Children of Poseidon: Rann

by Carr, Annalisa

  “We’re meeting Annis in a pub in Camden Town.” He ended the call and put the phone down. “The Anchor. We’ll have lunch there.”

  “What about Connor?” Jewel asked.

  “He’s out looking for your father.”

  “Looking for him?” Her nose wrinkled. “I thought Annis was the finder.”

  “I don’t know what that means.” Rann pushed her shoulder. “Come on. Move yourself. We might as well go out.” He knew if they stayed in the flat, he would have difficulty keeping his hands off her.

  They walked through the stalls of Camden Market for an hour, and Rann felt some of the tension melt out of Jewel. She bought a long silk dress from the woman who made them, a box of handmade sweets, and an embroidered backpack to put them in.

  “We used to come to the market every Saturday,” she told him. “Me and Maya. We’d just hang out. I’d forgotten.” Her expression softened.

  Rann studied the crowded street. He wasn’t keen. Too many people, too much concrete, and too many cars. He grunted.

  “It’s a bit more claustrophobic than I remember.” Jewel pushed past a gaggle of teenage girls, who were debating the wisdom of having their eyebrows pierced. “Or maybe it’s my age. I’ve been away for too long.”

  “I can’t imagine wanting to live here. It’s just . . .” Rann wasn’t sure what he meant.

  “Too crowded? Too urban?” Jewel filled in for him, and he narrowed his eyes.

  “Yes. That’s exactly what I mean. Too cold as well. Surely you don’t want to live in a place like this?”

  “I don’t know.” She sounded uncertain to his ears. “Not here of course. I’ve gotten used to the sun. And this place has bad memories. Mostly. But covens tend to be in urban centres, so I’ll probably have to live in a city.”

  Rann grunted again. Not if I can help it. He was convinced that she didn’t really want to leave the island, and he didn’t want her to go.

  Surely we can come to some sort of compromise. She’ll come round to my way of thinking. She belongs in the sun, near the sea, not in a place with traffic fumes and stressed people. She belongs with me.

  “We’d better find this pub,” was all he said.

  “I know where it is.” Jewel headed decisively towards the canal.

  Annis already waited in the pub, saving a table in the window. She sipped a pint of lager while reading some papers. The place heaved with lunchtime drinkers; people clustered round the bar and spilled out onto the pavement, but Annis had managed to keep the table to herself. Rann was impressed.

  “Hi.” She glanced up as they walked in. “Micromanaging or what?”

  Rann raised an eyebrow.

  Annis shrugged. “You need to order at the bar. Food and drink.” She shook her head when Rann asked if she wanted anything. “I’m sorted.”

  She stacked her papers into a pile and slipped them into her bag, pulling it out of the way to make a space for Jewel. Rann pushed his way through the crush at the bar and ordered before joining them.

  “We’ve got some news for you.” Annis propped her elbows on the table. “Nothing concrete. It’s only been twenty-four hours.” A note of reproach leaked into her voice.

  “We thought it would be interesting to know how you’re going to approach the investigation. But we had something for you as well.” Rann lowered himself onto the bench next to Jewel. “That’s really why we’re here. Jewel talked to her mother again yesterday.”

  “Yes?” Annis’s green eyes sharpened.

  “I think you should tell Annis what happened.” He touched the back of Jewel’s hand with one finger. “It’ll give her more of an idea of the way Kara’s mind works.”

  Jewel had the uncomfortable feeling that Rann had set this meeting up for her, to help her deal with the stress of doing nothing. She looked at him sideways, but his face showed nothing of his feelings, so she gave Annis a succinct update on her visit to the coven headquarters. She could recite the tale in her sleep. She’d told it so many times.

  “That’s interesting.” Annis pursed her lips. “I’m not sure how to use it yet, though.” She sucked the end of her pen, her expression thoughtful. “I don’t think Kara had your father killed. It’s early days, but there are rumours. I cast a spell last night, using the blood from all three of you. Evidence says he’s still alive. London is the place we need to look.”

  “You sensed that?” Jewel supposed it made sense. “London?”

  “Yes. That’s what Connor’s doing now. Chasing down information. Closing in on what I told him. He talked to some underground magic users this morning. Sort of petty criminals. Apparently there have been rumours about your mother for years.” A note of apology crept into her voice. “Outside the covens. People are scared of her.”

  Jewel raised her eyebrows.

  “You’d be surprised how many fringe talents there are out there,” Annis said, “and most of them like to gossip. Anyway, Connor might turn up to tell you himself. He told me he’d drop in here if he finished in time.”

  “So you think Fergal might still be alive?”

  Finder spells didn’t distinguish between the living and the dead.

  “That’s what it feels like. As I said, it’s early days, but Kara didn’t have him killed. Not according to rumour. She paid for his disappearance from all accounts, but not his death. I don’t know what’s happened to him since.”

  “She paid?” Jewel’s spirits sank. It sounded as though her mother had been walking the edge of either madness or evil for a long time.

  “People trafficking’s been around for years”—Annis scowled at the tabletop—“as we know from experience. And if Fergal had been cursed and drugged, he’d have been vulnerable.”

