Dark Promise

by Patti Larsen

  Like it was my fault. Again. Sigh.

  I felt my bodywere hovering even now, silent behind me as I made my offer. I could feel her approval and wondered if the family would be so open. Too late.

  We Hayles were nothing if not unconventional.

  “Sydlynn,” Talee said, crying again, but this time in happiness, “we are honored to accept.”

  Why did I have the feeling I'd be needing them more than they needed me?

  ***

  Mom’s reaction to our new additions, who arrived a few days later in their packed minivan, was more motherly than Council Leader so I was happy to see her go to Talee and embrace her when the Happerns pulled up.

  I was actually a little surprised to see her anywhere but at Meira’s bedside, the place she’d ushered my sister after she’d finally crossed the veil from Dad’s care and into Mom’s waiting arms.

  You could have warned me, Mom sent even as she ushered the family into the kitchen as if she still lived here.

  It’s not your coven anymore. I sent my words softly, not wanting her to take offence even as Gram cackled in our heads.

  She waited in the kitchen, glorious in her pale blue dressing gown and bright purple fuzzy socks, white hair waving in wisps around her, hands clasped under her wrinkled chin as her pale blue eyes sparkled at the sight of Talee’s hesitant smile.

  “Oh goody,” Gram said with a wicked chuckle. “Fresh blood.”

  Mom’s answering mental message warmed me up inside. Silly, she sent. I could have made coffee. And cookies. She smiled at me, touched my cheek as Gram promptly rushed to the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of eggs.

  “Breakfast?” She balanced on her toes, eyes roving the newcomers who had no freaking clue what to make of my very odd grandmother. Just the way she liked things, the bratski.

  “Gram,” I said softly. “It’s three in the afternoon.”

  “Perfect,” she winked at Tara and Todd. “Bacon and eggs it is.”

  I left the smiling family in the care of my grandmother to follow Mom and Sassafras upstairs to Meira’s door. The fact my mother was still home and hadn’t run off to deal with some Council crisis or another told me volumes.

  We paused together at the top of the stairs, staring at Meira’s door on the far end of the hall as if none of us wanted to go any further.

  “How is she?” I winced at how pathetic my question sounded in my own ears, as if Meira had the flu or something.

  Mom’s reflexive smile worried me even more than the soft touch her fingertips traced over my hair. “Recovering still,” she said. “She’s been through so much, Syd.” Mom’s face crumpled, only for a moment. “I should have been able to protect her.”

  I’d heard that particular chastisement before, aimed at yours truly by yours truly. “You weren’t there,” I said softly, hating myself. “I was. And I couldn’t,” who was I kidding? Didn’t, “help.”

  “Neither did I,” Sassafras said, stern and a little snappish. “But blaming ourselves isn’t going to help Meira one bit.”

  I bent and scooped him into my arms, hugging him to me. “You’re right.”

  “As usual,” he said. “Meira will be fine. She’s a Hayle. And you Hayle witches are nothing if not survivors.”

  I squeezed Mom’s hand as her other stroked Sassy’s fur.

  “Let’s go see for ourselves, shall we?”

  With a heavy heart but the hope of Sassafras’s years of knowledge to buoy my spirits, I joined my mother and my demon cat as Mom walked through Meira’s door.

  ***

  Chapter Thirty Eight

  One thing was certain, my life was never dull.

  Not with a demon family to integrate into my coven while some of the older witches grumbled and fussed and threw around words like, “shocking” and “scandalous”. That was, until the Lawrence sisters adopted Taleesharete and the rest of the Happern brood. The dissenters knew better than to cross Estelle and Esther.

  Way for the twins to step up.

  Mom didn't say a word past welcoming them to the coven, though I knew she’d probably catch some grief once she returned to Harvard and the Council. Still, our unusual family was none of the Council’s business and I was happy Mom accepted that.

  I knew my grandmother approved by the way she grinned every time someone brought up the demon and her family, after that first breakfast/lunch. Obviously, she approved of the Happerns. And it was always nice of her to have my back.

