The Outcast

by Patti Larsen

  “Good to know,” I snapped. “Have fun keeping your mess together.” I stared around with open disdain. “Looks like you have it handled.”

  She spun on me, practically spitting fury. “This is none of your concern!” Her power slammed into me, but even in my weakened, tired state, she was no match. Her magic was depleted, on the edge of starvation and I jerked out of my rage and into sympathy. And back again as she went on. “Considering the fact this is all your fault, oh high and mighty Maji Sydlynn Hayle who cares about no one but herself.” Eva shook so hard I thought she might break apart, even as my anger spiked.

  “My fault.” I laughed in her face. No one was allowed to blame me for disasters that went down but me. She didn’t qualify. “So, the Brotherhood taking over the world is my fault. Got it.”

  “Mum.” Piers glared at me, though his eyes weren’t angry but pleading. “You have to listen. We need the Steam Union to survive. Don’t let your anger stop you from saving our people.”

  She whipped her head around again, temper focused on her son. A tall, dark haired man with a beard wearily stepped forward, one hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged off. I recognized Pier’s father, Felix, even as his sad, dark eyes met mine.

  “You gave up the right to claim the Steam Union as your family,” she spit in her son’s sad face. “You’re part of the problem, Piers, not the solution. The Steam Union has taken a blow to the core, but we will survive.” Her words seemed to put backbone in those who listened, though they all looked and felt so weary, ready to quit. “We’re tired of being the weak cousins of our great enemy.” A few murmurs of agreement rose. “But we’re also tired of keeping watch for those who could care less about us.” I almost snorted and replied. Something along the lines of since freaking when, but she was still rattling on so I held my tongue. “Now, if you two are done, I have my people to care for. While you deal with the mess you’ve made.”

  Fine. Whatever. I saluted her with my middle finger and turned, not caring if Piers followed. I couldn’t drag her, kicking and screaming, into caring that there was a whole bunch of others out there dying and suffering. Because, clearly, the Steam Union were the only freaking group that mattered even a little. They and their sacrifices.

  I was so mad by the time I was out in the sewer again, I let Shaylee out. She shook the stone, the water sloshing around the startled guard, rocks and dust falling from the ceiling.

  Please be more careful, my vampire sent in a pained tone. I’d rather not dig out from a ton of rubble because of your childish temper.

  Shaylee sulked, but I sighed and nodded just as a hand settled on my shoulder. I turned to face Piers, saw the tears on his cheeks and hugged him, my own anger forgotten.

  “She’s going to get everyone killed,” he whispered into my hair.

  “I’m sorry.” I pulled away. “What do you want to do?”

  The patter of chasing feet turned us around. Clover threw herself into his arms, his white blond hair stark contrast against her black braid, but their gray eyes and aristocratic, angular features a perfect match for each other. “I’m so afraid,” she said, almost wailed. She looked like she was barely holding it together. “Please, Piers. You have to stay. Mum will listen to you once she’s calmed down.”

  But my friend shook his head. “I left two years ago,” he said, “because she’d stopped listening to anyone, Clover.” He touched his sister’s cheek with one trembling hand. “Come with us.”

  It was her turn to say no, backing away, hugging herself inside her dark gray coat. “I have to stay,” she said. “If only for Dad.” Her eyes met mine. “Take care of my brother,” she said, before spinning and running past the sentry and back into the bunker.

  I grasped Piers’s arm and pulled him around to face me. “What do you want to do?”

  “Nothing,” he said, trying to push past me.

  “Piers.” I stopped him, with physical force and with magic. “If the Steam Union does fall, it creates a vacuum in power and I’m not sure that’s a great idea.”

  “She doesn’t want to have anything to do with us,” Piers said, eyes glittering with anger and hurt. “It’s not like she’s going to be much good anyway.”

  I sighed and let him go. “Okay,” I said. “We’ll tell Femke and let her deal with it.”

  Why did I get the terrible feeling, as we retreated through the veil, I’d just made the wrong decision?

  ***

  Chapter Thirty

  I did my best not to fidget in my seat while the others in the room whispered among themselves. Our arrival at Oxford was just in time, the veil delivering Piers and me to Femke’s office where Danilo and Sunny sat talking with the European Council Leader.

