Witch's Pyre

by Josephine Angelini

  “Of course. But those things don’t happen here.”

  Lily started laughing. Toshi didn’t join her. Her laugh died. “You’re serious?”

  “Lily, listen very carefully. There’s no crime in Bower City. No murder, no rape, no arson, no theft, no domestic abuse, no kidnapping, no assault, no crime. Except claiming.”

  “That’s impossible,” she said.

  Toshi reached out and led a Worker from the sleeve of Lily’s kimono onto his thumbnail. She sucked in a surprised breath. She hadn’t even realized it was there.

  “Who knows how much the Workers understand of what we say?” he said pensively. “The Warrior Sisters can understand some, but from what Grace has said, they understand differently. Whatever that means. What we do know is that the Hive senses what we can’t. They recognize hostility, fear, and aggression of every stripe. Last night, you saw for yourself how quick they are to intervene. They don’t let violent crimes happen. For nonviolent crimes, like theft—well, the Hive is everywhere. They see it happen even if they don’t know what it is. You only have to report something stolen for it to be found and the perpetrators brought to justice. There is no ‘getting away with it’ in Bower City. But claiming is the only crime the Hive can’t understand because it’s not like the others.”

  “It’s consensual,” Lily said, finally believing.

  “Even pleasurable, I hear,” Toshi said softly. “We’re all tempted to do it. But since it’s the one and only committable crime in Bower City, there’s nothing else for us humans to put our energy into ferreting out. That’s why I can say with some certainty that Grace doesn’t have any claimed. Least of all me.”

  There was regret in his voice. Lily understood why the people here stared at her and her coven, and why they kept their distance with such dislike, even distaste. What would she feel if she had been tempted with something her whole life and denied it, only to see a group of people flaunting the freedom she wished she had? A freedom that they should have. Her brow furrowed.

  “Why is it illegal?” she asked.

  “Huh?” Toshi said, distracted. He was looking up the street for a trolley.

  “Claiming is consensual,” she said, thinking aloud. “A witch can’t force herself on another. The willstone would shatter if she tried to break the will of the bearer. So why is it illegal?”

  “There are other forms of coercion,” Toshi reminded her. “Ways to make people give their consent.”

  “Then that should be illegal—coerced claiming—but not claiming itself,” Lily argued. “What do the lawmakers care if people choose to give themselves to each other? It’s none of their business, really.” He didn’t reply. “What about becoming stone kin?” she persisted. “There can’t be any objection to that.”

  “Illegal,” Toshi said curtly.

  “Why?” Lily exclaimed.

  “It fosters secrecy and obsession, and it’s another form of intimacy that can be coerced. All individual mindspace should be autonomous, and that autonomy is protected by the city,” Toshi repeated, as if by rote.

  “That’s utterly ridiculous,” Lily retorted. “You can’t tell people they’re autonomous, and in the same breath deny them the right to choose.”

  The trolley pulled near at that moment, and he urged her onto it. Lily wondered whether he’d heard her, but decided not to press him. If he did hear her, he obviously didn’t want to talk about it.

  They met the rest of her coven back at the guest suite and spent a few minutes showing one another what they’d purchased. Rowan slipped in a few minutes after Lily and Toshi arrived. He’d been gone longer than any of them, but he was carrying no packages. He didn’t greet anyone. He sat apart from the rest while Una, Juliet, and Tristan looked through every bag to see what the coven had acquired.

  “How long were you on the trail?” Toshi asked, picking up a garment that had slid to the floor and folding it.

  “Was it three months or four?” Tristan asked, casting his eyes back to Caleb.

  “Nearly four,” Caleb answered.

  Toshi was impressed. “Did your tribe migrate a lot?” he asked Caleb.

  “Some,” Caleb answered. “But I’d never been out in the wild for that long before.”

  “Are things getting bad back east? Is that why you risked the trip?” Toshi asked.

  “Define ‘bad,’” Tristan said, still digging through tunics.

  “I don’t know. I have no idea what it’s like to live in the wild,” Toshi admitted. “But I’d imagine something huge must have happened to make you all risk going west. Did you think there might be something out here, or did you just go blindly?”

