by Lee Roland
Michael rose. He offered me his hand. I ignored it and stood too.
Aiakós chuckled. He rose to his considerable height and came to me. He offered me a clawed hand. “Let there be peace between us, Madeline. As a gift to you, I will not kill the gentle beasts.”
I glanced at Michael. He looked away.
I laid my hand in Aiakós’s. It was smooth and large enough that I could avoid the claws easily. “Thank you. I will harm nothing of yours that does not seek to harm me or those I love.”
His other hand closed over mine. “Daughter, you are well matched with my son, even if it is Innana’s scheme.”
I didn’t know what to say to that.
Chapter 18
Étienne and Clark were gone when we went back down the stairs. Only smears of Clark’s drying blood remained to indicate violence.
Michael didn’t start the car right away when we climbed in.
“Madeline, I’ve given you a great deal of myself, more than I’ve ever shown anyone. I’ve trusted you with my only family, abhorrent as he might be. Did I do wrong?”
“He’s not abhorrent. He’s magnificent. And terrifying.”
Michael had let me into the bitter truth of his life. Our relationship, whatever it was, had changed.
So I told him of Justice, and what I’d done there. How I got there. I spoke of the Drows and the Sisters’ mission to fight them when they intruded on the Earth Mother’s territory. I stopped short of speaking of the role of the Sisters as executioners for errant witches. He seemed rather fond of Abigail.
“Eunice and Lillian, they’re Sisters?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that explains many things. Would they kill Aiakós?”
“He’s the ultimate Drow. But I won’t talk about him with the Sisters. Not until I understand more.”
“You think they could take him?” He sounded genuinely curious.
I chuckled. “Not alone. It would be a hell of a fight. Would you like us to try?”
“No!” Concern filled his voice. “If it comes to that, I’ll be the one.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.” He started the car and drove away from the Zombie.
“Do you think you could actually kill him?”
Michael shook his head. “No.”
I considered. Eunice, Lillian, and I could form the Triad Lillian had spoken of. A tingle of fear twisted through me. Or was it excitement? Is that why they had come? To kill a Drow?
I shifted in my seat, my mind returning to Aiakós’s words about binding. The soft leather had suddenly become uncomfortable.
“You consider him a monster?” I asked.
“Yes. He is evil, Madeline. And dangerous. A liar. He not only looks good, but he has the ability to persuade humans to commit vile crimes. They believe they serve a god.”
That sounded like most religions to me. Unrestrained zealots. I considered the Sisters’ deference to the Earth Mother in that category, too. Given what I knew about them, a Sister of Justice would kill on command, without questioning, believing all the while it was a good thing.
Michael turned the car onto an empty River Street. “As you’ve seen, I have a similar effect on people. But I’m not comfortable with it. I try to avoid relationships with . . .” He paused, searching for words. I supplied them.
“Fans? Groupies? Worshippers?”
“Yes. But you’re not like that. Aiakós said it. You’re a warrior. A guardian. You have the courage of a tiger. You saved my life, and actually stepped between me and Aiakós tonight.”
I drew deep slow breaths and tried to think. Is that how he saw me? We had a relationship? Yes, we did, but it was threatening to overwhelm me.
Michael pulled up to Harry’s and parked at the curb. “That first night, when I held you in my arms, I did not see a scar. I do not see a scar.”
“But it’s there. It’s a part of me. It’s a reminder of my duty to my parents. To the Sisters.” I turned to face him. I couldn’t read him or his intentions.
“You ask what I want from you.” He held both of my hands in his now. I was intensely aware of it. “I want to help you fulfill your mission. Let me into your life. Trust me. I can help you. No one knows the Barrows better than I do. Not even the Bastinados.”
I realized I was shaking, a fine shiver like a chill before the full blast of winter. Only I wasn’t cold. I was hot. The confinement of the car suffocated me.
“I need to think about it.”
“May I come for you tomorrow?”
“Come around two. We can talk then.” A brief decision and I was on firmer ground. He opened the car door and climbed out. I drew deep breaths. By the time he came around and opened my door, I had regained some composure.
At three a.m., even the most determined of sidewalk people had found some other place to live or maybe sleep. I’d never been in a place where the silence fell as it did in the Barrows. The night seemed to be holding its breath, daring anyone, anything, to disturb its intensity. An hour ago, I’d ridden through dark streets to meet a creature of great power and beauty, something even a woman who grew up with magic could find amazing. What would happen tomorrow?
Michael walked me to the alcove at the front door of Harry’s.
He stood close. “If you need me, I’ll be at the Archangel. Whatever you need to do, I’ll help.” He laid gentle hands on my shoulders.
I turned to open the door when he seized me and drew me tightly in his arms. I found myself clinging to the magnificent man, desiring him, needing him—a surge of emotion so sudden I was shocked by the rise of it. His lips touched mine like a whisper, a gentle brush. Then he claimed them, urgent but soft. I had to hold him, draw him closer.
Since that horrific night when I was seventeen, I had desired nothing but revenge. Locked into an obsessive hatred as the Sisters drove me, molded me into a weapon, I had rejected even self-gratification. Now my body’s needs threatened to overwhelm me. All that wonderful muscle under my fingers, unbearable sensations running through me, his hands sliding down to drag me closer and—
He stopped.
