by Juniper Hart
“You can buy drinks later,” she replied lightly. “Something tells me we’re going to need them after this initiation.”
“It’s ridiculous that we have to endure this every seventy years,” Drake grumbled, as if he had any part in the Council’s comings and goings. “The witches shouldn’t even exist on Council.”
Henry cast him a baleful look. “Keep your voice down,” he growled.
“He’s not wrong,” Raven sighed. “I wish they would replace a witch’s seat with an actual immortal. Why did Alaric have to be part witch? It would have been so much better if he was a pure demon.”
“Can you guys stop talking about it?” Henry demanded. He was losing his appetite as he looked around, worried that mortals would overhear their discussion. He wasn’t in the mood to die that day; if anyone was caught showing their true selves to a mortal, that was precisely what would happen.
“Meh.” Raven shrugged as she reached for the tray.
“Number sixty-four?” the worker asked. Raven nodded, accepting the overladen plastic and refusing the males as they tried to help.
“You’re unusually testy today, Henry,” she commented when they sat down. “What’s the problem?”
“I’ve got a murder trial tomorrow morning, and I’d rather just see this brat on the Council and get back to preparing for my client.”
“Aren’t you cautiously optimistic. You know as well as I do that these things take hours, sometimes days,” Raven reminded him.
“It better not take days. My second chair is an idiot, and he’ll blow the case on the first day if given the chance. Anyway, how much initiation should Lane need? She’s Miriam’s granddaughter. Aren’t the ways of the Council just passed down like blood?”
Henry couldn’t be sure, after all. He just assumed that all descendants of their original leader had the ways of the Enchanted ingrained inside them. He didn’t know how he’d reached that conclusion, but he had also not given it much thought in the grand scheme of things. His concern was the wellbeing of the vampires, the hundreds of tribes spread throughout the world who answered to him, the Vampire Regent. The Aldwins had always been there, but never had Henry much cared what the witches were entrenched within.
At that moment, a chime dinged in unison on both his and Raven’s cell phones, even before Henry could put the succulent burger to his mouth.
“Seriously?” he grumbled, reaching into his breast pocket. Raven looked at her own iPhone screen.
“Masonic Temple,” she sighed. “You better eat quickly. They’re already waiting for us.”
“Figures,” Drake muttered, and Henry glowered at him. He stopped himself from reminding Drake that it had nothing to do with him.
“I’m not going anywhere until I finish my burger,” Henry said sullenly, chopping his long, white teeth into the bun. Even as he took the long-awaited swallow, he realized he wasn’t hungry anymore.
As always, the Council had managed to kill his appetite.
It’s going to be a long night, he thought miserably.
2
Lane’s nervousness was palpable, and Julia sensed it.
“Take a deep breath, sweetie,” her mother cooed. “Today is your big day. Today, you’re going to make us all proud.”
Lane eyed her through the glass of the vanity where she sat, Julia stroking her daughter’s deep red tresses lovingly. She wished she shared Julia’s optimism, but it was hard to feel any excitement in the wake of her grandmother’s death.
“Mom, does it have to be today? Grandma just died. It feels wrong just taking her seat so soon afterward. Disrespectful.”
“Which is exactly why her Council seat needs to be replaced immediately. The Council of Seven can’t go without a member. It’s already been three days. You should have been instated the minute they announced her death.”
Lane bit on her lower lip and turned her iridescent green eyes back toward the mirror. She hadn’t even been permitted to attend her grandmother’s funeral, a fact which tore at her heart.
That’s why this is so unbearable. I didn’t honor her in life. How can I be expected to take over her place in death?
“Mom, I don’t think I can do this.”
Julia’s face clouded, and she grabbed her daughter by the shoulders, turning Lane toward her.
“You have got this,” she murmured. “For years, you have prepared for this. I have prepared you for this. You know what needs to be done. Just focus and do me proud.”
Lane chewed on the insides of her cheeks, her gut twisting uncomfortably. Not only did I not honor Grandma in life, I’m going to ruin her legacy.
“Lane, look at me,” said her mother. “I would never steer you wrong. I am your mother, and I’ve cared for you by myself for years. This Council would have had you killed when you were barely out of diapers. These are not the beings we should answer to. This Council is not what your ancestor had in mind when he created the Enchanted beings. He is spinning in his grave, I’m sure.”
Lane was not so sure, but she had never been sure about anything in her entire life. For twenty years, she had lived in the small cottage in the woods, her mother as her only contact to the outside world. She had been educated by Julia, their tiny home cut off from the most basic technology, even though her mother possessed a cell phone, which Lane had often looked at longingly from a distance. Julia had regaled her with the awfulness of the outside world, the cruelty of both the mortals and the Enchanted, stories which filled her with fear and dread.
“One day,” Julia sighed, “you will take over the Council seat from your grandmother and reign the witches on the Council of Seven.”
“Why can’t you do it, Mom?” Lane asked, desperate to find a way out of such a situation. Aside from the sporadic visits from her grandmother, Miriam, Lane could count on one hand how many souls she had encountered in her life on one hand. The idea that she was supposed to live among billions of others was insane.