  “You’re very curious,” Rowan said. His tone was not approving.

  “Who wouldn’t be?” Toshi said, shrugging. “It’s got to be one hell of a story. Did you think there was a settlement or some kind of fort that you were heading for?”

  “No one back east has any idea that there’s anything out here—and certainly not a city,” Tristan said.

  He’s pumping us for information. Don’t say another word, Rowan said to all of them in mindspeak.

  He’s just curious, Breakfast countered. It’s totally natural.

  He’s a spy, Rowan insisted.

  Takes one to know one, I guess, Caleb said. Lily felt how Caleb’s words stung Rowan.

  “Are we going to see Grace today?” Lily asked, changing both the spoken and non-spoken conversations.

  “Dinner. Tonight,” Toshi said cheerfully. “She’s sorry she can’t spend more time with you.”

  “We’re sure she’s a busy woman,” Juliet said.

  “Is she going to explain what she really wants from Lily yet, or is this dinner still part of her charm offensive?” Rowan drawled.

  Toshi froze for a moment before recovering. “I’m sure Grace and Lily will have a lot to talk about. But about what, I couldn’t guess.”

  “Thank you, Toshi,” Lily said. “If you see Grace, tell her I’m looking forward to speaking with her, too.”

  Lily waited for Toshi to leave before turning to Rowan. “Not very friendly,” she said.

  “Oh, so you’re looking at me again?” he replied. “Nice to know Toshi’s dimples haven’t completely blinded you.”

  “He doesn’t have—” Lily started to argue and stopped. She turned away.

  “No, you started this. Now finish it,” Rowan said, standing and crossing to Lily.

  “That’s close enough,” she said, halting his stride for him. Rowan came up short like he’d run into a brick wall, one foot still raised.

  Possessing him was a mistake—Lily knew it as soon as she did it. Not just because it was wrong, but because of what it did to her.

  She saw the edge of his skin before she dove into it. The perfect, golden-smooth dewiness of it over stripped sinew and muscle—the sun-soaked softness over strength that was Rowan. She’d forgotten how strong he was. How perfectly his body responded to her desires and carried them out for her. Every dream of grace in motion she’d ever had he could give her. If she wanted to jump off a cliff into wild waves, or run up thin air to the very stars, his body was the vessel for that dream.

  And if his body was her wonderland, his bright mind surpassed it. Only Rowan could corral her harrowed thoughts. Only he had a many-roomed mansion of ideas for her to barrel through, manic and crazed, to pick over feverishly as was her fashion, and pull snapshot memories from the walls. Only Rowan could let her run free inside him with no need to worry if she’d do damage.

  He let her take all of him because he was the only one strong enough to survive her rough use.

  Only Rowan. And he knew it. He knew how desperately she needed a place to put her frantic, frenetic energy, and he knew he was the only one who could survive her. He welcomed it.

  Their eyes met, and Rowan won. She wanted him more. More than anything or anyone. All it took was a moment inside of him to make her feel like she’d be lost in his labyrinth forever.

 
; She released him, letting go like she’d grasped the biting edge of a hot knife, and he put his foot down hard. He was panting from shock. He didn’t think she’d actually possess him, and from the stunned looks on the rest of her coven’s faces, Lily could see that none of them thought she would do it, either.

  Stupid, she thought. Maybe Lillian heard her.

  “You made your point, Lily,” he said in a raspy voice. “Don’t worry. I won’t come near you again.”

  The finality of it stung enough to bring her back to herself. There was no apology in her when she addressed them all in mindspeak.

  Call Toshi a spy if you want, but the truth is, we’re the strangers. We’re the threat. Grace wants to know more about us, and she’s using Toshi to get that information for her. I would do the same. I haven’t told him anything, and neither should you, but I have learned a lot from him.

  Lily replayed the memory of her conversation with Toshi in the scent bar so they could all see for themselves how he reacted to her questions about the law against claiming.

