What’s that about? Does Astrid not like Calder’s choice in girlfriends?
“Brent, this is Hanna Hawthorne. She’s acting as an advisor for me. Hanna, this is Brent Douglas. He’s the lead wolf shifter here.”
“Pleased to meet you.” Hanna gave a quick bow.
“Same,” he replied. “Would you mind giving Becka and me a few moments to speak about her security?”
Hanna frowned. No doubt Maura had instructed her to remain by Becka’s side.
“I’ll find you right after,” Becka said.
“Oh, all right, then,” Hanna said, returning her smile.
“Walk with me?” Becka asked Brent.
He gestured for her to take the lead, and, craving fresh air, Becka led them upstairs and out to the rooftop garden. Her bevy of guards followed them. At the top of the staircase, Becka walked through the doors to the rooftop garden, feeling drawn back into this space… the couches where she and Vott were poisoned days before.
“Are we going to review the shifter duty roster or is this all for show?”
Brent shook his head. “This isn’t for show. Luce recommended to me that you take over Vott’s oversight of wolf shifter operations here at House Rowan, and I think it’s a smart idea.”
“You do?” Becka took a seat on one of the couches, motioning for Brent to sit across from her, mirroring Vott’s placement.
He nodded and took a seat. Shamus and Lorelai walked the area, giving them the space to speak privately. Elena and Oba did the same, walking the perimeter of the roof.
“Luce has good instincts. We shifters do more than you are likely aware of. Also, we don’t yet know if Vott will recover. I prefer to plan for the worst-case scenario, so I can be surprised, and frankly relieved, if things go better than expected.”
“Have you heard anything new about Vott’s condition?” she asked, and he gave a simple shake of his head in reply. Poor man, she knew he and Vott had a close bond. No doubt this was doubly hard on him, knowing the poisoner had gotten by his team to Vott. She’d do whatever she could to make things easier on him. “So, what do you need me to do besides approving expenses?”
Brent gave her a halfhearted smile. “Traditionally we settle out at the end of each month, so that’s not on my mind today. As you know, Vott ramped up our security detail when you were declared gifted and it was clear there was a threat to your life.”
She nodded. During the last few months she’d appreciated having their presence twenty-four seven. Becka felt safer with them than the house guards.
“Do you want to change anything?” she asked.
“Not the frequency or number of guards, no. Look, you faced down Woden, a Shadow-Dweller, who wanted to steal your powers.”
Becka shivered, remembering Woden drinking blood from her wrist. “I remember.”
“I was talking with Quinn earlier. I don’t think this poisoning fits with the Shadow motive.”
At the mention of Quinn’s name her heart skipped a beat. “You talked to Quinn?”
“He’s been all over this place. I swear he will start ripping it apart brick by brick to hunt down proof for his theories.”
She smiled. “Sounds like him. And you’re right, this doesn’t seem to fit the Shadow-Dweller motive. I discussed the potentials with Quinn, and he asked me to think about more, but I’m at a loss.”
“I want you to keep notes. Or make a mental list and communicate to my staff whenever you add someone to it. I have my own list, of course, but you might think of someone neither Quinn nor I have previously considered.”
Quinn had hinted around this topic, but hearing it from Brent, her father’s longtime guard and trusted confidante, hit home.
“Of course. You and your shifters will be the first to know.”
Brent steepled his fingers, his entire focus on her. “I know this is stuff you’ve covered with Quinn, but off the top of your head, who might want you dead?”
“Anyone who might feel threatened? I mean, could they be afraid of my powers? So maybe Aunt Astrid?”
“I’ve thought about her, but it seems like she adores taming powerful gifts. It’s her vocation.”
“Yeah, but my power is wild. She’s warned me about the potential for madness if I don’t harness my powers adequately. So many warnings. Perhaps she fears for the house?”
“Okay.” He shrugged. “Next?”
