The Brotherhood

by Patti Larsen

  “You want to know,” Danilo said, voice soft and deep. “If he made me do it.”

  I nodded, head heavy. Too tired for this, frankly.

  “No,” Danilo said. “Belaisle was just along for the ride.”

  My face fell into my hands as I groaned out a sigh. “Danilo,” I said. “Why?”

  The former wereking sat back in his chair, face dark and closed. “The beast in me, maybe?” He shook his head. “I’ll offer no excuses. Yana was everything to me, Sydlynn. And I let my fury and hate rule me. I welcomed Liander Belaisle and the Brotherhood. I accepted every offer of help. Including the mafia.”

  “I’m pretty sure I already know what you gave the normals in exchange for their help.”

  His face twisted as he looked away. “My people are safe,” he whispered.

  Because Femke saw to it. “What about Belaisle?”

  Danilo shook his head. “He only wanted to observe. To watch the Empress. To be part of my revenge.”

  I didn’t believe that. But it made my tired mind wonder about the reaction Moa had to my interference. Was she hunting Belaisle herself? Using Danilo as the means to find him? She’d be pissed to find out I was going to beat her to the punch.

  Let her be. If she’d offered to work together, maybe I wouldn’t be sitting here like this. With him.

  Danilo met my eyes again, acceptance in his gaze. “I know you don’t owe me anything,” he said. “But I beg you, watch over my people.”

  “As if you have to ask.” His request actually made me angry. “One of us has to.”

  I left him before he could respond. Because, frankly, I didn’t give a crap what he had to say. Danilo had betrayed all of us, and for what?

  For nothing.

  I was so done. But I still had Femke to see. She’d want to know the truth.

  The veil parted, welcomed me. Usually when I went to Hong Kong I appeared outside Femke’s office. But I wasn’t in the mood to deal with her assistant, Xue. So, I took the chance, pushed a bit of power ahead of me to warn her I was coming, and stepped out the other side next to Femke’s desk. I was actually acutely disappointed to discover she wasn’t there. Since when wasn’t she?

  A glance outside at the dead of night answered my question. Still, Femke seemed to be as tireless as me and, I realized with a bit of a jolt, I’d never really seen her at home, in her quarters. Only in her office, on official ground. I had no idea what her personal space even looked like. And I professed to know her.

  Wow.

  Then again, she’d never been to my house, either. Funny, the little details that knock you over when you’re exhausted, emotionally and physically.

  I reached out for her, trying to find her with power, but no luck. Maybe she wasn’t even here. She could be anywhere. Seriously, how silly of me not to check ahead. But when I opened fully to her, I met with nothing. Emptiness.

  Where was she?

  I was so tired, it didn’t register I should have felt something. Even if she was asleep, on the other side of the plane. Anything. Instead, my head swimming with fatigue, I headed for the door to her office, to talk to her assistant if she was around. To track down Femke’s living quarters, maybe, hoping to find her there.

  The moment my hand touched the door, I felt a warble of power. Kneejerk reaction pushed me forward, and the glass door with me. I stepped out into the lobby, heart pounding painfully in my chest as the surge of blackness coming toward me woke me up at last with a fresh burst of awareness.

  Too late. The story of my life. Darkness took me and I knew no more.

  ***

  Strong hands supported me, chocolaty energy washing through me. I sighed and reached for Quaid’s magic, embracing it, stroking it with my own. His jerked away, his reaction pulling me into full alertness.

  I looked up at him from where I had fallen, my head in his lap. His dark eyes were full of anxiety, fingers pushing hair back from my forehead. I groaned as I tried to sit up, his arms supporting me. My stomach rolled over a moment, headache appearing suddenly and with sharp daggers driving behind my eyeballs.

  “What happened?” My tongue scraped against the roof of my mouth, dry and thick.

  “I hoped you had the answer to that question.” His voice shook just a little, hands tightening on me. “Syd, where’s Femke?”