His breath was ragged as he gently pushed me away.
“Forgive me. I keep rushing you.”
I stood, reeling from the kiss and its sudden end. What was he doing to me?
I left him there and walked into the building without a word. I was tired, confused, irritated, and dreaded the dreams that would plague me when I finally slept. I trudged up the stairs, trying to turn my mind into a blank wall.
Chapter 19
I’d no more than entered my room when a scratching came at the window. Looking out, I saw Spot, my little dragon friend. I raised the window and he jumped from the sill to the bed. He made odd little sounds that might have been a language, punctuated by a high-pitched yap, like a small dog.
“Hush. Harry will hear you.”
He fell silent. He understood me.
He hopped from the bed back to the windowsill, where he made another sound. This one came out soft, like a whisper. He sat on his haunches, his wings folded, tail out the window and summoned me with his . . . paws? . . . Hands? I went to the window and he jumped off. I stuck my head out. The building next door was only a single story and had a flat roof. Spot landed on the roof of the other building.
He barked again.
“Okay, Lassie,” I muttered. “I’ll follow.”
I was tired and wanted to go to bed, but this little creature had touched me, just as his larger brethren had at the Goblin Den. I climbed out the window and lowered myself down to the single-story roof. When I reached Spot, I saw his concern. Another of his kind lay there. I dropped to my knees. The second dragon seemed to be hurt. I reached for it. It growled and bared impossible teeth—dragonlike teeth. I knew a warning when I heard one.
“I can’t help unless you let me,” I said.
Spot made chirruping sounds again. The second stilled. There was a streetlamp near the second building and I could see the pro
blem. Spot’s companion had an injury, a tear in the skin across the back near one wing. I had no idea what to do about it. It lay panting under my hand. It must have made a heroic flight to get here, out of harm’s way.
I needed more light. I stripped off my jacket and made a sling. “Let’s get inside.”
Spot mumbled his assent.
The second made no noise as I wrapped it up. I could probably drag myself back up into my room through the window, but not while carrying the little creature. At least my room key was still in my pocket. There was a ladder bolted to the back of the single-story for roof access, probably because of the large heating and AC units there. I climbed down, went around, and walked upstairs to my apartment.
Back inside, I assessed the damage to my new mini-dragon. The cut, while probably painful, was not gaping. It did have dirt in it. The only thing I had resembling a washcloth was a T-shirt. At least Cassandra had given me a supply.
I held the injured dragon in my lap and cleaned the wound. I had nothing to dress it with, and if I did, I didn’t know if it would work. I opened a dresser drawer about halfway, grabbed a couple of T-shirts, and made a bed. Carefully, I laid my patient in the drawer. Tomorrow I could get a towel or something.
Spot slid in with his injured companion. “Okay, guys, here’s the deal. I’ll leave the window open and you can come and go. I’ll get you some food, but please be very quiet.” I knew Harry wouldn’t approve of reptiles in the building. “What can I call you?” I stared at them. They stared back.
There were no visible organs to tell if they were male or female, so I made an assumption. I brushed the injured one with a finger. “You can be Grace.” I had a lovely cat once named Grace. “Spot and Grace. Is that okay?”
Spot gave a low bark I accepted as consent.
Then I went to bed and fell right asleep. If my visitors made any noises, I didn’t hear them.
The whine and crash of something large being dropped outside on the street woke me at daylight. I ignored it, but it was replaced by shouting. I groaned. I had to go to the window to look. The sun had barely risen, and it gave a soft light across the wide street.
A truck roared and whined as it pulled away, leaving a massive open Dumpster covering two parking spaces in front of Hildy’s pawnshop.
Eunice and Hildy stood toe-to-toe on the sidewalk, by the Dumpster, obviously arguing. Hildy did a bit of arm waving, too. I laughed but understood the futility and frustration Hildy felt. I’d seen it in many of the Sisters at Justice. The immovable Eunice would eventually prevail.
Chapter 20
June 23
I showered, dressed, and glanced out the window again. As I watched, Eunice came out the front door of the pawnshop with a large dresser on her shoulder. She heaved it into the Dumpster as easily as if she were tossing a garment into a laundry basket. I wondered exactly how much strength those muscles and sturdy bones held.
Spot was gone and Grace was asleep, snug in her drawer. I went down to the grocery store and bought some sandwich meat and a package of frozen fried chicken. I grabbed a bowl for water. Grace accepted the bologna with delicate bites. I hoped it wouldn’t give her the runs. I opened the chicken and left the package on top of the dresser. Maybe it would thaw before Spot came back.
I wore only my knives this morning. I decided I’d better check on Hildy and Eunice. I would not come between them, however; nor would I choose sides in any argument. I crossed the street and walked into a scene that reeked of ferocity and magic.
Eunice had stripped the pawnshop of its contents, leaving lots of open space. Apparently missing her favorite times at Justice, she’d created room for some serious violence. She’d spread a large practice mat, which I was very familiar with, across the floor. Eunice had created her own space, regardless of Hildy’s wishes.
