slavery; the other Council members would rather retire the binding as soon as possible."
"They only have to wait a week and a half," Gabriel said, frozen in place as he stared at the piece of parchment.
Could he feel it? Did he know that was the real binding? Even Eri had raised her head, her eyes wide.
"I don't want to wait a week and a half and discover that you are now our enemy," Lucas said. "That is not fair to you, your Hounds, your lady, or your children."
"That is true, but if the curse still stands, I may have little choice in the matter," Gabriel said, his voice soft. "Lucas, I will find a way to escape her if that is true. I have no wish to become your enemy."
Lucas held out the parchment. "I believe this truly belongs to you," he said. "I took the liberty of drawing up another codicil--"
Gabriel took it with shaking hands, the only outward sign of his distress. He unfolded it, stared down at the edicts and the codicil, then glanced up at Lucas. "What does this mean?"
"You are free," Lucas said. "I signed the binding over to you, at Emle's suggestion." He hesitated when Gabriel did not reply. "Your children should not live in slavery."
Emle moved to stand beside Gabriel, since he seemed frozen still, staring down at the binding. She touched his arm and he let her embrace him, but his silence was a bit unnerving. "Gabriel?"
"Thank you," Gabriel said. If Emle did not know him any better, she would have said he was close to tears. "No one has ever done such a thing before."
There were tears on Malachi's cheeks, and even Zechariah's eyes were suspiciously bright. Eri's lower lip quivered.
"The Council will not interfere in your quest to be rid of Magdalen and Stefan unless someone else gets involved," Lucas said quietly. "But I am available to help as much as I can. I want this ended as much as you do. Please don't shut me out."
Methodically, Gabriel folded the parchment in half, then tucked it away into a pocket of his pants. "You do realize--even if the curse still stands--"
"I don't think it matters anymore," Emle said. "Even if it isn't, the binding is yours now."
Gabriel smiled down at her. "Lucas I will not forget this kindness."
Lucas nodded. "Will you tell Josiah that I've never forgotten him?" he asked, almost wistfully.
"You may tell him yourself, once he is well," Gabriel said. "I will not hide him--or any of my Hounds--from you again."
"Thank you," Lucas said.
"You're not leaving me behind again," Emle stated. "My place is with you, Gabriel. Not closeted away like a breakable doll."
"Me neither," Eri said, and jumped up, as if ready to fight for her place in the family.
For once, Gabriel did not argue. And they left, together, a moment later, leaving Lucas alone with a corpse and an ocean of unanswered questions.
(Next Update: October 13th)
House St. Clair Home
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