  I shook my head, groaned when the headache spiked at the movement. I sagged against him. “I don’t know,” I said. “I came to talk to her but I couldn’t find her.” The memory of the hit of dark power drove a gasp from my lips, pushed me up and to my feet where I wavered, unsteady and afraid. “Sorcery,” I said.

  Quaid’s grim nod just made things worse. I turned my head to look where he was staring, mouth open in a soft cry of shock at the sight of Xue, empty eyes staring back at me. Dead, gone, skin pale and cold. “Femke’s missing,” he said. “I can’t find her anywhere.”

  ***

  Chapter Thirty Five

  And I thought the last twenty four hours were hell.

  Everyone was searching for the missing WPC leader, myself included, without any result. Femke was long gone and I knew if sorcery was hiding her we’d never find her. Not without knowing specifically who had her.

  Everyone assumed it was Belaisle. I naturally contacted Simon and Owen, but from what they could tell Femke wasn’t being held by the Brotherhood. In fact, they told me and the anxious Quaid as we stood in the Zornov’s basement Liander seemed agitated about something. There still wasn’t any audio, so there was no way of knowing if it was Femke’s disappearance that had him worked up. It took a lot of convincing to keep Quaid from going after the Brotherhood leader immediately, and by the time he stormed off I worried we’d only broadened the distance between us.

  The Empress was nowhere to be found, but I didn’t think she was involved, either. Not when sorcery had a hand in things. I did consider Eva Southway, though I couldn’t understand why she would want to kidnap Femke. Piers was on it, his frustration at his mother’s now proven betrayal keeping a wedge of his own making between us.

  It was Charlotte who suggested the mafia might be wrapped up in it, especially when her former employer, Iosif, went mysteriously missing from wherever she’d stashed him. Quaid’s Enforcers, backed by every paranormal race on the plane, scoured the world for her while I stood by, feeling lost and ineffectual.

  Why hadn’t I left my talk with Danilo and gotten to her sooner?

  It took less than twelve hours for the other Council leaders to demand someone sit at the helm of the WPC for the interim. And I was hardly shocked when Mom was nominated. She accepted with giant reluctance, though I was happy it was her, knowing she’d gladly step aside—and leave no stone unturned in finding Femke. At least with Mom, there wasn’t a hint of power struggle. Which made me doubt the other leaders, if only in passing.

  What if one of them was involved?

  Paranoia did not become me.

  All of my attempts to talk to my husband failed. He was so torn up about Femke’s disappearance, Quaid threw himself into his work and ignored all of my attempts to comfort or talk to him. I let him have his distance, finally, knowing how he felt. Guilt was a powerful motivator and a terrible master. I just hoped we’d find her safe and sound so he could eventually forgive himself for something that wasn’t his fault.

  Pot calling the kettle burnt.

  My request that Max assist was instantly met with his appearance, though seeing Jiao at his side gave me the creeps. His little black clad shadow ignored me, cold and uncaring, even as Max sadly informed me he, too, was at a loss in locating Femke. His refusal to talk further about Jiao and her people, to help me find the Empress, triggered irritation so powerful I finally told him to leave. Sad but resolute, he did and I avoided talking to him since.

  At least I had someone to focus on besides Femke’s loss. No more screwing around. If Eva Southway had a way to track me—my interpretation of her short snippet of conversation with Belaisle all I had to go on—I wan
ted to find a way to use that to my advantage. Of course, it just added to Piers’s anger and distance when I told him so. He, of course, blamed himself for allowing her to continue to use him long after he’d cast her out of the Steam Union.

  Speaking of mothers and sons, better to focus on trapping and capturing Belaisle than the whole situation with my own child. Gabriel refused to speak to me, to anyone, spending his days in his room with Galleytrot, silent and staring when he wasn’t crying. Even my daughter couldn’t get through to him and the stress was wearing on her to the point she couldn’t look at me without bursting into tears.