“I’ve told you before, Lane. Witches choose their successors. There are some rules. Witches on the Council have to have a pure Aldwin bloodline. I’m already too old to take over, and the Council of Seven has a hard-enough time accepting the new members when they join. There is a reason that we do it this way.”
“What if I die before you?” she asked, almost hopefully, and Julia’s face turned ashen.
“Why are you being so morbid? Why can’t you just be dutiful and do as you’re told? This is not something to be questioned but embraced! Do you want to die? Is that what you want? To leave me alone in this world?”
“I’m just wondering what happens if I go first,” Lane muttered, turning back toward the glass. She needed to finish getting ready for the meeting that night, and she had no idea what she was supposed to wear. As always, she had bowed down to her mother’s expertise in the matter. It wasn’t like she had a wide and diverse wardrobe from which to choose a flattering outfit.
Comfort or style? Am I trying to impress them by dressing up or look humble by dressing down?
Julia was no help in the matter, never having attended an initiation ceremony of her own. Try as she might, Lane could not recall ever having a conversation with her Grandmother about it.
“Mom…”
“Lane, it’s only natural that you’re getting cold feet,” Julia said, “but think about the future of our kind and the rest of the Enchanted. I came very close to losing you. Think of how many other mothers have lost their children because of an infraction they couldn’t control.”
Lane opened her mouth to protest, to remind her mom what her grandmother had always said—that the rules were there to keep everyone safe. The Enchanted and mortals couldn’t coexist if the mortals ever learned about the immortals living among them. Chaos would ensue, and who knew what would happen? Yes, the rules were sometimes harsh, but they were necessary, weren’t they?
I guess I’ll find out what the Council’s take on all that is soon enough.
“Your grandmother was just a
s brainwashed as the rest of them,” Julia told her as though she had read Lane’s mind. “She believed that the Council was doing good work, but she couldn’t see the damage they are actually causing. She herself almost sent you to your death! Can you imagine? A grandmother sentencing her own kin to death?”
“Mom, even if what you think about the Council is true, how can you seriously expect me to dismantle them? I have no experience, no idea how any of this works…” She trailed off, not wanting to play the blame game regarding her social ineptitude. Still, the fact was that Julia had kept her hidden from the world without considering the amount of anxiety Lane would feel re-entering it.
“Come on, Lane. We’re going to be late,” Julia said crisply, and Lane cringed slightly, sensing her mother’s displeasure. “I’m not going to keep having the same conversation with you if you refuse to listen.”
Lane’s mouth turned in at the corners, and she exhaled, rising from the vanity to follow her mom from the bedroom.
“I’m not being difficult,” Lane told her, hurrying to catch up with Julia. “I just don’t want to make a mistake, Mom.”
“If you do as you’re told, Lane, you won’t have to worry about that. We’ve been planning this day for years, literal years. You can’t balk now.”
“I’m not… balking,” she insisted. “I’m nervous.”
Julia paused at the doorway of the entryway and studied Lane’s face for a long, silent moment. Her features softened slightly, and she exhaled.
“I guess you are,” she muttered. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be so hard on you.” Julia inhaled deeply. “We won’t be able to take apart the Council overnight,” her mother explained. “And we’re dealing with beings much more powerful than us in some ways because they are immortal while we are not.”
“A demon, dragon, werebear, Lycan, vampire, and fairy,” Lane recited. “And me, the witch.”
“Yes. They each have their own unique abilities, but so do we, Lane, and I have taught you most of what I know. You must cast spells on them when the moment is right, supress their powers, entrance them…”
Each word filled Lane’s heart with more dread. “What if I’m caught? You just said I can be killed much easier.”
“I also said you are more powerful. Are you trying to be insolent?”
“I’m trying not to rouse suspicion on me when everyone is looking at me already,” Lane grunted.
“Obviously you’re not going to do anything right this minute, Lane!” Julia was losing her patience. “I will give you the order when to strike. We are not alone in this fight. There are many of us who see the injustice in this and will fight it until the end.”
Lane stared at her mother imploringly. “Mom, what if I just refuse to take the position? What if you go in my place? Maybe we can talk to the Council, and I can replace you—”
“Lane! You can’t refuse. That’s not an option. Stop this right now before I’m forced to do something I regret!”
Lane shot her eyes away, knowing that a simple look from her mother could easily make a lot of trouble for her. No matter how much she learned from Julia, Lane knew she was still much weaker than the older witch.
“Now hurry up. We need to be in the city by five thirty, and it’s already five. Traffic is going to be horrendous.”
Begrudgingly, Lane followed her, steeling herself for what was coming.
I wonder what Alaric would say to know that one of his descendants was attempting to ruin the order he created. Grandma cast a spell to enable the Council of Seven to find their mates, and I’m coming to create havoc. How can we be from the same line?
There was no time to consider her existential crisis in that moment.
She had a meeting to attend.
“I’m sorry, Julia, but you know the rules.”
Lane gaped at the lumbering beast before her with amazed eyes. She had never seen a fully shifted Lycan before, and nothing her mother had told her had prepared her for the awesomely terrifying being who stood guard at the Masonic Temple.
