The Rainmaker

by Petra Landon

  Raoul, listening intently to the Wizard bring the past into such vivid color from a very different perspective than the one he was familiar with, heard the hiss of Luis’ breath from behind him. It was an ugly term. In the Ancient tongue, it signified impurity, but amongst the Chosen diaspora, it was used as a slur to mean half-blood or half-breed. Just for a minute, it took him back into the past where a witch with bright blue eyes watched him writhe in pain as crazy words poured out of her in an unstoppable torrent. She, too, had used the slur on him, again and again, as if it justified the nightmare she inflicted on him.

  The Lady paused, her eyes searching the Alpha’s face. He was impassive, the cold eyes trained on her. She could tell that he listened to her reminiscences intently. But even the slur, so casually used in the telling, had not elicited a response from him. Good, she thought approvingly. The Alpha was proving to be as tough as she had suspected. And, with good reason to detest Wizards. He’d prove a formidable soldier in the upcoming war. He didn’t know it yet, of course, but he was destined to fight for her interests and in her corner. That powerful intelligence, those formidable Wyr abilities and that cold heart, untouchable and unbreakable, would be engaged in furthering her interests. The prospect excited her immensely.

  “My friend disappeared from the Academy. I heard later that she didn’t return home. Instead, she had disappeared into thin air. At first, her family attempted to trace her whereabouts, but as the years passed by, they let it go. It was clear she didn’t want to be found.”

  Again, she stared at the Alpha, clearly awaiting his response. This time, he rewarded her.

  “You clearly believe you know the past” he said casually, without heat or inflexion in his voice. “So, I’ll tell you this. Whatever happened to me did not break me, not then and not now. You’re not the first Wizard to make the attempt. Nor the second.” A note of self-deprecation entered his voice. “And I suspect, not the last. If you think to succeed where others have failed, it is your funeral. I’m not the shell-shocked teenager I once was. If you come after me, I will hit back with everything I have, and you’ll have the fight of a lifetime on your hands.”

  His eyes met hers in challenge, without rancor or anger. But the Lady knew that he meant what he said so matter-of-factly. He would carry out the threat.

  “Wyr Lord” she chuckled softly. “You’re too quick to the draw. You misunderstand me. I don’t want to break you. I want you to join me.”

  This time, a half-smile quirked on the Alpha’s lips. “You don’t know me very well, or you wouldn’t make the attempt.”

  “I know enough, Wyr Lord” she said composedly, very sure of herself. “Together, we can do great things.”

  “You forget that I’ve seen evidence of your great deeds” Raoul countered, allowing his face to reveal exactly what he thought of her.

  Her expression tightened subtly, but otherwise, she revealed no chink in her armor.

  “All lies, from Esmeralda and her Wizards.”

  Raoul let that go. She had summoned him here for a reason, and he wanted to know what it was. He upped the ante deliberately.

  “I have personal experience, Matilda Redmayne” he said with a deliberation she could not miss, his eyes holding her captive. “Don’t forget that I’ve faced an unscrupulous and murderous witch before. I recognize your kind now. I can see one coming a mile away.”

  This time, his words elicited a reaction from her, as he had suspected it might.

  “I’m nothing like that one” she snapped, holding onto her temper with an effort.

  “You might not call me an Umrajid brat to my face” he countered softly. “But you’re exactly like her. You see, I was forced to observe her closely. I recognize the same psychotic and racist tendencies barely held in check, Matilda Redmayne.”

  “You’re impertinent, Alpha.” Her eyes narrowed to slits as she glared at him.

  “Stop playing games then” he said bluntly. “Why did you want to meet with me? It wasn’t to share stories about the past.”

  Her lips tightened and she seemed to make an effort to bring her temper under control. The Lady was realizing, much to her consternation and dismay, that the tables had been neatly turned on her. Despite her efforts, it was she who had lost control of the conversation, not the Alpha.

  “I want my locket back” she said, with a tolerable attempt at banking down her anger.

  “I don’t have it anymore.”