  Femke walked over to me and hugged me, though the wrinkling of her nose as she came close made me sigh. A burst of power cleared the air, though the stench of the sewer still clung to the insides of my nostrils and left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

  It took us only a few minutes to fill her in on everything that happened since I saw her the night before. Femke, the vampire queen and werewolf king all listened carefully, Danilo’s expression of anger at Eva’s reaction joined by a pulse of irritation from Sunny and a heavy sigh from Femke.

  “I’ve been trying to reach her,” the tall Swede said. “I feared she and her people were gone.”

  “They might as well be,” Piers said, disgust replacing his sadness. He rammed both hands into his pockets, head down, brow furrowed. “Let her implode. I just hope she does it fast and without taking too many of the family with her.”

  I squeeze his arm, the only comfort I could offer and changed the subject. “Are the leaders here?”

  Femke nodded quickly, though the look she cast at Sunny and Danilo made my temper fire. “I was just about to call to order,” she said.

  “Let me guess.” I jerked a thumb at the vampire and werewolf, both stone faced. “Shortsighted, old fashioned, irritating witches only.”

  Femke opened her mouth and closed it again before laughing weakly. “Oh, Syd,” she said. “I needed that.” She cleared her throat before speaking. “I’m sorry, we’re just going to have to tolerate it.” One hand came up, though no one had protested. “For now. Until this crisis is over. But I intend to ensure this never happens again.” Whether she referred to our present predicament, or the exclusion of Sunny and Danilo, I had no idea.

  Ten minutes later I squirmed in the large, overly carved wooden chair around a large circular table in a back room warded so heavily I didn’t think even a nuclear bomb could make a dent in the protections. I was half tempted to argue on Sunny and Danilo’s behalf, but Femke’s blue eyes begged me to behave. Besides, there was so much fear in the room, I figured I’d give them their private meeting. But only if I got the result I was looking for.

  Femke’s power formed a shining blue hammer which she used to strike the table. It vibrated with song, the normal sharp thudding a bell-like tone that nonetheless penetrated to my bones. I shivered and focused, while the rest of the assembled turned eyes on Femke. I took the opportunity to examine their faces. I hadn’t seen most of them since the world conclave in Wilding Springs, and that was about eight years ago. It looked like none of the leaderships had changed, at least. Now, if I could only remember their names.

  “Thank you all for coming to Oxford for this meeting,” Femke said in her smooth, diplomatic voice.

  “It was kind of you to host.” Sumiko Himura, leader of the Asian territory, said, her dark, quiet eyes turning to me and back to Femke. “We are all concerned about what has happened to seal off the North American territory.” She did a good job hiding fear, that one. And had called me a goddess, once. Maybe I could use that to my advantage. “The fact Sydlynn Hayle is in our midst does not bode well.” I wasn’t sure if I should be flattered or insulted.

  “I wouldn’t be here,” I said, keeping my voice as level as possible, “if it wasn’t life or death.”

  They murmured, even the
Enforcer leaders standing behind their council counterparts. Femke let them. Nicely done, she sent. After a moment, her bell-tone hammer struck the table. “I will now ask Coven Leader Hayle to show us what is happening behind the power blocks.”

  I rose to my feet and called on my maji power. It rose before me, forming a sphere that burst outward, turning the air in the middle of the table into a holographic, 3D space. “Council Leaders,” I said as I showed them my former Council, Belaisle smirking among them, “North America has been taken by the Brotherhood.”

  They gasped as one, staring as I increased the size of Belaisle’s face until it dominated the view. I’d thought carefully about how to present this to them, what kind of theatrics they might require. And decided to throw all in at once. Better to hit them as hard as I could.

  One Syd fastball, coming up.

  “Council Leader Plower has betrayed all witches,” I said. “She has signed a law giving full control of our territory to the Brotherhood, including policing and justice. And they have used that power to crush our covens.” This was the difficult image to show, but I lived it again as I projected the fire, the stakes, seen out the door of the Rhodes coven house, the writhing bodies collapsing into the flames.