“What about Calder? He’s not happy I’m back as heir; he’s enjoyed his temporary stint as the eldest guilded progeny. Once I am declared trained and guilded, he goes back to being number two. I’m taking his position as next in line, and that’s got to burn a bit.”
“I agree he has a strong motive. Who else?”
“What about Alain?” If he was behind the poisoning, surely that would be a way out of the engagement contract?
“Your fiancé? That’s not someone I would have pegged. Why do you think he would want you dead?”
“It would get him out of the engagement! And, I’m nowhere near the ‘pedigree’ Tesse was. I’m a disappointing second-place prize. I’m sure he’d prefer a new arrangement, if he could. Perhaps Ingrid, or Sigfrid? Or another house’s heir?”
“I’m not sure anyone sees you as second place, Becka. Besides, why would he wait three months?”
“To see if we could get along? To set up the poisoning? I don’t know.”
“I’ll make a note of it. Anyone else you can think of?”
Becka shrugged. “I don’t know. All of those options sound potentially plausible to me.”
Brent leaned back and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Okay, I’ll get started tracing Astrid and Alain’s movements in the days before the poisoning. I was already looking into Calder. I’ll report back to you and Quinn once I know more. And if you think of anyone else, if you even just have a wild thought cross your mind, report it to any shifter and they’ll pass it back to me.”
Reviewing her potential poisoners had brought with it memories of the event. Distressed, Becka took a deep yoga breath and held it for a few seconds before blowing out slowly.
“Will do. Thanks for looking into it.”
Brent stood up. “The enforcers aren’t the only ones who can hunt down their prey. Besides, Vott was poisoned on my watch. I have an oath to keep, and I’m taking this as a personal attack.”
Becka was glad he was on her side. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask, but the timing just never felt right.”
Brent shrugged. “Ask away. I have no qualms telling you if you’ve crossed a line.”
Becka didn’t doubt him for a second. “How is it you came to work for Vott, and what’s this oath you talk about between the two of you? I mean, from what I understand, your agreement is rare amongst fae and shifters.”
“Oh, I guess you wouldn’t know.” His hands came to rest on his hips and his features softened as he smiled at her. “In my adolescence, Vott stopped by our clan during one of his journeys.”
Did I hear him correctly? “Vott used to go on journeys? I’d thought he’d lived here since his twenties.”
“Yes, it’s common for House Alder. Soon after they come into their seer powers, they are sent on a two-year vemhel, where they wander around, have visions that may help others, and learn how to read the signs. It’s part of the process of learning how their powers manifest.”
“Wait, I remember hearing about his vemhel, but he never shelled out details. The vemhel is how House Alder performs civic service, because of the nature of their gift. But I always thought of it as a formal series of visitations.”
“It is exactly their civic service, but it’s not at all formal. I guess if they stay home, their seer gifts aren’t developed in the same manner, so out they go. Think of it like a magical road trip without a destination.”
“Okay, that’s not at all how I think of my father. But it’s lovely. Charming, even. I suppose his visit was to your lands?”
“Yes, and my dad, Barric, wasn’t having any
of it. As clan chief, he didn’t welcome fae within our walls. He always felt you all were a batch of troublemakers and were apt to bring the wrath of humans knocking on his front door.”
Becka shrugged. He wasn’t wrong on that count. “So what did Vott do?”
“Vott accepted Barric’s refusal. But instead of leaving, he bedded down with a herd of elk on our property for a week.”
Again, did I hear him right?
“He denned with elk?” Becka couldn’t imagine Vott doing any such thing.
“In the winter, no less. Even for shifters, it convinced us he’d lost his seer-loving marbles.”
She couldn’t wait to hear what happened next, wondering what other secrets Vott had up his sleeves. “Don’t leave me hanging. What happened?”
“A week into his stay, he got the elk worked up in the middle of the night. You know how loud rutting elk can be? It wasn’t even rutting season, but somehow he managed it. He woke the entire clan.”
Imagining Vott hooting and hollering with elk under pale moonlight made him sound a bit looney, and Becka burst into laughter at the thought. “Why would he do that?”