  I really was the worst mother ever.

  I considered taking Gabriel back to Ameline, but Galleytrot refused to allow it. With the disappearance of Spaft and Sonja, who left on their own before Emmy could kick them out, he worried they might be lurking. My assurances I would take my son directly to the maji chamber were ignored. The big hound’s need to protect Gabriel—as he couldn’t, ultimately, protect his father—cut me off and I wasn’t prepared at the time to fight him on it.

  My son’s healing was a priority. The rest could wait.

  Mom’s first act was to hold Danilo’s trial. Thanks to her careful manipulation, she was able to at least spare him, though I wondered what life in prison would seem like to a werewolf. His guilt probably ate at him so powerfully he wished he could say goodbye. Part of me was glad he lived, a bitter and furious part that knew the whole truth about his involvement. Mom’s choice to hide it in favor of protecting the werenation from that utter betrayal was the right one. And meant Danilo would suffer.

  And suffer.

  Good enough.

  Oleksander was certainly stepping up, though I expected nothing less from him. I didn’t know why I mistrusted Charlotte’s mother, only that her coldness and the way she hovered over the shoulder of her young grandson made me nervous. Charlotte seemed to be spending more time at the werepalace, though, so I trusted her to watch over her nephew and make sure everything was all right.

  Simon now had a direct line both to Mom and to Piers, passing everything he learned from Apollo on to the need to knowers.

  I still had no idea what importance the black ribbon of drach soul carried, though knowing it came from the other Universe still freaked me out. Drach on the Dark side? This soul felt clean to me, fresh and almost young, ancient at the same time. Not evil, at least. Did that mean the drach in Dark Brother’s Universe were good, too?

  There was no way of knowing. All I could do was keep it safe from Belaisle. And worry he might be lurking around every corner, thanks to Eva’s supposed link to me.

  The shock I received when I first saw Payten at Mom’s side in Hong Kong lingered. Especially when Quaid appeared to talk with his new leader. But, I quashed all fears when he hurried away again before I could talk to him. He was too focused on Femke to even notice Payten was there. And I refused to allow jealousy—unfounded and unwanted—to add to my marital strife.

  Not for the first time, or the last, I thanked the Universe for Nicci, Tippy, Donalda and Josie. Without them, I know my entire life would have fallen to pieces around me. When I finally returned home to a hot shower and the need to burn the damned suit I’d worn for so long, the feeling of their magic supporting the family gave me the peace I needed to catch some sleep. It wasn’t until the next day I understood how necessary they were. Especially when the news of the Dumont collapse reached us. Instead of being forced to put out nervous fires, I was greeted by a calm and comforting coven who lockstepped with me as I sent my condolences along with the other covens.

  If only the rest of my life was so organized.

  Which made me think of Shenka. I didn’t force the second issue, partially because, in my heart, I hoped she’d come home like the girls said she would. But Tallah had a firm hold on her, I could tell already. And the fact Shenka refused to talk to me at all wasn’t helping.

  I might not have agreed with the Hensley leader’s methods in certain areas, but there was one thing I did see as a step in the right direction. It was time to break with convention and start inviting the non-witch people in my life to join my family for real. Sunny and Frank, Charlotte and Sage, the Zornovs. United we stood. I was tired of divided.

  No matter how hard I tried, though, to stay calm, to focus on tasks at hand, my thoughts always, always went to my friend, lost out there. In the hands of enemies who would suffer for her kidnapping.

  Wherever Femke was. Whoever had her. I was coming for her. And the elements help them when I did.

  ###

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  ***

  Now available

  Book Four of the Hayle Coven Destinies

  When only the help of the first race will do…

  who does Syd turn to?

  Chapter One

  I sat to one side, in shadow, out of the way. The last thing Mom needed was my interference, especially since we both knew how this particular fiasco was going to end.

