Rituals

by Kelley Armstrong

  "One which I might very well condone under the circumstances," Gabriel said. "But no, presuming you aren't actually tired, Ricky, and are only attempting to politely extricate yourself from an intimate situation, I'll ask you to join us in the drink. I believe we could all use it."

  --

  We'd barely poured the Scotch when the doorbell rang.

  "I would hope that was Patrick coming to tell us Pamela got back safely," I said. "But it's a little soon for that."

  "Actually, he will text as soon as she does," Gabriel said. "I sent him a strongly worded message to that effect, as well as a warning that he may not wish to contact you directly for at least forty-eight hours."

  "Good call."

  The knocker banged. I winced and said, "Tell me we can ignore that."

  "I don't hear a thing," Ricky said. "Lloergan? Get back here. You don't hear it, either."

  Gabriel got to his feet. "I'll answer and tell the caller, in no uncertain terms, to go away."

  Ricky grinned. "Dare you to say exactly that. Just open the door, give your best Gabriel stare, say 'Go away,' and shut it again. Better yet, slam it."

  "I don't slam doors."

  "You should start. It's very therapeutic."

  I listened to Gabriel's footsteps. Then the click of the deadbolt, the whoosh of the door, and a very eloquent sigh.

  "Pepper," he said.

  I went into the hall to see her standing in the doorway saying, "Gwy--I mean, Gabriel."

  "You may call me Gwynn, Pepper. I have told you that."

  He sounded deeply resigned, and I knew it wasn't so much the name as general exhaustion from the endless evening, but Pepper stumbled over herself to apologize.

  Grace wasn't kidding about Pepper's near worship of Gabriel. If Pepper were actually as young as she looks, it'd be seriously creepy. But it has nothing to do with that. To her, he is Gwynn, legendary king of the Fae, and while she could flip Grace the finger at her teasing, it was a whole different story when she stood in front of Gabriel himself.

  "Hey, Pepper," I said as I walked in, and I swear they both gave sighs of relief.

  "Liv," Pepper said. "I know it's late. I know you guys must be tired. I wouldn't come by if it wasn't..."

  She trailed off, and I said, "Important?" thinking she'd blanked on a word again, but she said, "Right, except I'm not sure it is. Maybe it's just me. I still get confused and..." She inhaled. "I should talk to Veronica first. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bug you guys."

  I caught her arm as she went to leave. "Just tell us."

  She hesitated, then said, "I don't want to second-guess you, Liv. You might have totally known what you were doing, and if so, just tell me to shove off, but you seemed really distracted, so I started to think..." She looked up at me. "Are you sure you should have sent the dryads to watch over Seanna?"

  "Ah," I said. "Come on in." I escorted her into the parlor. "You're right. That probably wasn't a good idea. Helia volunteered, and while I did try to stop her, I should have insisted." I looked at Gabriel and Ricky. "Maybe we should catch up and convince them they aren't needed. Helia really shouldn't be exerting herself."

  "I can do it," Ricky said, pushing to his feet. "Lloe? You up to running beside the bike? Or should we take Liv's car?"

  Pepper nodded. "Checking on them is a good idea. Helia wasn't in great shape, as hard as she tried to hide it. I don't think she was up to this kind of mission."

  "Nor do I believe Seanna required extra guards," Gabriel said. "But we take your point. If they wanted to help Walter, they won't be swayed unless someone replaces them on their watch."

  "Help Walter?" Pepper looked from me to Gabriel.

  "With Seanna," I said.

  "But I thought...I thought Liv sent them to watch Walter. Because she was suspicious."

  "Of Walter?" I said with a laugh. "That makes a whole lot more sense now. That's definitely a mission I wouldn't send Helia on, given her condition. She just wanted to go and help him watch over Seanna."

  "That's not..." She trailed off and looked from me to Gabriel again.

  "Not what?" I said.

  "I overheard Helia talking to Alexios. She said they were going to watch Walter, that him taking Seanna away seemed suspicious. I thought that meant you were suspicious of him, but it must have just meant she was. She told Alexios that they needed to see what he was up to."

  "Walter?" I shook my head. "Then they're the ones who misunderstood. Ida wanted him to take Seanna someplace safe."

  "Ida wasn't there."