  I took a more active stance in searching for Ameline, but she was doing a great job hiding and I knew I'd only find her when she decided it was time to come out of her stinking hole again. At least I had some warning this time. Her bitter statement, tossed over her shoulder as she left me on Demonicon, was all the warning I needed. Galleytrot, now more paranoid than ever, spent all of his time guarding the entrance to the cavern when he wasn't on Liam's heels, his power so apparent I was afraid even the magically deluded populace of Wilding Springs would start noticing something was up.

  I wasn't arguing with the big black dog. Ameline's threats weren't to be taken idly. Though what she meant about knowing about Liam I wasn't sure. She'd met him before, hadn't she? Knew he carried Sidhe power. Not having all the information made me as jumpy as Galleytrot.

  Two days after I came home, I received a short email—Worth a shot—with the capital “A” under it. While I had no luck finding Ameline, she still had the upper hand in knowing exactly where I was. Though I refused to stop looking, I was resigned to wait her out.

  It was a few days more before Meira was anything like herself, though when Mom, Sass and I visited her that afternoon, she smiled and seemed more stable, at least. She managed to smile and hug us, even meeting my eyes at last, though hers were guarded. When she apologized to me, I let her feel my sorrow and guilt, hoping it would help.

  Didn't. Meira quickly retreated and, with little discussion, gathered up her things and vanished with Mom. Who didn’t speak a further word about the changes in my sister, but whose face I knew well enough to see the anxiety and fear Mom played close to the vest.

  Maybe it was just Meira adjusting to being heir, to accepting more responsibility, but I doubted it. A quick call to Dad told me they'd done what they could for her. The rest of her recovery, her own guilt and frustration tied to the new evolution of her body, was up to her.

  What, I had to let my sister deal with it and not try to save her?

  That made no sense whatsoever.

  One cool thing came from all of this. The moment the veil opened, I felt the Node. It reached for me every time I touched the rubbery membrane between planes, singing softly to me, embracing me and welcoming my presence. I couldn't help but wonder if my grandmother's essence somehow recognized me, or if the living Node simply knew who I was and was grateful in its own way.

  I'd take either.

  Ahbi's funeral was a massive affair with numerous horrible outfits and endless speeches with a procession from city to city that took three days. I was exhausted by the end, and had to face a furious Charlotte all over again when it was over, but when my grandmother's body was finally delivered to the heart of the mountain in Ostrogotho, I felt my own heart let go of the terrible guilt I'd carried, blaming myself for her death.

  She wouldn't have appreciated the sentiment anyway.

  I wasn't exactly popular with my Demonicon family anymore, not that I was to begin with. You’d think they’d be grateful I saved their demon asses. But nope. Turned out my efforts to make sure they didn’t die in a burning pyre of crumbling planes just drove their jealousy higher. Every demon I passed flinched from me in fear as if I was going to burst into flames and tear out their livers for dinner, or something equally ridiculous. I resisted responding, figuring it made more sense to have them afraid of me and less likely to plot against me than to try to rectify the situation.

  Wasn't worth my trouble.

  Ram wasn't around those three days and a polite inquiry to Dad won me anoth
er knowing grin and a highly irritating excuse about the demon spy being off on an assignment, top secret, hush-hush.

  My dad was a total jerk sometimes.

  Sassafras and Avenesequoia kept in closer contact now that they'd been reunited and I even caught them talking to their hulking Guard brother, Jabuticabron while Theridialis hovered and smiled. I knew Sassy didn't consider his father much of one, but it looked to me like their family might be mending fences long knocked down.

  Good for them.

  It was gut wrenching, at the end of the funeral, to have Dad announce he'd narrowed the field of mate choices to a dozen, the lady demons parading before him like over-dressed peacocks. I glared so hard Dad finally had to ask me to ease up as each of them almost fell to their knees in fear.

  Scary Syd was scary. In this case, I was 100% cool with it, thanks.