  The representative witches of the North American Council sat on the podium behind a blue draped velvet cloth, elevated above the crowd below. I always hated how pompous that made the Council look. Eight witches lording over the rest of us. Made my skin crawl.

  Maybe, with a little luck and not too much bloodshed, we’d see an end to the old system today.

  Mom, as the Leader of the Council, sat in the center of the line, her normal calm and composed expression about ninety percent professional and ten percent compassion, the perfect mix, in my opinion. Still a stunning woman with black curls and eyes so blue they captivated, Miriam Hayle really was the best person to lead this particular Council—and the one to come.

  Last night’s warning was all the head start I received, but hopefully it was enough. The hurried meeting of the Shadow Council of which I was leader—a conglomerate of all coven heads working behind the scenes of the regular Council—told me they were done watching and wanted a bigger piece of the action.

  “You have to agree we need a better system, Syd,” Karyn Barrett, the young leader of the Barrett coven, said, dark ponytail bobbing along with her words for emphasis. She’d dyed over her patch of blonde bangs, giving her a more grown up appearance. “After all the confusion and misinformation that led to the downfall of so many families.”

  I did agree. The Brotherhood had taken our complacency and old way of doing things and used it against us, killing off one third of all witches in North America and nearly destroying our way of life. Something had to change. The secretive and arrogant means in which our people were governed were no longer satisfactory or, in my opinion, working the way they should.

  I was completely for change and the massive upheaval it usually brought about. Disastrous messes were my specialty. But I wasn’t behind the kamikaze way they planned to dive bomb Mom at the quarterly Council meeting. Over two hundred covens, big and small, planned to be there in one capacity or another. It would be chaos and insanity but, as far as I was concerned, the best thing to happen to witchdom in centuries.

  As long as Mom knew about it. Which I made sure she did over a late night glass of wine in her kitchen at Harvard. She was back from her update meeting in Hong Kong, her temporary position as leader of the World Paranormal Council weighing on her, in the faint lines around her eyes and the weariness to her smile.

  I hated to dump more pressure on her. But when I filled her in on the intent of the coven leaders, she just shrugged.

  “It’s not like I haven’t been anticipating something like this,” she said. Reached out and squeezed my hand with a faint smile/grimace. “But thank you for telling me, sweetheart.”

  “What are you going to do?” I refilled her glass as she sat back with a sigh.

  “What should have been done a long time ago.” Her blue eyes sparkled suddenly, mischievous gri
n on her face. “You really are very clever to suggest the coming mayhem, my beautiful daughter.”

  “Does that mean we’re going to set a precedent that will have the rest of the world Councils screaming for your blood?” I grinned back at her, saluting with my wine glass.

  “Oh, I do hope so.” Mom laughed.

  And now, here we were, about to find out. I shifted in my seat, avoiding the gazes of the other coven leaders, keeping to myself for now. My usual place with the major families I left vacant, on purpose. As a show of solidarity to Mom and the choice she was about to present to the Council.

  But not before she was asked to make it. I felt the gathering stir, surprised at the butterflies of excitement waking in my stomach, the tug of a grin wanting to explode over my face. Had I grown so used to conflict it actually made me happy to be in the middle of it?

  You have to ask that question? My demon snorted while Shaylee sighed, the Sidhe princess’s prim tone at counterpoint.

  We’re merely here to ensure the orderly follow through of Miriam’s commands. She sounded like she was having a good time, though.

  As if, my demon shot back, flames rippling beneath her words like a giant, burning grin. This is freaking fun and you know it, fairy girl.

  You two, my vampire sent in her quiet, calm voice, have no idea. This is the bomb.

  I snorted a laugh into my hand. What did you just say?

  You’re watching too much TV lately, the vampire essence sniffed. I pick things up.

  “Thank you for your patience while we complete old business.” I glanced up as Mom’s voice ended the first half of the meeting.

  Here we go, my demon sent, vibrating with anticipation. If she had a tail, it would have been twitching.