  “Get it back then, Alpha” she snapped.

  “Why would I?” His tone bordered on insolent.

  Her eyes narrowed. “You want access to my daughter.”

  There goes the first salvo, Raoul mused. But now, he knew some of the chinks in her armor. And he was determined to keep her off her game.

  “Sienna lives at my Lair in San Francisco. I have all the access I want.”

  The Lady’s expression tightened again, a small change that Raoul caught with immense satisfaction.

  “I’m talking about my other daughter” she said.

  “Nandini?”

  “Yes.”

  Gotcha, Raoul thought triumphantly.

  “She’ll be joining Sienna at my Lair in a few days” he said placidly, watching her with eagle eyes.

  This time, he was satisfied to see her speechless. But the Lady was made of sterner stock. She made a quick recovery.

  “You’re very sure of that, are you, Alpha?”

  “Fairly sure.” He was casual. “Nandini gave me her word.”

  Just for a moment, she looked unsure.

  “I will do you one favor” Raoul continued. “I know who has your locket.”

  She clenched her teeth, holding her rising fury in check.

  “Who does?”

  “Your sister. I’m sure you two have a lot to reminisce over.” Raoul’s gold eyes met hers directly, a subtle challenge in them she couldn’t miss. “Old times, the fight for the nomination of First Wizard, and so much more.”

  “I’ve heard a lot about you, Wyr Lord, but no one said you were brash. Cold, they say, and always in control. But never impetuous.”

  “They’re right” he acknowledged. “Though I’ve never been the sort to believe rumors.”

  As they stared each other down, he added softly, subtly taunting her “You should hear what they say about you.”

  “Let me make myself perfectly clear” she said through gritted teeth. “You will bring me the locket, or I’ll make sure you never see Nandini. She’s not going to be as easy to manipulate as Sienna.”

  Raoul chuckled softly, enjoying himself immensely.

  “It falls to me to tell you what your leeches are afraid to. Rather ironic, you’ll agree. Nandini walked away from your house in the woods this morning.”

  He paused to make sure his words hit home.

  “I would keep an eye on your pets, if I were you” he advised her, with an air of academic interest.

  For a moment, her jaw hung open in shock, her eyes flashing to one of the leeches who stood like a rock behind her, to seemingly telegraph a silent message. The leech hurried out of the room.

  “She reached out to me and I was happy to help her walk away from you” Raoul offered, pressing home his advantage relentlessly.

  “You told her lies and she believed them” the Lady said venomously, unable to hide her anger anymore.

  “Why would I need to lie?” He shrugged disinterestedly. “When it comes to you, the truth is more than enough.”

  “Though I must admit” he continued thoughtfully. “I had nothing to do with your daughter’s decision. Your treatment of Roman Durovic spurred her to it.”

  “Who?” she asked sharply.

  “The guy your pets were torturing in the cellar” he offered helpfully.

  She looked nonplussed.

  “Christ, you didn’t know who he was” Raoul said incredulously. “We’ve been wondering why you went after him, when all along, you didn’t even bother to ask his name.”

  For
a moment, she stared at him in impotent fury, perhaps realizing that she had run out of chips to bargain with.

  “Does the name TorElnor ring any bells?” He allowed his amusement to reflect on his face.

  From her expression, it was clear she recognized the name. The Lady went a little pale.

  “Roman Durovic is his handpicked successor. With one rash move, you’ve put the Setik on my side. Not a smart move, some would say.”

  “I don’t need anyone on my side, Wyr Lord” she said with a semblance of calm. “I hold the biggest chip of all.”

  The Alpha remained silent, his expression making it clear that he didn’t believe her.

  “Don’t be so cocky, Shifter! When the time comes, you’ll fight my battles and obey my commands” she said, fury leading her to reveal more than she had intended to, or thought politic.

  “I doubt it” he retorted with a shrug that made it clear how unlikely he thought it.

  “Don’t” she said sharply, but with a confidence that had him silently take a step back. “You will side with me, because your Alpha will demand it. The one man in the world you never question will command you to protect and obey me.”

