by Ali Vali
“Is Felan mated?” The guilt of never reaching out to her family swamped her.
“She’ll marry Chann in the fall. Tala’s sister is her second in command and loves our sister the way I love Tala.”
“The Lupos are climbing closer and closer to the throne,” she said, bitter that she was stuck here while even timid little Felan had a place in the world.
“I wish I knew what had happened to you, so I could save you from yourself.”
“As if you don’t know. Come on. Finish what you came for, Lovell, because it’s not to brag about your idyllic life.”
“I know why you lost your way, but take Rolla’s invitation and accept his offer. You do that, and Tala will welcome you back. Before you think of running or defying the treaty, you will do it alone. Your little brave pack out there will be sent north to join the others.” Lovell snapped her fingers, and Convel heard the yelping outside. “They’ll either conform or die.”
“They’re innocent,” she said, standing up.
“They followed you through that fence and wherever else you deemed yourself the right to go. A pack of thieves cannot be called innocent.”
“What does Rolla want?” she asked, trying to at least save Lowe from being taken away from her.
“I’m sure it’s not the need for a lapdog, so whatever it is, your answer will be yes.”
“How do you know the slayer?”
Lovell smiled, but the expression didn’t seem to have to do with her. “She’s an old friend and honorary protector of my daughters.”
“You chose the slayer for that honor?” The naming of a protector was sacrosanct in the pack.
“Your life and that you still have it proves how honorable she is, so she was Tala’s and my first choice. Your choices have led you to different places, but I try my best to always look after my family.” Lovell placed her fist on her heart. “Asra of the house of Raad is no different, and in my soul I know she’ll stand by my girls and keep them from harm if I but ask.”
“You’re a fool.”
“Make your decision tonight, or wake up alone tomorrow.”
“I won’t leave her,” Lowe said.
“Not everything is of our choosing, Ms. Carey. Sometimes you leave the decisions to others when you’re too stupid to make them yourself,” Lovell said, then departed, leaving an empty, quiet house behind.
“What are we going to do?” Lowe asked.
“You heard her. We go and listen, and if it’s not reasonable, we run and never look back.”
“I can see why you left,” Lowe said as she started toward her.
“No, I don’t think you do. Lovell is strong, but Tala is stronger in her own way, and I loved her.”
“Loved her as in you and she were lovers, and your sister took her from you?” Lowe seemed to change her mind and moved away.
“Not exactly.” She rubbed her hands over her face as if the motion would take away her shame. This confession, though, would be better coming from her and not some of her so-called old friends who’d rejoice in the telling. “Our mother worked closely with Tala’s mother, so we became good friends. I thought it was more than it was until I kissed her. That’s when I found out her feelings for Lovell. There’d never been room for me with her or anyone else there, so I left.”
“You can’t blame yourself for a misunderstanding when you were much younger. This is your chance to go back to your family. It sounds like they miss you a lot.” Lowe smiled at her and sighed. “Tala and Lovell seem happy, so maybe it’s time to move on to something else.”
“I have,” she said, walking to Lowe and pulling her up so she could hold her. “I found you and I love you. That’s all I’ve needed.”
“You know where I came from, Convel. They’ll never accept me.” Lowe rested her head on her shoulder, and she saw the shimmer of tears in her eyes.
“What happened to you isn’t your fault, and I won’t leave you.”
“From what she said, that’s not true. Lovell and the rest of them know I’m nothing but a whore. That’s not something I can deny.”
“You did what you had to in order to survive. Being bitten by a rogue were doesn’t make you any lesser than me or anyone else born into the pack. Believe whatever you like, but the most important thing is that we belong together. I love you, and you’re mine just as much as I’m yours.” She wiped Lowe’s tears and held her.
“What about the slayer?”
“Let’s see when we go there, and I’ll answer you then.”
“And you won’t leave?” Lowe asked, sounding like the lost young girl she’d found in Arizona a few years before. When they’d first met, her love had rolled to her back and exposed her belly in an instant act of submission, as if begging her not to kill her. A prostitute who’d been bitten by a rogue were and survived didn’t understand what had happened to her until Convel had taken her in and fallen in love with her.
“You’re my mate, so only death will take me from you.”
* * *
“Rawney, would you begin, please,” Rolla said, and Piper leaned against Kendal as they all gathered in the large front room.
Ever since Rolla had arrived with his entourage, as Kendal loved to say, Piper had been curious about the beautiful woman who loved to brew things and always seemed to be studying everyone around her. Kendal had told her Rawney’s position but not her story. Every one of the Clan members had interesting beginnings when they were as old as Kendal, but Piper understood that Rawney was much older than her partner.
“We’ve watched and tried our best to tip the balance toward the light. People like Ora can be killed, but the followers she left behind are too numerous to completely get rid of. Right now we face other problems, ones we thought we’d dealt with years ago, but it seems they were only sleeping and waiting,” Rawney said, her voice almost mesmerizing.
“Was that supposed to mean something, or are you being overly cryptic because Molly and I are new?” Mac asked, and Kendal snorted. Piper was used to his up-front, no-nonsense style, having learned the business from him, but the elders appeared shocked.