  Now, can we all move past the idea that I’m naive enough to spill my guts to a pretty boy and start dealing with the fact that we’re in a city that’s being controlled by the Woven?

  You think he’s scared to talk about it because of the Hive, Tristan said in mindspeak.

  She looked at him and smiled. Now that he knew she wasn’t smitten with Toshi he was on her side again. What other reason can there be? They’re everywhere and they’re always listening, she replied.

  But can they understand us? Caleb was looking at the floor, thinking deeply, as he asked this question. At the ball, the Warrior Sisters didn’t stand down until they sensed that Lily was calm. Saying it wasn’t enough.

  The Sisters didn’t look like they understood anything Lily was saying, Una added, agreeing with Caleb.

  We don’t know what they understand. We need more information, Juliet said. Toshi could have a dozen reasons for not wanting to talk about the laws here. We’re just assuming that it’s because of the Hive.

  What do we do, then? Try to strike up a conversation with one of the Workers? Breakfast smirked as he asked this in mindspeak. The thought was ridiculous enough to get a smile out of all of them—except Rowan.

  What I want to know is where they come from, he said. Everyone looked at Rowan. They’re called the Hive, but has anyone seen an actual beehive anywhere?

  No one had.

  I looked all over today for some place big enough for a large number of Warrior Sisters to congregate, but apart from those lookout towers, there isn’t any. The towers only fit a dozen or so Sisters at a time, Rowan continued. So, where’s their hive?

  Out in the fields? Tristan guessed.

  Rowan shrugged. Lily could sense that the rest of her coven felt a bit embarrassed, especially Caleb. While they were getting their hair done, Rowan had been trying to gather information about their Woven hosts. Lily looked at Rowan.

  What do you suggest we do?

  She didn’t like asking Rowan for direction. She liked it less that for the first time she had to really look at him. He was thinner. His skin was sallow, his eyes more sunken, and his hair was long enough to brush his shoulders. He looked haunted and hungry. Like looking across a burning desert, Lily could only suffer the glaring beauty of him in small bursts. She looked away.

  Keep Toshi busy tomorrow. I’ll look around some more and try to see which way they come and go, he answered.

  I’ll go with you, Caleb offered.

  Rowan shook his head.

  We’ll both go, Tristan said.

  No. Stay close to our witch, Rowan said. His hot, dark eyes came up to meet Lily’s cold, light ones. She’s in more danger around Toshi than she thinks. She has no idea how far an orphaned mechanic would go for her.

  Lily wore her new scent to dinner that night. She realized when she put it on that one of the compounds in it was designed to soak into the skin, pleasantly altering the wearer’s mood. She could see it tracing around her veins, lighting her up inside. She wondered whether this agent—whatever it was—occurred naturally in the scent components, or if it had been added for her benefit. She liked it. Maybe too much. When she stepped out of her bath and joined everyone else in the ladies’ sitting room, she felt a bit reckless.

  Lily crossed to a pitcher of chilled water that was resting on a silver tray by the open balcony doors. The night jasmine on the veranda had bloomed and several Workers were combing through the velvety petals. She took a drink, feeling the coolness of the water wash down her throat while she watched the Workers shiver through the flowers, seemingly oblivious to anything but the task of gathering nectar.

  When she turned, everyone was staring at her. Her gaze sought out Rowan and stuck there. He was meant to wear black, she thought to Lillian, and wondered whether, in some part of the back of her busy mind, her other self was listening. He’s like a dark flame burning out a slender slice of nothing between all the others.

  Rowan’s eyes narrowed at Lily as she stared, a bemused smile threatening to break through his glower. The smoke willstone at his throat swirled with shadow and light and for a moment Lily couldn’t imagine why they were fighting.

  Then she remembered the cage. He would have let me die, she said to Lillian, although she could tell that Lillian was deeply occupied with something else. Another thought occurred to Lily, one that bit deep. Does he still want me dead?

  “Lily,” Rowan said, his forehead pinched with confusion. “Who are you mindspeaking with?”

  Lily looked away. Why does he always know what I’m up to? she complained to Lillian. “Are we waiting on anyone?” she asked aloud, ignoring Rowan’s question.

