by Petra Landon
Raoul studied the Ancient. Durovic was being candid with him, but there was something the Ancient was holding back.
Roman’s eyes wandered absently to Sienna. “If anyone can convince Nandini about her mother, it’s Sienna.”
“What about SivoTar? How much influence does he have on her?”
“Not much, I don’t think. She trusts him because he’s an old friend of her father’s, but she doesn’t really know him.”
“Hmm.”
“So, now that you know all, would you rather I come along for the ride, or should I head up north to complete my business?” Roman asked again.
“Come with us, Durovic. If Lady Bethesda still retains any ties to Portland, it might be worth it to make inquiries when we visit the city.”
Roman complied. “I’ve already sent out feelers for the other matter you asked me to investigate. It’ll take some time to confirm the presence of artifacts in private custody.”
The door to the Alpha’s Room opened and Faoladh made his way out to them.
“Bad news, I’m afraid” he murmured, just as Sienna and the First Wizard reached them. Sienna had a flush of eager excitement on her face.
“SivoTar confirmed that she was his guest until yesterday, when she received a message from someone purporting to be her mother, in SivoTar’s words.”
“She’s gone” Sienna blurted out, clearly aghast by the news.
“I’m afraid so. SivoTar warned her against it but she was insistent. He only relented after she promised to stay in contact. She has a cell and, as promised, she’s kept in touch. By all accounts, she’s getting to know the mother she has long believed dead.”
“Bethesda has her” the First Wizard murmured under her breath, with disbelief.
“SivoTar might’ve tried harder to stop the girl, if he believed her to be in danger” Faoladh offered. “He seems fond of her — it’s clear her father was a friend. Doesn’t know the mother, except that she’s been presumed dead for years.”
“This gives Lady Bethesda an advantage over us” Jason pointed out.
“The chance to tell her side of the story to her daughter first” Roman added. “In the absence of any opposing viewpoint, Nandini may well accept it as the truth.”
“We have to do something. She should be told the truth about our …” Sienna stumbled slightly. “Her mother” she corrected herself.
“We’ve evidence against Bethesda” the First Wizard chimed in. “When confronted with it, I’m sure my niece will believe it.”
“But how do we get to her?” Jason asked. “Lady Bethesda has achieved something of a coup. In one fell swoop, she’s made sure none of us can get to her daughter.”
Faoladh turned to the Alpha. “What if we took everything we have on Bethesda to SivoTar, Raoul? She doesn’t know us from Adam, but Nandini might trust SivoTar.”
Raoul shook his head. “We’ll have our work cut out to convince SivoTar to act on his suspicions. As far as he’s concerned, this is the wife of a good friend we’re maligning. And time is something we don’t have on our side. Also, from what Durovic says, Nandini doesn’t know SivoTar that well. Even if we convince him, she might not believe him.”
He mused on the matter. “SivoTar is in contact with her, right?”
Faoladh nodded.
“Would he be willing to give her a message from us, do you think?”
“What are you thinking, Raoul?” Faoladh narrowed his eyes.
“She’s been jolted about the past and is looking for answers. She might agree to meet someone with information about the past. It’ll have to be done delicately, but remember this is a mother who’s a stranger to her, who she thought died a long time ago. All we have to do is plant the seed of suspicion in her. That might be enough for her to question what her mother tells her. Then, we work on freeing her from Lady Bethesda’s clutches.”
“I’ll go” Sienna offered determinedly. “She’ll listen to me. I know she will. She’s my sister.”
“No, Sienna” the First Wizard objected, before Jason could. “We cannot let you walk into Bethesda’s trap.”
“She’s been trying to arrange a meeting with you for a while now, Sienna. This would play right into her hands. Look at the havoc Bianchi caused here trying to get to you” Jason reminded her.
“We know why she was after me, Jason” Sienna protested. “I don’t have the locket around my neck anymore.”
“You’re still vulnerable, my dear” the First Wizard pointed out worriedly. “You’re an integral piece of this prophecy she believes will give her leverage with the Chosen. If you walked into her parlor, she won’t let you go until her plans come to fruition.”