  Jewel covered her face with her hands.

  “It’s better to know.” Rann touched her shoulder then laid his hand on it.

  Jewel removed her hands and looked up at him. That was his opinion. “I lived in blissful ignorance of this for nine years. I could have gone a lifetime without hearing this sort of thing.” She sighed heavily. “I suppose you’re right, though.”

  Annis’s phone buzzed. She excused herself, walking out to stand on the pavement. When she returned, she told them that Connor was on the way and he’d talk to them about some rumours. “You’re paying for information. We can give you things as we come on them and you can make your own minds up, or we can wait until we have the whole story.”

  “That might be never,” Jewel said. “I’d go for the rumours. What do you think?” She glanced at Rann.

  He shook his head. “It’s your investigation. But if I were you, I’d take all the rumours. Between you, Maya, and Lila, something might ring a bell. You know all the players better than I do.”

  “Okay.” Annis squeezed back into her seat. “We’ll see what Connor has to say when he gets here. In the meantime, I hate to tell you, but we’ve heard nothing about a seawitch. Most people think they’re extinct. We have heard rumours about users of death magic, though.”

  “What have you heard?” Jewel felt a strong nostalgia for her quiet life on Rann’s island. Unrequited love and all.

  “There have been reports of an increase in dark magic,” Annis said. “Worldwide. There’s always been a small group of practitioners who are willing to sacrifice others and risk their own sanity to get what they want. But it seems to be on the rise.”

  “What on earth could they want that much?” Jewel couldn’t begin to imagine what would be worth the cost.

  “Power. Money. Sex.” Annis sounded disgusted with the banality of it all. “There’s the occasional rare mage who wants knowledge and thinks he’ll get it by practicing atrocities. And I knew a witch once who sacrificed her sister for a new wardrobe.”

  “What’s that got to do with Seawitch?�
� Rann interrupted.

  “She’s been used as a vessel for death magic,” Annis said. “As a familiar. There’s still a residual left.”

  “More than a residual.” Rann interrupted again.

  Jewel frowned at him. “Let her finish.”

  “If we can find a tracker, then we may be able to identify the signature on the magic,” Annis said.

  Jewel wrinkled her brow.

  “A tracker is a witch or mage who can sense magic and recognise where it came from. It’s a rare talent. If the user is casting frequently, then the tracker can usually find him or her.” Annis frowned. “It’s harder with death magic, because the tracker can be stained by the signature. It can make him ill.”

  “So we can’t use it for the seawitch?” Jewel asked.

  “I didn’t say that.” Annis massaged her temples. “There’s someone I have in mind. A strong witch. She won’t be much harmed by it.”

  “Much?” Rann raised an eyebrow.

  “It’s what she does.” Annis shrugged. “She’s well paid for it.”

  Jewel shuddered just as the door opened and Connor strolled in. Everyone looked up, then away again. Jewel had to fight the urge to lower her eyes. Something about him screamed of danger. Something feral and untamed. She tried not to stare, but she was puzzled, because he hadn’t given off the same aura in the flat. He pushed Annis sideways along the bench and sat down next to her.

  “Have you ordered for me?” he asked.

  “I didn’t know whether you were going to make it or not, so that would be no.”

  “I’ll have a beer and a large steak.”

  “I’m not your servant.” Annis folded her arms.

  “I pay you enough.” Connor’s mouth twitched slightly, and Jewel wondered whether it was the prelude to a smile or a snarl.

  “You don’t pay me at all,” Annis pointed out. “You made me a partner.” She sighed. “I’m not making a habit of this.” She disappeared to the bar.

  Connor leaned back against the padded backrest. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the wildness had retreated. He forced a smile. “It’s been a long morning. I’ve found a few things out, though. I think you’ll find them interesting.” His eyes went to his partner, and he waited until she’d finished at the bar and rejoined them.

  “Your father is Fergal Redcar?” he said to Jewel.

  “We told you that,” she said.

  “Just checking.” Connor loomed over her, inhaling.

  Rann’s body tensed as though he sensed a threat, and he edged closer to her.

  Connor’s mouth opened, and his nostrils flared in the same way they had when he had checked out the seawitch.

  Jewel shifted uncomfortably.

  Connor sat back.

  “Just taking note of your scent,” he told her, as though his behaviour was completely normal.

  “What?”

  “I can use it to identify Fergal,” he said. “Through similarities. I think Kara was telling the truth. You have a similar signature scent to Lila.”

  “Really?” Jewel couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice.

  “He knows what he’s doing.” Annis sounded apologetic. “It looks weird, but it works.”

  “Who are you calling weird?” Connor scowled at Annis.

  She shrugged.

  Everyone quietened as the food arrived, and Connor attacked his huge steak as though starving. Eventually he looked up, to see the rest of the group, with the exception of Annis, staring at him. “I’ve had a busy morning.”

  “So what did you find out?” Annis said.

  “More than I expected.” He chewed and swallowed.

  “What?” Jewel whispered.

  “We were right in thinking that Kara didn’t even try to have Fergal killed.”

  “You were?” Jewel wished he would get to the point.

