Chapter 8
Althea opened her eyes and winced away from the afternoon sunlight. For a long moment she wasn't quite sure what had happened, but then she felt the coldness of the heartblood stone against her skin and knew that something had gone very wrong with her spell.
For ten years she had used it as a staple for her own meager power, supplementing the Council's shared power, which wasn't nearly enough. After the first few years, she had stopped imagining Josiah Hunt in endless torment behind Magdalen's mirror. It was easier on the conscience to believe that there was some other explanation for her talent.
She sat up and had to close her eyes as the room swam around her head. She was in her own living room, at least, so no one could see her moment of weakness. The couch lay to her left, a chair to her right. Squinting against the sunlight, she crawled across the floor and leaned against the couch, fighting against the nausea that threatened to leave her healthy lunch on the carpet instead of in her stomach where it belonged.
Once the room stopped swaying, she pulled the heartblood stone out from beneath her blouse and stared at it in horror. It had been smooth, an organically shaped ruby, uncut and beautiful. Now, thousands of tiny cracks marred its surface--and in places, chunks of the stone had fallen free. She saw them glittering among the carpet fibers now, like fallen stars.
If the backlash from the spell had been that powerful, then she could have died. What had gone wrong?
"Josiah Hunt is dead." Magdalen's voice came from the chair by the fireplace, but at first, Althea could only see the chair. She appeared in pieces like the Cheshire Cat, but she wasn't smiling. "I am sorry that I wasn't able to come earlier to warn you."
Althea scrambled to her feet. "What do you mean he's dead?" she asked. "He was alive a week ago!" She would address Magdalen's obvious dismissal of her wards once she got some answers. "I need his power!"
Magdalen shook her head. "Child, you have not needed his power since the first time you took it. You are much more powerful now than you were before." She held out her hand. "Give me the stone. You have no need of it now."
Without arguing, Althea unclasped the chain and dropped the heartblood stone into Magdalen's outstretched hand. But at her touch, the stone broke into a thousand pieces, tiny razor sharp shards that sliced through Magdalen's skin when she closed her hand around the offering.
"Did you kill him?" Althea asked. "We had an agreement--"
"Don't be silly," Magdalen said, not noticing the blood that dripped down her fingers and onto the carpet. "There's been a--a setback, that's all."
"A setback? With the Hunt free in two weeks?" Althea threw up her hands. "I've been working to hold up my end of our agreement--"
"Our agreement still stands," Magdalen said. "I still want the Hunt."
"And I still haven't found a way to get Gabriel to agree to bind himself to you," Althea said, still angry. "It would help if you--"
"I have a plan," Magdalen interrupted. "You have no need of Josiah's power--not anymore. Use what I have given you, child. That spell is ancient and outdated!"
And convenient, Althea thought, but held her tongue. Magdalen spoke the truth, after all. She had given her a lot more than just that first spell.
She folded her arms, still not ready to forgive Magdalen for Josiah's death. "What is your plan?"
"I need you to kidnap a Hound," Magdalen said. "We will hold it hostage, and Gabriel will do anything we ask."
"He isn't that fond of his Hounds." Althea shook her head. "I've seen him punish them before. He won't agree to bind himself to you for the life of a Hound!"
"Yes he will," Magdalen said. She sounded so certain that Althea stopped and stared at her.
"Why?"
"Because his Hounds are all he has," Magdalen said. "And he will not allow one of them to be tortured to death." She finally smiled, but her smile never reached her eyes. "It is a matter of pride to him, Althea."
"And when you have the Hunt bound to you?" Althea asked. "What then?"
Magdalen's smile widened. "Perhaps I will rule Faerie. And you shall be rewarded for your efforts on my behalf."
"And how am I supposed to kidnap a Hound?" Althea asked, still not convinced.
"Do some research in that library of yours," Magdalen said, standing. "The Hunt has a bond. To break that bond, you have to sacrifice a Hound." She drifted towards the door, even though Althea knew she had not come in that way.
"Sacrifice?" For a moment, Althea had no idea what she was talking about. "I thought you wanted me to kidnap one of them?"
"If you laid hands on a Hound with the bond intact, Gabriel would know in an instant what had happened," Magdalen said slowly, as if speaking to a child. "If you break the bond first, the Hunt will be in chaos, and no one will notice a missing Hound until it's far too late."
The possible backfiring of such a plan had disastrous proportions. "If it doesn't work--if the bond doesn't break, I'll lose everything," Althea said, suddenly cold. "Could we not use a dampening spell?"
Magdalen turned with her hand on the door, ignoring both her questions and her protests. "And if you fail--if the bond doesn't break and the Hunt is freed, then I, too, will lose everything I've worked for, my dear. Don't suppose you are the only one with a stake in this." Her lip curled. "I want the Hunt in chaos. You will have to kill a Hound."
Again, she spoke the truth. And Althea had agreed--ten years ago--to help her achieve her goal. "I never see the Hounds without their Master," she said, her mind already trying to figure out the best way to kill a member of the Wild Hunt.
"Perhaps you need to set a trap of your own," Magdalen suggested. "Gabriel cannot disobey a summons from a member of the Council. Once he is gone, you will have free reign to put our plan into motion."
Althea wondered why it was 'our' plan when she was the one doing all the work. But again, she held her tongue. Magdalen had given her so much. This would repay her tenfold, and eliminate the possibility of a free Hunt roaming the forest in the same breath.
"I don't think I've ever looked for their lair," she murmured. "Lucas would have a map in the library, I'm sure of it."
"You have two weeks," Magdalen said, and opened the front door. "Use your time wisely. And keep me informed. When you have your prisoner, I will return."
She vanished before she reached the porch. Althea started to tweak her wards, then wondered if it was even worth bothering. Magdalen would come and go as she pleased, regardless. And she knew no one else could get inside.
Perhaps it was a leftover result of the gifts she had given Althea over the years. The spells. The knowledge. Althea truly could not repay her in kind, except to do this one little thing.
Kill a Hound, and kidnap another one. It sounded both simple and complicated, which meant that she would have to orchestrate the entire attempt without a single mistake.
She would only have one chance to succeed.
Next update: August 24th
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