  “Just you,” Toshi answered. He paused to sniff the air. “You’re wearing it.”

  They shared conspirators’ grins. “I wonder if Grace will notice.”

  “Oh, she’ll notice,” he replied, stepping forward to take Lily’s arm. “Even if she doesn’t say anything.”

  “Did you tell her I got it?”

  Toshi gave her an offended look. “I don’t tell Grace everything.” Lily curled her hand over his bicep as she studied him, wondering whether that was true.

  He led them downstairs and into yet another wing of Grace’s impressive residence. Lily wondered if the Governor’s Villa was like the White House, with a new tenant every four or eight years.

  “How often do you have elections here?” Lily asked Toshi.

  “Five years for parliamentary positions, ten years for service positions,” Toshi answered.

  Lily nodded at that. “What about the governor’s position, or Ivan’s place as head mechanic?”

  “Head mechanic is different,” Toshi said. “It’s based on talent, and Ivan is the most talented mechanic in the city.”

  Lily eyes shot down to Toshi’s deep rose stone and wondered whether he was being loyal to his mentor, or whether he truly believed Ivan was the best.

  “What about Grace?” Breakfast asked. “Does the governor need to be a witch for some reason?”

  “Grace was chosen by the Hive to mediate between them and the humans long ago. She’s the only one they’ll communicate with,” Toshi said, turning his head to include the rest of the coven in the conversation. “She brings proposed laws to the Hive, and then comes back to Parliament with what they will and will not accept.”

  Lily could feel Caleb bristle. Asking the Woven what they’d accept . . . , he fumed in mindspeak.

  “The job is for life then?” Lily guessed. “The governor’s position?”

  “Yes,” Toshi answered. “So is head mechanic.”

  “Cushy,” Breakfast said, just loud enough to hear.

  Lily chuckled to herself and began to take in her surroundings. The Governor’s Villa sprawled out much farther than its street profile would suggest. Lily found herself counting hallways and trying to peek down stairwells as Toshi led them through the maze. They changed levels without taking stairs enough times to m
ake Lily suspect that the villa had more floors than it seemed when looking at the edifice, but before Lily could ask, they arrived at the formal dining room that was already alive with guests. Mala greeted them outside the large double doors with a tight smile that wanted to grow up to be a snarl.

  “Lily,” she said through bared teeth. “Fashionably late again, I see.”

  “Is that a problem?” Lily asked, but Mala had already whirled around and left. Lily turned to Toshi. “Is there any particular reason she hates me, or is she like this with everyone?”

  “She’s threatened by you,” he answered. “She’s poised to take over someday, but all of a sudden, Grace seems very interested in you.”

  Lily thought about it and shrugged. There was a time in her life when petty jealousy and competition from other women had dominated her life.

  Being madly in love with Tristan didn’t help, she thought to Lillian. Every other girl was a threat to me because he seemed determined to sleep with every other girl in the world but me. It’s so strange how far away that all seems now.

  “I said—Mala isn’t a joke.”

  Lily looked up at Toshi and realized that he was considering her strangely. He’d had to repeat himself.

  “I know,” Lily said quickly. She could feel Rowan watching her carefully and she wondered how long she’d absented herself from the conversation. “But I’m not a threat, and I’m sure she’ll realize that soon.”

  Toshi narrowed his eyes at her. “How old do you think I am?” he asked.

  “Ah—” Lily fumbled. “Nineteen? Twenty?”

  “I’m sixty-four years old.”

  “Shut up,” Una said, the words flying out of her.

  “How old do you think Grace is?” he continued without missing a beat.

  Lily stared at him, gobsmacked. He wasn’t kidding. “I don’t know,” she said, not willing to guess.

  “Neither do I. Grace has been governor of Bower City since before it was Bower City, back when this place was just a few tepees and a campfire. I don’t even know what year that was because there are few records of the early days, and Grace doesn’t talk about it,” Toshi said. He leaned close to Lily. “Mala has already been waiting a long time. Be careful around her.”