“The night nurse had died in the middle of the night, knocking a chair over into the fireplace in her death throes. Luckily, since the rutting elk awakened us, we quickly noticed the smell of the fire. My father was burned badly, but he was the only casualty, besides the nurse. All the babies were saved.”
Awestruck, she couldn’t speak for a moment. Vott was always understated, but she’d never dreamed he’d gone to bat for a shifter clan in his youth. No wonder they were so dedicated to him.
“I had no idea he did that for you.”
“We still don’t talk about Vott’s exploits with the elk, but Clan Wolf owes multiple life-debts to your dad.”
“And so now you run security for him to pay him back, so you can fulfill the life-debt?”
“Precisely, and he insists on paying us. Until recently, it was boring work. Once you showed up, things got interesting.”
She knew he meant once Tesse’s death had happened, but Becka didn’t mind the omission. “Thanks for the explanation, Brent. That’s a side of Vott I’d never guessed existed but am blessed to know.”
“Sure thing.”
Becka looked at the light streaming in through the windows. She had an hour before Hanna’s tea party, and she knew how she wanted to use it.
As he turned to go, she threw one last question Brent’s way. “Do you know where I can find Quinn?”
Brent looked back over his shoulder, his penetrating gaze not missing a thing. “Stay here. He knows where you are.”
Becka gave a single nod, unable to form a response over the intensity of her insides clenching.
Of course he knows.
Becka pulled out the Shadow-Dweller book, leaned back, and cracked it open, laying it across her lap and preparing to fill her wait with a bit of research.
Chapter 12
Gloves still on, Becka paged through the Shadow-Dweller book, and the nagging sensation that she was missing something struck her again. She was missing something obvious. Something that was most likely the key to this tome.
Despite the low-level headache lingering at the back of her skull, she couldn’t stop paging through, taking in the aged parchment covered with arcane symbols. The same symbols which had covered Tesse’s throat and shoulders. The longer she looked at them, the more they almost made sense.
She’d seen these symbols in the historical manuscript of the Great War in the campus library archives, but with no frame of reference at the time she’d assumed they were an illustration or decoration. Now she knew there was more to it.
Shamus and Lorelai moved towards the entryway to the rooftop garden, and a moment later Hanna emerged from the house. At first Shamus blocked her, but then Becka motioned her over and he let Hanna pass.
Hanna sauntered over, a seemingly genuine smile on her face. “How did your talk with Brent go?”
“Quite pleasant, although he’s all business.”
“As one would expect of a hired guard! Oh, what in the world is that?” she asked, pointing at the book in Becka’s lap.
“It’s part of the Shadow-Dweller investigation.”
“How wonderful!” Hanna laughed, amusement dancing in her eyes. “I heard the enforcers are investigating monsters from children’s stories now.”
Becka had to bite her tongue. She liked Hanna, and knew she wasn’t trying to be spiteful, but her words stung.
She took another deep breath, getting her emotions under control. “This book is very real.” Becka turned the open book towards Hanna so she could have a quick glance, and then placed it back on her lap. “It’s a piece of a puzzle I’ve been trying to figure out. My gift might help lead to insights about this ancient tome that’s not well understood.”
“Oh, I love puzzles! With all of those geometric designs, it looks like someone’s sketch pad. What’s the mystery?”
“Well, I’d love to be able to translate this, but I don’t think the glyphs are words after all. So I’m focusing on the magic instead.”
“Do you think you’re on the verge of a breakthrough?” Hanna took a seat across from her, which just happened to be where Vott had sat when they were poisoned. She arranged her diaphanous skirts around her like a work of art, her gaze focused on the book in Becka’s hands.
“I wish. I mean, maybe I am? It’s that sensation where you have a word on the tip of your tongue, but it just won’t surface.”
She nodded. “I know what you mean. Like there’s something floating out there just outside the range of your perception?”
“Uh huh.” Becka left the book open on her lap, insulated from her Null magic by mere layers of fabric and her now ever-present intention.