  "Sure she..." I thought. "Well, no, I didn't actually see her, but..." I looked at Gabriel.

  "She wasn't there," he said. "I presumed she'd given Walter orders before he came over."

  "Ida doesn't know," Pepper said. "Helia asked, and Walter said he hadn't told Ida about Pamela, that she was sleeping when he left and she needs her rest--everything that's going on is wearing her down. He wanted to handle this alone. Grace agreed. She grumbled about Ida always taking control, and she said if they could leave Ida out of it, that'd be easier for everyone. I ran after Helia and gave her my cell phone, because I remembered them saying they didn't have one."

  "Good idea," Ricky said.

  I was already on my phone, listening to the line ring...and ring. Then Pepper's voice mail picked up.

  "Call Ida," Gabriel said.

  I dialed.

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  "Ida? It's Liv. I know it's late."

  "Hmm? Yes."

  I glanced at Gabriel, who was right beside me, listening in. "Ida? Are you all right?"

  A pause, and then, with a little more of her characteristic snap, "Of course. I'm as fine as one could expect, being woken at...Where's the clock?" Something crashed to the floor, and she muttered a curse in Welsh. "Who put it so close to the edge? Give me a moment, Olivia. It seems..." Another curse, stronger. "What time is it? I can't seem to find where the clock fell."

  My eyes met Gabriel's, and he nodded.

  "Did you have anything to drink last night, Ida?" I asked.

  "If you're implying that I'm inebriated, Olivia, let me remind you I am not human. Nor do I partake in such frivolities as alcohol. I drank nothing stronger than tea. I'm simply overtired, having been up late all week. Fae may not require as much sleep as humans, but we do require it."

  "It's two a.m., Ida," Gabriel said. "In answer to your question."

  "Gabriel? Wasn't I speaking to...? Oh, it's one of those speakerphone things, isn't it? Human technology. You don't use it to end wars and famine, but rather to make even a simple telephone conversation confusing."

  "Ida?" I said. "I need you to focus--"

  "I am focused. As much as I can be at two in the morning."

  "Something's happened."

  "How shocking. I swear, you two should use that as your standard telephone greeting. Not 'Hello' but 'Something's gone horribly awry.' "

  Pepper chuckled under her breath.

  "My mother escaped from prison," I said. "She came to Cainsville and tried to murder Seanna Walsh." Silence. More silence.

  "You're not dreaming, Ida," I said.

  "Of course not," she snapped. "Fae don't dream. I didn't respond because I'm wondering if you're inebriated."

  "Then so is Gabriel," Ricky said. "And me. And Pepper. Patrick, Grace, Walter..."

  "Walter?" she said.

  "He's not there with you, is he?" I said.

  "We don't always share a bed, Olivia. After a certain age, one understands that there is comfort both in sleeping with someone and in sleeping alone. He must be in the other room."

  "He's not," I said. "Go and check, but be careful walking. I think your tea was dosed."

  "Dosed? As in drugged? Why can't you say that, then? Humans and their slang. It's understandable if you don't have a word for a thing, but why invent another one if you do? And yes, I'm walking while I'm speaking to you. I am focused, Olivia."

  "Walter won't be there," Gabriel said. "We were with him
less than an hour ago, and he was taking Seanna to a safer place. Do you know where that would be?"

  "Walter?" she said.

  "Yes, Walter," I said. "He insisted on moving Seanna. We don't know why, but I was too distracted at the time to argue. I'm calling to see where he took her."

  Silence.

  "Ida?"

  "Yes, I'm sorry, Olivia. I was just checking the spare room, and you're quite correct that Walter is not there. Evidently, he's handling this situation by himself, which I am pleased to see."

  "Do you know where--?"

  "There's no need for you to worry, Olivia. We have this under control. You should all get some rest. If Gabriel wishes to see his mother in the morning, I'm sure that can be arranged. Until then, I'll ask that you stay in your house. You're all there, I presume?"

  "Yes, but--"

  "Excellent. Stay there until further notice, please. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get a little more sleep myself, and leave this in Walter's hands. Good night, Olivia. And you as well, Gabriel."

  She hung up. I stood there, holding the phone.

  "She's been drugged, hasn't she?" Pepper said. "She wasn't understanding what you're saying."