  The leaders were silent this time, but their outrage and grief hit me like a wall as a single tear made it down my cheek. I showed them the death of Violet Rhodes, the soot-covered refugees being comforted by my people, even the collapsed and weakened Steam Union I’d just left behind.

  I shut off the image abruptly, to a few shrieks of shock. “We need you,” I said. “Like we have never needed you before.”

  So much fury in them, washing around me, aimed at the Brotherhood, their anger carrying in their whispered conversations. Could it be? Would they actually step up for once and do what was necessary?

  Could this be all over in a matter of hours? I could only hope.

  “Sydlynn Hayle.” Sumiko’s cool voice was the first to speak up. “My territory would be honored to accept the Hayle coven and offer you sanctuary.”

  That triggered a landslide of such offers that warmed my heart. They were practically fighting over my family by the time I raised my hand with a smile.

  “Thank you,” I said. “Such generosity is unnecessary but much appreciated. If you truly want to help, you will instead assist me in taking back my territory.” I paused. “For the good of all witches.”

  And there it was, the first glimmer of retreat. I felt them pulling back from me even as Bindi Braylen, the Council Leader from Australia, spoke in her heavy accent. “What would you have us do?”

  “The law states,” I said, “only a unanimous vote of the world councils can disband and render void a rogue council and their laws.” Anxiety stirred in them. What the hell were they so afraid of? “If you were to vote in favor of declaring the present North American council rogue, the laws they created granting power to the Brotherhood would be null and void and the Enforcers could regain control.”

  “What you ask,” Yamini Dhavan, the quiet, statuesque Indian Leader said, “is a massive request.” Her brown eyes told me nothing of what she was thinking, dark skin red-toned in the light. “You understand this?”

  My nostrils flared. “I’m asking you to protect the witches of my territory from a council that has handed them over to the enemy,” I said, flashing the image of the burning stakes again. She flinched from it, but shook her head, silken, black hair shimmering

  “We are well aware of the situation,” Yamini said. “But, might I play Devil’s advocate a moment.” No, she damned well could not. But she went on anyway before I could shut her the hell up. “You say Erica Plower was not coerced, nor was her council. That they made these decisions on their own, by choice, with full disclosure.”

  “Not to the covens of my territory,” I said through clenched teeth.

  “Which, according to law,” Sumiko continued for her counterpart, sleek black bob barely moving as she tilted her head, “is their prerogative, correct? They are not required to gain the permission of all covens to pass law.”

  And this was exactly where I feared this conversation would go. “So you’ll stand by and allow the Brotherhood to slaughter witches and do nothing about it, is that it?”

  Ife Maalouf, African Leader, smiled sadly, big hands flat on the table, skin so deep in tone she matched the stain of the wood. “Our hands truly are tied,” she said, sitting back while the others nodded. “Perhaps if we had proof she was coerced. But it is not our right to judge or control a council leader who has the support of her council. It sets a terrible precedent.” She leaned forward again, intent and focused. “What about the next time a council leader makes a decision with which the others disagree? Will this become an epidemic of crushing the free will of witches?” They were nodding and chattering among themselves like they were so freaking clever. “I cannot support such an action.”

  “I demand to hear directly from Erica Plower.” Ana Maria Diaz, South American Leader, nodded to her right and left, a smug look on her face, Latino beauty failing her as she aged. Just my irritated opinion.

  What the hell? “This is a terrible idea,” I said, desperation and fury spinning around like a tornado inside me.

  But Ana Maria was already acting, her rich, soupy power reaching out toward the wards. And Femke, frowning, head down, let her do it.

  I barely had time to feel the crushing blow of my friend’s compliance when the air sizzled with blue magic and Erica appeared.

  Her eyes locked immediately on me, scowl so deep it aged her years. “I shouldn’t be surprised to find you here,” she snapped before looking around at the others. “Though, I am shocked by this betrayal.”

  “Not at all,” Sumiko said in her smooth voice, gesturing gracefully in spare motion for a seat to be brought forward. “We asked you to join us for a reason.” Her glittering black eyes settled on me. “We’ve been told the Brotherhood have been given control of your territory, by design.”