“That’s precisely why I will be safe, Aunt Minnie. I’m valuable to her, just as Nandini is. She’d never allow any harm to come to us. Where would that leave her with all her carefully nurtured plans crumbled to dust around her?”
“It’s too risky, Sienna” the Alpha said softly. “For all we know, it might be a trap. Lady Bethesda might’ve lured your sister precisely because she guessed that it might bring you hot-footed to her rescue. We cannot risk that. The First Wizard is right.”
Sienna subsided at his words, where she had countered both her aunt and Jason. She knew that he was right — the Alpha, after all, had no emotional baggage on this. His was the mind thinking clearly, while both Jason and the First Wizard were too emotionally invested in the matter.
“Then what do we do? We cannot leave her to Lady Bethesda.”
No, we cannot” Raoul agreed. “From a tactical standpoint, it would be a mistake of monumental proportions.”
“Even discarding Sienna’s emotional plea, now that we know The Prophecy calls for the three siblings to come together, it would be foolhardy to allow Bethesda the chance to write that script” Faoladh agreed.
“Alright, now that we’re agreed, who do we send into the lion’s den?” Duncan cut to the heart of the matter. “Lady Bethesda won’t allow anyone from the investigation to get near her daughter.”
“No” Jason seconded him. “She knows of the Pack’s involvement. And mine” he added.
“So, no Wizards or Shifters” the First Wizard said.
“She doesn’t know about me” Roman interjected.
He turned to the Alpha. “I might have a hard time convincing Nandini, but I doubt Lady Bethesda would stop me seeing her. We could concoct a cover story about some First One business to do with her father.”
“Bianchi knows of your involvement” Raoul pointed out. “Perhaps not the extent of it, but he knows you’re on good terms with the Pack.”
“It’s a risk, Merceau, but I’m hoping my presence in it was such an insignificant part of the story that Bianchi has not updated her about it.”
Jason chimed in to agree. “I doubt that Bianchi has been eager to give her any details of his failure to recover the locket.”
“What say?” Roman asked the Alpha.
Raoul ruminated over it for a moment, before agreeing to it.
He turned to Faoladh. “Do we have enough evidence linking Lady Bethesda to her husband’s death in India, Faoladh?”
“Not conclusively, no, but certainly enough to raise questions about it.”
“I can ask my Shifters to speed that up — give this particular item the highest priority?” Faoladh offered.
“That might be best, Faoladh. We could take the evidence to Nandini’s brother, SivoTar and other Chosen. It would help discredit her, making it a matter of murder instead of a convoluted play for power. Right now, we’re constrained by what we haven’t uncovered yet. But any evidence of involvement in her husband’s death might, at the very least, give her prospective allies pause while we dig more.”
The First Wizard nodded sharply to back the Alpha’s strategy. “Also, any evidence gathered under Faoladh’s aegis will carry weight” she remarked. If the Wizards started making accusations, many might dispute it as internal partisan infighting.
�
��And Nandini would need no convincing to walk away from Lady Bethesda” Sienna said quietly.
“So, if I understand Raoul, he’s suggesting a two-pronged approach on this” Faoladh summarized. “Speed up the investigation into her father, while Roman works on Nandini.”
“Durovic merely has to plant a seed in Nandini’s mind” Raoul reiterated. “If she’s even slightly skeptical about her mother’s version of the past, it’ll be easier to get her to believe the truth. Then, we separate her from her mother.”
“I’ll talk to SivoTar” Faoladh said. “I don’t want to push him too hard. We need him to get to Nandini. He’s the only one with access to her.”
Chapter 10
A deadly conspiracy is hatched
In the Pack Room later that evening, Tasia tried to console Sienna. From anticipating a tryst with her sister to the news that Nandini had instead been plucked from right under their noses was proving hard for Sienna to come to terms with.
“If your sister is anything like you, Sienna, she’ll be skeptical of any story Lady Bethesda spins” Tasia assured the Wizard she had come to regard as a friend.