“You can’t be serious!” Julia snapped. “I’m not leaving my daughter alone to go in there and deal with those monsters alone.”
“Ms. Aldwin is a member of the Council now, ma’am. No one but Council members are allowed inside during the ceremony. Not even me.”
“It’s fine, Mom,” Lane said quickly, sensing that things were about to unravel quickly. “I’ve got this.”
“This is unbelievable,” Julia hissed, standing back to fold her arms over her chest in defiance. “One day, the Council is going to realize that it can’t just do whatever it wants.”
“Mom…” Lane told her warningly. “It’s fine.”
Mother and daughter exchanged a long look, and to Lane’s relief, Julia stood down, though the younger Aldwin could still sense the unrest in her mother.
I really hope she doesn’t do anything stupid or cause a scene. I don’t want any more attention on me than necessary.
Lane couldn’t say how she knew, but inherently, she sensed that her mother was apt to fall into a wave of theatrics if she didn’t get her way.
“Fine,” Julia snapped. “I’ll wait here.”
“You have to wait outside,” the werewolf sighed. “Sorry.”
Before Julia could protest again, Lane shot her another look and shook her head.
Please, Mom, she cried out, somehow hoping her mother could hear her thoughts. Just go.
Without another word, Julia shuffled out of the entryway, and Lane gave the Lycan a wary, apologetic smile.
“Mothers,” she mumbled, and he snorted.
“I happen to have one myself,” he replied, eyeing her with interest. “Welcome to the Council, Ms. Aldwin. I’m Voot. You’ll need to leave everything here with me before going in.”
“Everything?” Lane choked. “I’m not stripping down, I don’t care what the rules are!”
She hadn’t been warned about that by her mother. Then again, Julia had no firsthand knowledge of what occurred inside an initiation ceremony.
Voot snickered and quickly tried to regain his composure.
“No, Ms. Aldwin. Your purse and cell phone,” he chuckled. “You can keep your clothes on.”
Humiliated, Lane muttered, “Oh.” She dropped her handbag onto the counter and nodded as Voot gestured toward a set of double doors.
“Right through there. The Council waits for you.”
Lane froze and looked at him. For the first time, she realized she’d be faced with the Council all alone and at once.
“What are they like?” she whispered, and Voot also paused, his fur-laden hands on the bronze handles.
“They are just beings, Ms. Aldwin, the most powerful our kind has to offer. And now, you are one of them.”
That wasn’t what Lane meant. She wanted to know what they were like in personality, in disposition. Even her all-knowing mother couldn’t provide that information for her, and when Lane had asked her grandmother, Miriam had only smiled mysteriously.
“That is not something I can teach you, child,” she had explained her granddaughter. “You will gauge each of them on their own merits. I won’t have my personal opinions taint yours.”
“You really should get in there, Ms. Aldwin. Leaving the Council waiting is never a good idea—even if you are an Aldwin.” He smiled a hideous grin which Lane knew was meant to be reassuring, but it did nothing to ease the tension in her neck.
Maybe I’ll crack into a million pieces and they’ll have no choice but to find someone else to take my place.
Of course, fate could never be so kind and allow that sort of thing to happen.
“Thanks,” she muttered and inhaled a deep, swooping breath. She closed her eyes as the doors opened and prepared herself for what waited ahead. No matter how much you like or hate them, they are going to be destroyed. I better not get too attached one way or another.
But when she opened her eyes again, Lane suddenly realized that the insurmountable task she h
ad been dealt was going to be a lot harder than she had ever imagined.
“Welcome to the Council of Seven, Lane Aldwin,” someone boomed, and her blood ran cold with the memory of Landon’s voice. “You may enter.”
Lane couldn’t move, her legs paralyzed as she stared at the Lycan in disbelief. In her mind’s eye, she was five years old, and his long finger pointed at her, calling for her to die.
He was the one who wanted me dead. I remember him. He was angry when they refused to kill me.
“Are you just going to stand there all day?” Laurel, the fairy queen, demanded in exasperation. “Hurry up and enter.”
Yet no matter how she tried to will herself forward, Lane’s legs wouldn’t co-operate, and she remained stalk still. How was she expected to walk toward a man who wanted her dead? Did he still feel the same way? He was a werewolf, and she was merely a witch. If he wanted to kill her, he only needed to pounce on her with those teeth and claws and—
She shuddered, suddenly unable to breathe.
“What the hell is this?” someone else barked. “Is she entranced? High?”
“Drag her in here if you must!” Landon howled in annoyance, rising from his massive chair at the center of the high podium.
Suddenly, Lane’s amygdala kicked in, and her fight or flight reaction overtook all else. All her training, all the preparations Julia had given her for two decades had gone out the window. She was flying from the altar room, her heart in her throat as her feet barely touched the ground.
It didn’t matter what the rules were or what her mother said. There was no way she was stepping foot back in that room with those imposing beasts who had once wanted her dead.
No way at all.
3
An awkward silence fell upon the Council, and Henry looked from member to member, trying to reconcile what had just happened. He glanced at Raven, who seemed equally stunned. Never in the history of the Council had anything like that happened.