  Erica grunted as she hit the seat hard. “They have formed an equal partnership with us,” she said, face smoothing out, her Council Leader persona taking over. “And though there has been some unrest, we are in the process of restructuring. Some dissent is expected in these times of change.”

  They were buying it, this slick act she offered them. Femke met my furious eyes, her anxiety on her face, but remained silent.

  “How forward thinking of you,” Bindi said, sounding like she meant it, even a little cheer in her voice.

  Erica bowed her head. “I’m certain my allies would be willing to discuss a similar arrangement with you.”

  Bindi gulped visibly and looked away, tanned face paling to ashen gray. So did the others, to a witch. Which meant they didn’t believe a word Erica was saying. The contrary, back stabbing, weak willed bitches.

  “Yes,” I said. “How forward thinking.” My power flared as hot as my temper, casting the image of the burning at them one more time, the loss of the Rhodes coven sharp and real, my magic even filling the room with the harsh scent of burnt death.

  Erica’s power sliced through the image, cutting it into shards that dissipated with soft moans like the departing souls of lost witches. All eyes turned to her. She didn’t even bat an eye, stern face tight with contempt.

  Erica’s face lifted, eyes meeting mine again. “I’m not surprised to find you’ve been bad mouthing me and the North American Council to the rest of the world,” she said. “Your little display makes that clear.” Display? Executing witches was a display to her, now. “But, did you also tell them you declared the Hayle coven autonomous?” Gasps of shock met that tidbit, enough the Council Leaders spun on me. She’d given them something to focus on, to shake free from what I’d shown them and they took the bait. Of course they did. Why did I ever expect any of them to do otherwise? Erica’s triumph glistened in her eyes. “No? You failed to inform this august assembly you no longer wish to claim any territory as your own?” She knew that wasn’t
true, but it gave her ammunition against me, didn’t it? Their wary eyes probed me.

  “I think it’s obvious why I took that action,” I said as coldly as I could manage. So I wouldn’t freak out and lose my damned temper and maybe tear her into itty bitty bite-sized pieces my demon could eat with tartar sauce. “To protect my coven.”

  “You doomed your coven,” Erica snapped. “And removed yourself from this great alliance in an effort to undermine everything we have tried to do. To stop our progress.” She gestured around herself. “I hope now you see how futile that effort is.”

  I didn’t need to look around me. Her smug satisfaction was enough answer anything I said in response would fall on deaf ears. While I didn’t expect them to jump up and defend me, the Council Leaders remained stonily silent, their quiet, stern gazes telling me she had more of their support than I did.

  Why the hell did I bother again?

  “Now,” Erica stood, “if you’ll all excuse me, I have a territory to run. As I’m sure you do, too.” She glared at me. “Sydlynn Hayle,” she said. “I tell you this with all the world leaders of our people as witness. If you try anything, do anything to harm me or to damage this alliance, the entire world will hunt you down for the rest of your days.”

  ***

  Chapter Thirty One

  I’ve always been hot tempered. It was so hard not to lunge across the table at Erica, my body trembling with the effort. My vampire held me still while Shaylee whispered a dig I could offer instead.

  I grinned, tight and furious. “That’s okay, Erica,” I said. “You have your little moment of victory. While my family found a place where we can be safe and not be harvested by the Brotherhood for our power.” Maybe it was stupid to tell her, but it wasn’t like she or Belaisle could do anything about it. And I needed a scrap of success or I’d go mad. Her eyes narrowed, face tense as I laughed at her growing understanding and frustration. “That’s right,” I said, grinding in it. “He may have rejected you and your Enforcers, kicked out the Brotherhood because of their evil. But right now, at this moment, the Hayle coven and all the witches we’ve managed to rescue rest in comfort and under the protection of the Stronghold.” Erica’s anger cracked her veneer and she snarled at me. “Such a shame he saw right through you,” I said while the other council leaders looked suddenly less sure of themselves. The Stronghold had long been the second home of the North America Enforcer order, its power once taken over by the Brotherhood to the worry of all witches. Only my battle with Belaisle had freed the first plane created and returned it to the Enforcers. A powerful advantage.