Sienna’s eyes flashed to her, the grim expression on her face easing. “You’re right, Tasia.”
“Wonderful” Jason retorted good-humoredly. “I’ve been saying the same thing all day. But Tasia says it, and suddenly, it’s all good.”
“She has a way about her” Sienna shrugged, her eyes twinkling.
Relieved to see it, Jason smiled. “I can see that.”
Hawk, accompanied by Luis, strode up to join them.
“She’s right, Sienna” Hawk said brightly, plopping himself down on the couch with the two Wizards. “We’ll have your sister back in no time.”
Sienna smiled, some of her natural effervescence reasserting itself. Hawk decided a change of subject was in order.
“I was looking forward to Portland very much” he remarked.
Sienna took the bait. “Why, Hawk?”
“Anything to miss Atsá’s shindig. Now, I will actually have to make a decision.”
“I thought you’d already made your decision, Hawk.” Luis wore a frown.
“Well, I do have a date lined up for the evening” Hawk admitted. “If not for that, I’d have sent my regrets a while ago.”
“Why don’t you want to go to Atsá’s party, Hawk?” Sienna asked in her forthright manner, her troubles temporarily forgotten, as Hawk had smartly anticipated. From various bits of overheard conversation, Sienna was aware that Atsá was Sara and Hawk’s estranged grandfather.
“I’m leery of sending the message that all is forgiven” he said simply.
“I don’t think that’s the message you’ll telegraph, Hawk” Tasia said haltingly.
“Tasia is right.” Luis put his two cents in. “Atsá knows that the relationship needs a lot more work than having you show up to a party.”
Sienna took in Hawk’s mulish expression. “Atsá has been gracious enough to invite Jason and me, but if you’re not planning to go, Hawk, we won’t either. It’s no fun without friends. Right, Jason?”
“Absolutely” Jason agreed promptly.
Tasia smiled to herself. You could always depend on Sienna to say the right thing, she mused.
Hawk looked taken aback by Sienna’s statement.
“No, you should go, Sienna” he insisted. “Tasia and you have been cooped up at the Lair long enough. You both deserve an evening away.”
It was Tasia’s turn to make a declaration. “I’m not going, unless Sara and you go.”
Hawk sighed. “Alright, just for you, Tas.”
He glanced at the others. “It won’t be too bad if I have you guys to hang with.” He cheered up. “I’m not crazy about Atsá’s Shifters.”
“Who’re you taking to the party?” Sienna asked curiously. She had assumed Tasia to be Hawk’s date, but both Tasia and his statements clearly hinted that that wasn’t the case.
“It’s a surprise” Hawk grinned. “I think you’ll approve, Sienna.”
Sienna turned to her friend. “Do you know who it is, Tasia?”
“I think so” she said composedly. Tasia had long suspected that Hawk had a soft corner for her friend. A conversation with Caro over lunch a few weeks ago had revealed that it was not entirely one-sided.
…
“There’s something I’d like to talk to you about, Tas.” Caroline looked uncharacteristically hesitant.
“Of course. What’s on your mind, Caro?”
“Hawk and you are friends, right?”
“Yup.”
“Good friends?”
“Yes.” Tasia continued to chow down on her sandwich, without missing a beat, until the unusual silence from her usually garrulous friend prompted her to look up.
“He asked you out” she exclaimed, putting her sandwich aside. So, Hawk had finally made his move.
“Yes … no … I mean, I haven’t said yes.” Caro looked uncertain, a hunted expression on her face.
Tasia looked genuinely puzzled. “Why not, Caro?”
Sara and she had categorically declared Shifters off bounds for them at the party, but Tasia had not failed to note that her friend hadn’t. Caro’s primary reaction during the conversation had been curiosity at Sara and Tasia’s opinions.
“It’s not because he’s a Shifter, is it?” Tasia was hesitant. If that was the case, Hawk would be disappointed.
“God no, Tas.” Caro had shaken her head vehemently. “It’s not that at all. It’s just that …”
“What is it?”