  “She probably couldn’t have done it without incurring a huge debt in magic,” Connor said. “So she had him removed.”

  “I suppose you know who removed him.” A note of reluctant admiration sounded in Rann’s voice.

  “Not yet.” Connor smiled, displaying an impressive set of white teeth. “But I will. I have something better than that, though.” He waited, and Jewel decided that he liked the drama of keeping them all on the edge of their seats.

  “What did you find?” Annis said impatiently. She elbowed Connor who appeared not to notice.

  “I think Fergal’s back in London.” Connor picked up his beer.

  Silence. Jewel knew her mouth was hanging open. She tried to speak, couldn’t get the words out, and pressed her lips together.

  “I knew London was the place to look.” Annis muttered.

  “Since when?” Rann asked.

  “A couple of weeks, I think.”

  “Are you sure?” Rann’s eyes flared bronze as he assessed Connor. A breeze rippled through the room.

  Connor looked completely unfazed. “Not completely, but the evidence is mounting.” He put the last corner of his steak in his mouth and chewed it with appreciation, before continuing. “There’s an old witch who lives rough on the heath. She’s not quite right in the head, but she’s been talking about him. She’d know him. I gather they were students together.”

  “Serena,” Jewel interjected. “Everyone knows her. She was there when I lived in London. She sleeps under bushes and refuses to enter anyone’s house.”

  Connor paused. “There’s also a mage who keeps a small shop down in Belsize Park. He claims to have seen him. Said Fergal didn’t recognise him, though.”

  “Where is he?” Jewel wanted to look for him, or find Maya and Lila and then look for him. She wanted action.

  “I’m not sure yet,” Connor said. “But we’ll find him. I don’t think it’s going to be hard. He must be round here somewhere. What state he’ll be in I can’t say, though.”

  Jewel turned to Rann. “Maya and Lila should hear all this. It doesn’t seem right that we should know before them.”

  Rann rubbed his head. “I had no idea they’d have found out so much in such a short time.” He nodded at Connor and Annis.

  “We’re good.” Annis was smug.

  “So what do you do now?” Rann asked.

  “Two things.” Annis took over the conversation. “I’ll contact our tracker. She can come and see the seawitch, try and work out who cursed her. Secondly, Connor will carry on looking for Fergal.”

  Connor nodded and lifted his beer to his lips. “We’ll keep you up to date with what we’re doing. And we’ll carry on trying to find out where your seawitch came from. Anything else?”

  “Damnamenos called me back,” Rann said.

  Annis’s face screwed up, and Connor snarled. Jewel jumped in alarm. Rann scowled, and a wind blew across the table, tangling in Connor’s already messy hair.

  “Stop it.” Annis nudged Connor. “You’re scaring her.”

  Jewel nodded at Connor in agreement, and he stopped making the disturbing noise. He didn’t appear to notice that everyone in the bar had turned to stare at him.

  “Sorry.” Rann took a deep breath, and the wind disappeared. “But he is the best person to deal with a seawitch. He created them. Anyway, he said he’d get here in the next day or two.”

  “You’re not leaving her with that monster.” Annis looked concerned. “He’s a total bastard, and she’s completely helpless.”

  “I’m not going to just hand her over.” Rann sounded annoyed. “I know you have issues with him, but he might be the only person who can do anything for her.” He paused while he waited for Annis to respond.

  She eventually nodded, but to Jewel’s eyes she didn’t look convinced. “We’ll see.”

 
Connor stood up. “If that’s all . . .” His mood had darkened. Damnamenos had obviously left a strong impression. And not a good one. Jewel couldn’t wait to meet him.

  “One more thing.” Rann held up one hand. “I’ve a few questions about Alberic. Jewel’s mother’s lover.”

  Connor sat down again. “What about him?”

  “I don’t like him.” Rann played with his glass. “I want to know where he’s come from. And why he left. What happened with his previous coven?”

  “I’ll add it to your bill.” Connor glanced at his partner and pushed himself to his feet again. “Come on Annis. There’s work to do.”

  Chapter 16

  Maya was already back in the flat when Rann and Jewel returned. So were Lila and Lykos. Lila and Maya sat on one of the sofas, deep in conversation, while Lykos stood at the window. He briefly acknowledged Rann and Jewel then turned back to gaze out of the window again. His back radiated annoyance. Jewel pulled a face at Rann, who shrugged in return, his face expressing bafflement. Shrugging off her curiosity, she went into the kitchen. When she returned with coffee, Rann sprawled on the sofa opposite Maya and Lila, while Lykos still hovered, like a black cloud by the window.

  Jewel put the coffee on the table and sat down next to Rann. He picked the pot up and filled a cup, handing it to her. Lila poured two cups and carried them over to Lykos.

  Maya ignored the coffee. “Where have you two been?” Her eyes had darkened and her mouth set in a straight line.

  Her bad temper must have to do with her visit to Kara. Jewel resisted the urge to ask how it had gone. “We had lunch with Annis and Connor. I couldn’t settle to anything while you were out, so we thought we’d go and ask them how they intended to tackle the case. And tell them about Kara.”