“How are you feeling?” Hanna asked. “You still look a bit tired.”
Hanna’s genuine concern was a welcome gesture, and Becka felt herself smiling.
“I’m almost back to normal. Fatigue is still dragging my energy down, but I mostly have my stamina back.”
“That’s good to hear. Have you checked in with Healer Illan today?” Hanna asked.
“I am going to, but he didn’t seem to have any concerns about my progress. Wait, did Maura tell you to ask that?”
Hanna scrunched her nose. “No, silly. That was just my general concern for your wellbeing. Are you sure working with that book is safe? It sounds like it might be just a smidge dangerous.”
At that moment, movement between and underneath Becka’s fingers caught her eye. Simultaneously, a low throbbing kicked in at the back of her skull.
“You like a bit of danger, do you?” Hanna asked her, nodding almost imperceptibly to herself.
Becka frowned, more interested in the book than Hanna’s line of questioning. Moving her gloved hands to the edges of the pages, the movement clarified. The arcane symbols on the pages faded ever so slightly as squiggly lines undulated underneath the blockish forms, like worms crawling around the page. She flipped a page and then back again.
Is the book reacting because of Hanna’s presence, the change in location, or some other factor?
Similar squiggly worms appeared on the other pages. Their movement slanted toward Hanna.
The forms reminded Becka of words.
“I suppose it might be a smidge dangerous,” Becka admitted. She picked up the book and showed Hanna the open page full of squiggles and now transparent glyphs. “But I’m more curious than afraid. What do you see?”
Hanna laughed. “It looks the same to me, Becka. It’s just a book. An old, faded book.”
Becka returned the book to her lap.
There must be some illusion that hides it from Hanna, but I’m immune to it? Just like before, with Quinn not being able to see the marks on Tesse. It must have some illusion or obfuscation spell that doesn’t work on me.
Becka felt the smile spread across her face. Finally, a breakthrough! She sat back in her seat and loo
ked with renewed interest at Hanna, suspicion peaked. What was the book trying to tell her and why was it reacting this way towards Hanna?
She paused a moment; what if Hanna was a Shadow-Dweller? How would Becka know? And if so, would Hanna be able to see the squiggles too? But if that were true, Hanna would never reveal it, obviously!
Becka decided to err on the side of caution and not mention the squiggles to Hanna, just in case. Instead, Becka continued to study the page. All at once, the squiggles froze and she could make out a word, repeated along the lines, again and again.
TEA.
Did it mean the tea she’d had with Vott? The upcoming tea party this afternoon? It wasn’t lost on Becka that they were sitting on the couches where she and Vott had been poisoned.
“Hanna, what do you remember about the tea?”
Shock and confusion pinched Hanna’s delicate features. “What an odd question to ask. I suppose you’re asking about the lapsang souchong tea I brought to Vott?”
Wait, what?
“You brought Vott the tea?” Becka asked, pulling back from Hanna as she tried to calm her suddenly speeding pulse.
The squiggles on the book had lost the word TEA and returned to their sunburst alignment.
“I did. Alain had shared with me Vott’s love of rare teas, so I brought some of his favorite flavor from home as a gift.”
Excited, Becka felt a puzzle piece move into place in her mind, one she didn’t yet know the importance of but was certain it mattered.
“You did it to curry favor with Vott?” Becka asked.
Hanna frowned. “It’s customary to give gifts to allies. I didn’t feel a need to curry favor or get him to like me, since my mere presence here is a gift from House Hawthorne.”
Becka bit her tongue to keep herself from laughing. Surely, Hanna was referring to the gift of her services and not just her august presence. Right?
And she knew from Quinn that the tea itself wasn’t poisoned, so…
“Hanna,” Becka asked, “what happened when you gave Vott the tea? Where were you? And was anyone else there?”
Poisoned Shadow: An Urban Fantasy Supernatural Detective Mystery (The Shadow Series Book 2) Page 11