  "Oh, she got it," Ricky said. "She's not going back to bed. She's going to find out what the hell Walter is up to."

  "And if she finds out," I said, "we can't trust her to ever tell us the truth. We need to get to him first."

  --

  It didn't matter that Helia still wasn't picking up. We could find her using the phone. When we'd bought it for Pepper, I'd suggested adding the same tracking app Ricky put in ours. With Pepper's condition, that had seemed wise.

  We took Pepper back to Veronica's and asked her to tell Veronica everything. Then we set off tracking Pepper's phone.

  That wasn't as easy as it should have been. The coordinates kept jumping around, as if bouncing off cell towers. But we had the basic direction, so we headed that way, with Gabriel driving, Ricky in the passenger seat, me in the back, cursing at my phone. Lloergan had her head on my knee, her jowls quivering in a deep sigh at every curse.

  "Do we think Grace is in on it, whatever it is?" Ricky asked. "She didn't want Ida involved, either."

  "I can see her agreeing just to keep Ida out of her hair," I said. "But that doesn't mean I'd confide in her right now, either."

  "When it all went down at the apartment, someone contacted Walter. I hate to say it was Grace, but I don't know who else. Not the dryads, if they're suspicious of him. Not Patrick, if he was busy trying to help Pamela."

  "Grace didn't know what was going on until we arrived. She didn't have time to contact him. I'm not sure anyone did."

  "No one needed to," Gabriel said. "If Walter drugged Ida's tea, then he knew what was happening well in advance. Presumably Pamela's fae accomplice was motivated by more than hopes of currying favor with her."

  "The sluagh orchestrated it, right down to the minutiae, and when it went wrong, she had Walter there to spirit Seanna off."

  "Why not just kill Seanna, then?" Ricky said. "Or is that what Walter's doing?"

  "By this point, I'm beyond guessing."

  A few miles in silence. Then Ricky glanced over the seat at me. "Are we sure we're right about all this? There's more than one solution to this equation. Maybe Walter really did just decide to step up and handle something for Ida."

  I showed him my cell phone, finally displaying Pepper's phone coordinates on a map.

  He zoomed in on the map and then said, "Shit."

  "Exactly."

  --

  Back where we began.

  Not the absolute start--I wasn't even sure where that was. The moment I discovered the Larsens were my parents? The moment I stepped into Cainsville? The moment I first heard the Matilda myth?

  No. For me, this was where it all really began. Ricky and me and Gabriel, fighting a common foe, our first taste of what life as Arawn and Matilda and Gwynn would be like. Endless traps and tricks and betrayals.

  Twice I'd stood in this spot. Twice I'd looked at this collection of buildings. The first time was the beginning. The second had seemed like an ending. An ending to so many things.

  Gabriel stood beside me, gazing on the same scene, his haunted expression telling me I wasn't the only one remembering. When I touched his arm, he flinched.

  "You did come," I said. "The last time. You got my message, and you came."

  I leaned against his side, and he put his arm around me, and we stood there, staring at the distant buildings of the abandoned asylum.

  When we heard Lloergan's panting, we turned to see Ricky jogging over, the hound at his side.

  "You guys actually stayed where I put you," he said. "I'm impressed."

  "How does it look?" I asked.

  "Clear. Lloe's not picking up anything, either. We're safe here until--"

  Lloergan whined. Her ears shot forward as she stared toward the road.

  "You can join them if you want, girl," Ricky said.

  She huffed as if offended, and leaned against his leg. The sound of hooves followed. Quiet hoofbeats, not the usual thunder of them. No baying of hounds, either. When I caught a glimpse of the riders, they were nearly impossible to see, dark figures against the night, no fiery hooves and glowing eyes.

  "Go talk to him," Gabriel murmured to me. "We'll wait."

  --

  Ioan was dressed like a guy out on a modern-day foxhunt, in jeans and a jacket and boots. He swung off his horse as he motioned for the others to join Ricky.

  "I'm glad you called," Ioan said.

  "I need help," I said. "And I trust you a lot more than I trust the Tylwyth Teg right now."

  "Whatever's happening, they would never all betray you. This is one or two fae acting alone."

  I managed a smile. "You give them the benefit of the doubt, even knowing they'd never do the same for you."

  "It's the right thing to do."