Eunice and Hildy stood side by side, and Lillian stood on point in front of them. I realized they formed a triangle. Then I noticed Abigail in the room—and a barrier of magic in front of her that she must’ve thrown up to defend herself against the Sisters. I rushed to stand between them and the earth witch.
“Stay out of the way, Madeline,” Lillian said.
“No. I won’t.” I threw my hands up in frustration. “Is this what you came here for, Sisters? If it’s not, I suggest you stop. I can feel magic, remember? This witch can fry an army of Sisters.”
“She came here looking for you.” Lillian spoke without taking her eyes off Abigail.
“And here I am.” I was neither Sister nor witch and I would not take either side—for now. I nodded at Abigail. “How may I serve you, Innana’s daughter?”
“I’ve come with a message for you,” Abigail said. She kept her eyes on the Sisters.
“And that message is?”
“I don’t know yet.” She stared pointedly at the three Sisters. “Will you keep the wolves from my throat while I deliver it?”
“Of course.”
Eunice growled.
“Stand down, Eunice!” Lillian had ceded authority in this matter to me.
Abigail closed her eyes. She drew a deep breath. I knew this. My mother had told me the Earth Mother sometimes communicated through her witches without letting them know what the message was. The assembled Sisters came to stand beside me.
“Greetings, daughter.” Abigail’s voice had changed. It was filled with power. “I watch you, even if I cannot aid you directly. You have done well. But know this: Time is running out. You have met Aiakós. You understand the danger. He does not know the stone is within the realm of his influence. If he obtains it, he may be able to cross my ward. Then there will be a battle for this world that could very well destroy it. You have only two days. Find it!”
After a moment, Abigail relaxed. She swayed and I steadied her. “Are you okay?”
She nodded.
“What’s happening?” Lillian asked. She brought Abigail a chair, and Abigail sat with a sigh.
For the Sisters, the delivery of the message had clarified Abigail’s presence and I could see that curiosity had changed their attitude a bit. Hildy brought her a glass of water, but she gave it to me to hand to Abigail. She would not touch the witch. I understood. The last time I touched one it altered my life forever.
“The Earth Mother put the message in her mind,” I said. “Humans, even witches, are not meant to carry that kind of burden for more than a few minutes. She’s disoriented. It takes at least a half hour to get here. Too much time.”
All those lessons my mother taught me about the earth witches and the Mother were finally proving useful.
“Oh, it’s a burden,” Abigail said. She drew deep breaths. “Cassandra once carried the Earth Mother within herself entirely, allowing her to come into the Barrows without breaking her own ward.”
My respect for Cassandra rose immeasurably. “How did she do it?”
“It was painful, to say the least. But does the message I brought serve you?”
I sighed. “Depends. What happens in two days?”
“The summer solstice,” Abigail said. “The solstice always brings change, even if we don’t know it. This coming solstice is on a dark moon. Evil is always ascendant in the Barrows on a dark moon. The combination could be catastrophic.” She raised her eyes to those around her. I was reminded of Cass’s reference to a dark moon conjunction. How the last one had changed the Earth Mother. While the dark moon rarely played a role in my life, my family lived by the solstice and equinox, the divisions of time, the Earth Mother’s only clock.
“I don’t know Madeline’s mission,” Abigail continued. “But whatever it is, you must help her, Sisters.”
“We will,” Lillian said. “If we know how.”
“If she will let us.” Eunice wasn’t happy.
“Does it concern the murderer you said you were searching for?” Abigail asked.
“Yes, but there’s more to it than my personal crusade.”
“I wish Cassandra could help you more,” Abigail said. �
�Only one person knows the Barrows better than she, and that’s Michael. But I’m not sure he can be trusted.”
“Oh yeah.” Eunice laughed. “We met him. Pretty boy has a hard-on for our little Madeline. Who is Aiakós?”
I froze. I had to keep them from going after Aiakós. At least until I figured things out.
“Aiakós is Michael’s father. I met him last night. He is a rather magnificent creature, a Drow if you will, from another world.”
“Oh, beware of Aiakós, Madeline.” Abigail rose from her chair, a look of concern on her face.
“I will. I know deadly when I see it.”
I glanced at Hildy and she gave me an I-told-you-so smile. Hildy pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket. Lillian and Eunice glared at her and she put them away.
“I’m fine now,” Abigail said. She did look steadier. I needed to get her out of the Armory. While some tension had eased, it could turn volatile again.
“Hey. Witch,” Eunice said. “You should come back and play with us sometime.”
Abigail smiled. “Sister Eunice, I could have taken your Triad rather easily. You would need the Solaire and Morié to hurt me. I know Madeline has the Solaire, and she’s not inclined to do me harm.”
The Sisters exchanged glances.
“I have the Morié, too.” I flipped my coat to show the knife. “Hildy told me about their power. How do they work?” I asked slowly.
“They are protection.” Abigail spoke up before they could. “Having both makes you immune to earth magic. In a Triad, the one with the Solaire and Morié is the protected one. An earth witch of my standing can easily take out two sisters on her own. Two points of a Triad. They’re offered up as distractions while the protected one goes in for the kill.”