  Raoul stayed silent. While confident that Faoladh would never command thus, he wondered what made the Wizard so sure of this. Faoladh had done nothing but oppose her since her miraculous resurrection from the grave. Without Faoladh, he would not be here today, attempting to trip her up in a verbal duel. Neither would there be a Shifter team investigating her.

  “You work with the Wizards you detest, because he commands you” she continued as he remained silent. “You gave my locket to Esmeralda because he commanded it. You’re a quintessential Shifter, and your loyalty to Faoladh will always trump everything else, Wyr Lord. When he commands you to my cause, you will not disobey” she finished, her expression a curious mix of triumph and confidence.

  “You know little of me or Faoladh” the Alpha countered, equally confident. “I, my team, everyone that thwarts you today, is here because of Faoladh. He opposes everything you stand for. You might not understand this, but Faoladh is a man of principles. It is why he commands universal respect in our world.”

  He put emphasis on the last part to let her know who the gibe was directed at. She craved power like a drug, this Wizard, but she also craved acceptance from her peers, Raoul realized. Being reminded that she had lost the respect of all Chosen by her deeds was a barb he knew would get under her skin.

  “Man of principles or not, Faoladh is as subject to fate as the rest of us. The die was cast a long time ago, Shifter. He cannot escape his destiny, and neither can you.”

  She laughed, a tinkling sound that seemed to reverberate in the room, but it lacked any amusement. Little did she know how true her words were that day. Raoul Merceau could not escape his destiny, just as neither she or Faoladh could. But destiny was as mysterious in her ways, as fate. She was right — the die had indeed been cast a long time ago, taking years and a torturous path to meander its way to fruition.

  “You shrug because you haven’t read my husband’s interpretation of his prophecy. He lays it all out clearly on the official record. Esmeralda has failed to get the Guardians to give you access, hasn’t she?” the Lady taunted him.

  “Have you?” Raoul retorted. “Read your husband’s interpretation of his prophecy?”

  “I had it from the horse’s mouth.”

  “Hmm. That must have been before you murdered him in cold blood.”

  Her eyes burned, raining fire at him. “He wasn’t supposed to be at the Registry that day. Trust Esmeralda to send him after me. She was always insecure.”

  Raoul ignored her put-down to press home his advantage. She was starting to lose it, he could tell. “The First Wizard didn’t send the Oracle to Chicago. She merely granted his request to join the Guardian contingent.”

  It was clear that this was news to her. Astonishment and something more flashed across her face.

  “He told the First Wizard that he thought he might be able to get through to you” the Alpha said. “Did he try?”

  “None of your business” she said with the suggestion of a snap.

  Raoul shrugged. “Probably not. But I doubt you know as much about this prophecy as you seem to believe” he goaded her.

  She watched him silently, trying to puzzle him out.

  “If the Oracle believed you were on the right path, why would he want to talk you out of it in Chicago?”

  “Perhaps, he merely disagreed on the means and not the end” she said. “After all, he was the one who foretold The Prophecy in the first place.”

  “Perhaps” the Alpha agreed. “But he never said The Prophecy would benefit you.”

  She smiled, the very gesture an act of triumph. “He told me on the night he foretold it that my daughters were meant to change our future.”

  “A consolation prize” Raoul suggested. “You had, after all, lost the chance to be the First Wizard.”

  “I will have more power than any First Wizard” she countered, unable to stop herself from rising to his bait. “This is a better path for me.”

  “Whatever it is, your path is strewn with thorns. The Guardians are a spent force, as my confrontation with them has confirmed. But there are other powerful Chosen, with much influence, who have not forgotten the crimes you were once accused of. Once you announce your resurrection, they won’t spare you for your crimes against their children.”

  To Raoul’s satisfaction, her ire seemed to rise with every well-time barb and gibe he directed at her.

  “That is where you’re mistaken, Wyr Lord. The Prophecy has already decreed a powerful champion for me and my daughters. Someone with the influence and might to allow me to be what I’m destined to be.”