“I sort of had this impression that you two might be an item” Caro blurted out, looking extremely uncomfortable.
Tasia stared at her friend. It took her a few moments to recover her composure.
“Hawk and I are good friends, but nothing more, Caro. We have a bond that’s hard to define. No matter what, we’ll always have the other’s back. And I know that I can tell him anything. But there’s nothing romantic between us, not even remotely so.”
“Are you sure, Tas? Because I don’t want to come between …”
“I’m very sure, Caro.” She clasped her friend’s palm. “There’s never been and never will be anything more than a deep friendship between us.”
Caro looked relieved. “I’ve been around enough Shifters now, Tas. All of them, without fail, are undemonstrative. Hawk’s very different with you. It’s clear that he holds you in great affection.”
“As do I — both Sara and him. Hawk’s a little different from other Shifters, Caro. For one, he was brought up amongst humans. It separates both Sara and Hawk from their peers in subtle ways.”
As her friend stared at her, a mischievous smile bloomed on Tasia’s face. “I suspect some of the demonstrative stuff is just Hawk’s way of thumbing his nose at his Pack, of signaling that he doesn’t care what they say about him. The more they gossip about us, the more he enjoys giving them fodder for it. But that gossip is not true. I hope you mean to accept, Caro” she persisted, as her friend studied her silently.
“I’d like to” Caro admitted.
“Then please do, Caro. Hawk’s a gem. Once you get past the Shifter stuff, he’s solid gold. You’d be good for each other, I suspect.” Tasia smiled. “And, I’d be over the moon.”
Caro grinned, her first smile since initiating the conversation. “He’s asked me to a Shifter party. I can just picture the shocked gazes as he strolls in with a Wizard on his arm.”
“Atsá’s party” Tasia remarked knowingly. “Sara will be there. As will Evgeny and I.”
“Evgeny, eh? Alright, you’ve convinced me, Tasia. Hawk it is.”
San Diego, California
“There’s a man requesting an audience with you, Guardian.”
Ted Anderson glanced up from the document he was perusing to study his aide.
“Does he have an appointment, Ed?”
“No.” Ed shook his head. “But he says he has information of interest to you.”
/> Anderson arched an eyebrow. Many Wizards with unaddressed grievances attempted to approach him at home, under flimsy excuses. While this was not unusual, his aides were usually adept at sending such Chosen on their way.
“He says he has information on Raoul Merceau” the aide explained. While many Chosen had heard of the fracas at the San Francisco Wizard Registry, only those closest to the Guardian knew how the Wizard seethed with anger at the Alpha who had humiliated him so publicly.
Anderson’s face went blank at the news. “Show him in” he said.
Minutes later, a pale young man was escorted into the room. The aide glanced at the Guardian before shutting the door discreetly on his way out.
“Guardian Anderson?” inquired the young man with a lilting Italian accent.
“Yes” Anderson acknowledged. “And you are?”
“I’m Rafaelo Bianchi of the Venice Nest.”
Anderson arched an eyebrow. “A member of the Clan” he remarked with thinly disguised disgust.
If the Vampire heard the disdain in the Wizard’s voice, he hid it well.
“We have an enemy in common, Guardian” he remarked suavely. “And I know just the way to punish the arrogant Alpha.”
Anderson contemplated the Vampire in silence before inviting him to seat himself.
“What do you want in exchange for this information?” the Guardian inquired shrewdly. The Clan was known to drive a hard bargain — that is, when it was willing to do business with other Chosen, which was rare.
“Absolutely nothing.” The young man threw up his hands extravagantly.
“I find that hard to believe.” Anderson was clearly skeptical.
“Alright. How about this, Guardian? If you use what I tell you to either take down the Beast Lord or weaken him temporarily, I’ll call us even.”
Anderson looked taken aback by the young man’s offer. “What information do you have on him?”
“He came out of nowhere ten years ago to win control of the Northern California Pack. Before that, he’d never led a Pack or a were-pack.”