  Now, if only I could scare Ameline enough to make her slip up.

  Wishful thinking.

  School was just around the corner. Harvard, Liam, Shenka, classes. Maybe even getting to spend more time with Meira now that she was on the mend. Normalcy. Really? How mundane.

  I couldn’t wait.

  ###

  Like what you read?

  Find more at www.pattilarsen.com

  And now for the first chapter

  of Book #14 in the Hayle Coven Novels

  Unseelie Ties

  Chapter One

  Class bored me. Mostly. How could I possibly take interest in the chain reaction of fire, water, earth and air through tiny little samples on a glass slate when I'd flown with dragons, fought demons and evil witches, battled vampire Queens and almost died doing it? I sighed, chin on my fist as my lab partner, Tippy Meeks, prodded the small clump of dirt to start the show.

  “Observe,” Mr. Howermall, my Elemental Interactions teacher said in his low, dull voice devoid of anything resembling excitement or enthusiasm. Tippy tossed her thick red hair over one shoulder and crossed her eyes at me. She was the only saving grace in this entire stupid class. “Earth and water are in opposition.”

  Right. I was supposed to be watching as Tippy's magic nudged the hovering droplet of water over the loose soil, scattering it. Wow. How awesome was that?

  Sarcasm, my best friend.

  One week into my second year of witches college and I was wishing something really awful would happen just so I'd have an excuse to get out of here.

  Tippy winked and fluttered her fingers over the mess she'd made. A little clay man rose from the mix, doing a jig on the glass while giving Mr. Howermall the finger.

  Oh my yes. Much, much better.

  I pressed both hands over my mouth to stifle my giggling and made a fake angry face at Tippy who let the tiny mud man collapse.

  Seriously. This was basic stuff, for babies. Okay, okay, so I hadn't exactly been the best student growing up, but if this was all we got in college, I was so ready to call it a day and head for home.

  “Now,” Mr. Howermall said, “introduce air to your experiment.”

  I gestured at Tippy as she raised one hand. My turn. Mr. Howermall wanted air in there, huh? I could handle that. A tiny tornado, danced its way into life, complete with a softly echoing howl. Tippy raised her mud man again and we both nearly collapsed into laughter as the twister lifted him up and spun him like a top. Bits of mud flew out of the tornado to splatter Tippy's shirt. Still giggling, I raised a shield to protect us, too late. She brushed her hand over the tight white t-shirt she wore, the mud falling to the counter under her. “Bite Me” glared back from the pair of ruby lips balanced between her impressive cleavage.

  Her voluptuousness always made me wonder if I could do a little enhancement of my own. Not that I was flat or anything, but I felt more than inadequate when I stood next to her.

  Then again, I didn't have guys staring at my chest instead of in my eyes. Not that Tippy minded. Thus the t-shirt.

  “Excellent.” Mr. Howermall didn't even leave his desk to observe us, instead leaning his rounded belly against the back of his chair, face as interested as his voice. “Next, apply fire to the other three and record your findings.”

  If I didn't get to do something challenging soon, I was going to lose my mind. All of the things that happened to me over the last three years or so left me a little jaded. Okay, more than a little. I leaned back, my good humor fading, and let Tippy introduce fire into the tornado. Mud man shook, expanded and then exploded outward, splattering the inside of the shield with his clayness.

  “Ew.” Tippy's eyes glittered with wickedness. “Let's do that again.”

  I laughed softly, keeping my head down, though I was now firmly convinced Mr. Howermall wouldn't have left his desk or noticed we were up to no good even if his ass was on fire. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

  “You're no fun,” she pouted, her wide, full lips pulling down, glowing with lip gloss. And then she smiled and prodded me. “Just kidding,” she said. “This is lame.”

  “Really?” I glared at Mr. Howermall. “I hadn't noticed.”