  I chuckled. "They got the names wrong, you know. You guys are the fair folk. The Tylwyth Teg..."

  "They are fae. Pure-blooded fae. With good examples and bad. The Cwn Annwn are no different. You've seen our bad side. My mistakes with Edgar Chandler and the sluagh. Our own capacity to turn out examples of evil, like the rogue who abused Lloergan."

  I looked toward the hospital. "I have no idea what's going on here."

  "I wish I could enlighten you, but I can only guess. Fortunately, we may be able to get answers to those questions." He nudged Brenin at his feet and then nodded up at a raven winging past. "Let's see what they can tell us."

  Ioan turned to Ricky. "I'd like to take Liv with me. You'll go with the rest of the pack, splitting up to survey the terrain. Liv and I will ride closer and see what Brenin and Lludw"--the raven swooped, as if recognizing its name--"can tell us, while I keep Liv safe."

  Gabriel cleared his throat. "As you have failed to include me in those plans, I assume it's implied that I travel with Olivia."

  Ioan hesitated. Gabriel knew that wasn't what he had in mind, but he only stood there, his cool blue eyes leveled at the Cwn Annwn leader.

  "I can't take two passengers," Ioan said. "I meant for you to stay with Ricky. You're right, though, I should consult you as well. I apologize."

  "Accepted, but I am not certain I approve of any plan that sees Olivia separated from both Ricky and myself."

  Ricky shifted, and I could tell he wanted to leap to Ioan's defense, but he kept quiet as Gabriel continued. "We're questioning the allegiance of several Tylwyth Teg elders. I agreed with Olivia about seeking your help, but I'm not convinced I want to also entrust you with her safety."

  Ioan looked toward the buildings.

  "Yes," Gabriel said. "There's a problem to be resolved there, and I'm stalling. But I'm stalling with valid concerns. What proof do I have that you aren't involved in this? Beyond simply, 'I'm Cwn Annwn; trust me.' "

  Ioan gave a wry smile. "That's usually enough." He took a deep breath and then turned to the other Huntsme
n. "I'm giving my solemn oath not to harm Olivia in any way. If I break that oath, my life is forfeit. I will have harmed someone with fae blood, and the punishment for that is clear. Anyone who harms her tonight--in any way--is subject to your retribution. If that someone is me, so be it. You have your orders. Will you carry them out?"

  A chorus of ayes and solemn nods. Then Ioan turned to Gabriel with that same wry smile. "It's not a perfect solution. You can still argue that they are my Huntsmen. But Ricky understands. I have given an order that must be obeyed regardless of their personal feelings on the matter. If I defended myself against Liv while she was possessed by a vision, they would still be bound to hunt and destroy me. We are executioners, not judge or jury."

  "Quickly, then, please," Gabriel said. "I'd rather we weren't separated any longer than necessary."

  --

  I wasn't sold on the idea of splitting up. Wasn't sold on the point of it, either. How would I oversee Ioan's results if he was the one communicating with his canine and avian spies?

  That was ultimately why I went: to see what Ioan was up to.

  Ioan helped me onto the back of his horse, said a few last words to his men, and then we took off.

  The first time I rode Ricky's motorcycle, I'd found what I'd been searching for in every roller coaster and sports car, a need I'd never been able to fill until then. Except even that had only been as near an approximation as I could manage. Now, on the back of that horse, I found what my blood had been seeking, what Ricky and his father sought, too, their own love for motorcycles arising from this hunger they couldn't otherwise satisfy, couldn't even identify.

  Now I found that, as Ioan's steed ran so fast the scenery blurred, and all I could do was hold on, my eyes slitted, hair streaming back, laugh bubbling up each time the horse leapt over some obstacle I couldn't even see.

  This was in my blood. And feeling it, for the first time, I understood that aspect of Matilda. Matilda of the Hunt. Matilda, who even in the human lore had been unable to give this up for her bridegroom.

  Even after we stopped, and Ioan dismounted, I stayed astride, my hands against the horse's quivering back. With a sigh, I slid down.

  "I need to change," he said. "It will only take a moment. Then we'll ride again."

  I must have grinned at that, wide enough to make him chuckle.

  "We'll have to get you a horse," he said. "It's better from the front seat. And a hunt is better still. That's what--" He stopped himself.