  “You’re destined to be a murderous child-killer with a ragtag bunch of leeches as your only followers. I don’t need to read any official records to know that.”

  “I will take great pleasure in bringing you to heel, Shifter, when the time comes.” The hard blue eyes raked him angrily. “Like a dog.”

  “We all have our dreams. I’ll not begrudge you your fruitless ones.”

  As she opened her mouth to retort, the Alpha raised his hand to interrupt her.

  “Much as I enjoy this banter, I’ve a flight to catch. Why did you invite me here?”

  It had been years since the Lady had been thwarted like this, insulted to her face, her crimes and other accusations flung back at her so openly, and, all by a young whipper snapper of a Shifter Alpha that by rights should be begging for her favors. It goaded her into hasty speech.

  “I want you to give Faoladh a message for me.”

  The Alpha arched his eyebrow, the single gesture conveying a perfect blend of insolence, disinterest and disrespect, all in one, hoping to force her into committing a final misstep. The Lady did not disappoint, dropping a bombshell so potent it would force Raoul to question his strategy against her, eventually driving him to counter her more forcefully and directly.

  “Tell him I wait for him to join the cause, and that my patience is wearing thin.”

  For a moment, the jolt held Raoul still. Did she mean what he thought she did, he pondered incredulously. Yes, she did, he realized almost immediately. She had insinuated that a champion had been foretold by The Prophecy with the might, influence and inclination to protect her from being prosecuted for her past crimes. If she meant Faoladh, Raoul didn’t doubt the might and influence aspects of it. But he doubted Faoladh’s inclination to protect this particular Wizard. He just couldn’t see how Faoladh would ever be on her side. She stood against everything Faoladh had spent his many lifetimes building carefully. What caused him unease was that she knew The Prophecy’s nuances infinitely better than him. That would change immediately, he pledged. He was done playing by the rules the Guardians had thrust on him. From now on, he would write his own rules. And, he promised himself as he watched the triumphant Wizard’s eyes rake him scornfully, the Lady would f
eel the heat of her taunts at him very soon. She had shaken the very ground under his feet with her revelation. But despite his shock, Raoul could also tell that she regretted her hasty words immensely. Despite her best efforts, she could not hide that from him. She had not meant to reveal the tidbit about Faoladh. Not to him, anyway. To Raoul, it was both consolation and cause for serious alarm.

  “I’m looking forward to going home” Sienna said with a sigh, relaxing against the seat to clip on her belt.

  Sara looked startled, but Hawk gave her his heart-stopping grin.

  “Starting to think of the Lair as home, Sienna?” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Blasphemy! You’ll be burnt at the stake by your kind.”

  Sienna smiled at the sally, but inwardly she was a little shocked at the sentiment behind the words that had slipped out so casually.

  “The First Wizard will have something to say about that, Hawk” Jason said easily from his seat a few rows ahead. As will I, he thought silently to himself.

  Jason, who couldn’t see Sienna’s face from his seat, suspected that she’d freaked herself out by the statement that had slipped out so spontaneously.

  “Like the Pack would let anything happen to you, Sienna” Hawk said heartily, taken aback by the somber expression on Sienna’s face. “The Wizards are too busy trying to fix up their Headquarters. I bet they give Alph and his Pack a wide berth from now on.”

  Sara directed a look at her twin that fairly screamed at Hawk to shut up. More attuned, Sara understood instinctively what had brought on the somber and reflective expression on Sienna’s face.

  Hawk arched his eyebrow in a ‘what did I do’ gesture, only for his twin to give him an exasperated look, liberally mixed with affection. Sara turned to the Wizard beside Hawk, silently encouraging Tasia to share her exasperation with him. Tasia smiled at them both, enjoying the light-hearted banter between the siblings. Rarely easy in Shifter company, Sara had been relaxed on this trip to Portland, and noticeably less on edge around Luis Beltran. By all accounts, she had found Alpha Tlizilani, a distant relative, to be more of a kindred spirit than the usual Shifters she seemed to instinctively shy away from.