  Sashenka Hensley, my roommate and bestie, turned around from two desks up to roll her eyes at me. I would have chosen her for a lab partner in a second, if Mr. Howermall hadn't assigned us. At least I had Tippy. Poor Shenka was stuck with Richard Neuman, a Santos witch. I didn't have anything against him, per se, but he was the clumsiest guy with magic I'd ever met and, after a class stuck beside him last semester dodging flying magic, I felt Shenka's pain, but didn't love her enough to trade places.

  She had to learn life sucked sometimes.

  Snort.

  I watched her carefully handle her clutz partner and my mind went to our conversation from the summer. Shenka's desire to leave her coven led me to talk to her about being my second, something she'd seemed excited about when she mentioned it again at Sunny and Uncle Frank's wedding. But every time I brought it up since starting back to school, she made an excuse or changed the subject.

  She changed her mind, was my only guess. And as much as I wanted her to be my second, needed one thanks to Gram's prodding, and knew Shenka was the perfect choice, I understood her reluctance. Her older sister, Tallah, was my friend, one of the only younger witches leading covens that I knew. The last thing I wanted was to make enemies of the Hensley coven by stealing Shenka away. But if she wasn't happy, that had to be detrimental to the family.

  Still. I understood. But it made me sad and a little frustrated.

  “You've been sighing all class,” Tippy whispered as she swept the mess from table with air magic and into the trash. “Either tell me what's up or stop breathing.” She winked once, twining a lock of red curls around her finger.

  “Things don't always work out the way you want them, I guess.” I shrugged. “My grandmother's been pushing me to recruit a second so she can hand off the rest of the family power.”

  I might as well have told Tippy her favorite rock band stood right behind her. Green eyes lit up and widened, one hand grasping mine, her perfectly manicured and very sharp nails digging into my wrist as she leaned close with a smile growing across her face. I understood my mistake almost immediately.

  “Syd,” Tippy said, voice quivering with emotion, “I would love. Yes. Love. To audition to be your second. LOVE.” She bounced on her stool, still clinging to me. “I've been wanting to leave my family and make my own mark. And your coven...” she whistled softly before sobering a little. “I know you can't just choose me,” she said. “That we'll have to talk about it. But,” she grabbed me again, grin as big as ever, “I'd be honored if you'd let me try out.”

  Like she was applying to be a cheerleader.

  Oh boy.

  Before I could say anything, a deep, echoing chime rang. Mr. Howermall sighed and actually looked relieved himself. “Dismissed.”

  I rose and moved to the softly opening door, Tippy chattering away beside me while I inwardly cringed at the thought of having her as my second. I adored her, of course I did. She was one of the few friends I had, chose to
have, who didn't judge me or treat me differently. Unlike most of the rest of the student body who were either afraid of me or hated my guts for varying reasons having to do with family attachments.

  I let Tippy talk, retreating as I considered the problem. While I wouldn't likely choose her, I knew I did have to make a decision. Any idea of doing what Tallah did and picking my own sister was out of the question. Not only was Meira more demon than I was on the outside, forced to hide her red skin and black horns, not to mention her glowing amber eyes behind a facade of humanity, she and I weren't really on talking terms at the moment.

  Ever since her return from Demonicon, Meira was different, darker and more on edge. I hardly blamed her for the change. She'd been purposely hooked on nectar by Sassafras's evil mother, Sekaniphestat, used by Ameline to track and try to stop me from blocking Ameline's way to the Node keeping Demonicon together. And I hadn't been there for Meira, to protect her. To keep her safe.

  Guilt, thy name is Syd.

  But even if she forgave me, wasn't distant and cold when I managed to track her down, she was now heir to the Second Seat of Demonicon. That position trumped the coven.

  My heart hurt thinking about my little sister. Now aged beyond her normal eleven year old appearance thanks to the nectar, Mom decided sending her off to a different school for the year would be a good change for her. Which meant Meira was in Europe, living with Council Leader Applegate. Yes, I could have reached her at any point, even ridden the veil across territories to visit. But she'd made it pretty clear when we'd parted just before I came to Harvard she needed space.