Rawney seemed miffed, but Rolla and Bruik laughed. “Sometimes we’re used to stating everything in the flowery way we use for the archives, Mac,” Rolla said. “You’ve seen vampires, but there’s a lot more out there that makes you wonder who had imagination enough to create them.”
“Years before Ora and her kind came along, the few members of the Genesis Clan dealt with something we had very little resource to combat, but with Rawney and her family’s help, we did away with them,” Bruik said.
“Tell us the what before Mac beats you with a wet noodle,” Kendal said, and Rolla clapped.
“Dragons,” Rawney said, as if that would explain everything.
“Dragons?” Kendal asked as if that was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard. “The big fire-breathing lizards from the storybooks?”
“Kendal, you’re old enough to know that all the fairy tales are based in reality,” Rolla said. “They existed, and the problem they posed caused Rawney to join our ranks. The big lizards, as you describe them, were her first test.”
“If she killed them all, I don’t see a problem,” Kendal said, and Piper bit down gently on her shoulder to keep her quiet.
“It wasn’t that simple.” Rawney folded her hands and rested them on her lap. “They’re not dead—they’re sleeping.”
“If you had them in a position to kill them, why didn’t you?” Kendal asked, ignoring Piper’s subtle request to let the elders finish.
“I’ve heard you say not everything deserves killing, love, so pay attention,” she said, and Rawney bowed her head slightly in her direction.
“They are magnificent creatures that were a sight when they dominated the skies. All those stories about them as unthinking killing machines that people sacrificed their virgins to weren’t all that true. From what I saw and subsequently read, they were protective of their families, and they loved t
heir children,” Rawney said as one of her assistants brought in a few thick books.
“Some figured out how to kill them, but it was important to us to preserve as many as we could,” Rolla said.
“Why?” Kendal and Morgaine asked together.
“Because the woman who gave them life did it by sharing a piece of her heart. Kill them all, and you kill their mother, or weaken her to the point of crippling her,” Piper said, and Bruik nodded. “We either have to stop them before they wake or find a way to do what Rawney’s family did back then.”
“Who in the world would’ve created dragons?” Mac asked, and Piper agreed when she saw them in flight in her mind, but they’d have no choice except to accept Rolla’s request.
“Aphrodite,” she said, and Kendal sucked in a breath. “She did say that the gods created different creatures to entertain themselves, but she really did see them as noble creatures who could teach the importance of love of family.”
“She couldn’t have tried something cuter, like unicorns?” Kendal asked, and Piper pinched her again.
“Why can’t we just do what you did before?” Morgaine asked Rawney.
“Because I didn’t work the spell that trapped them so the goddess would live.”
“I thought you—” Kendal said, but Rawney raised her hand.
“I was given the elixir in that time, but my mother cast the spell that locked them in perpetual sleep,” Rawney said as Lenore started to flip through the books. “I was learning back then, so she took up the challenge.”
“Why were they put to sleep?” Molly asked. “If Aphrodite created them for those reasons, wouldn’t they eventually have been worshipped?”
“They were by some, but many more thought their blood and various parts held the key to eternal life,” Rolla said. “Rawney’s mother worked a spell that would rid the world of them after they’d grown vengeful once others started to hunt them. The group that worked against her and eventually killed her consisted of the men of the Order of Fuego.”
“The Order of Fire,” Kendal said and shook her head. “Never heard of it.”
“That’s not surprising.” Rawney’s auburn hair fell onto her face when she leaned forward. “They’ve kept to themselves all this time and have been working very secretly for centuries. The elders and slayers at the time thought they’d gotten them all, but that obviously isn’t the case.”
“So how do we know they’re working now, except for my vision of them doing just that?” Piper asked, and her grandparents still appeared shell-shocked since she’d become a seer overnight.
“This was something unique, so after the spell was cast, we left watchers in all the areas the dragons were placed. Our watcher in Costa Rica sent word after his son was killed at the dig site,” Rolla said.
“Like after they actually started digging?” Morgaine sounded disgusted.
“They know the consequences of their actions, but yes,” Rawney said.
“No matter the century, these things always play out the same. They’ve been watching something on the Clan’s payroll, but they stopped believing in why they’re doing it a long time ago.” Kendal’s assessment made everyone nod. “I guess the power behind the Order of Fuego offered enough money for them to think they were fools for adding to their wealth over what they thought was a whole lot of nonsense. It’s not the first time that’s happened.”
“That’s true, but with one big difference. These idiots have actually done the unthinkable and broken the first set of locks,” Rawney said.
“How many layers are we talking about?” Lenore glanced up from the book she’d opened.
“It’s hard to say,” Rawney said, and Kendal grunted. “My family always taught us slowly so we understood and respected the power the books contain, so my mother’s writings are as foreign to me as they will be to whoever finds them. Every one of my ancestors believes that only with age comes the wisdom to wield the book of spells, and I was too young then.”
“What about her sister?” Piper asked.
“She perished with my mother, but her daughters survived. Unfortunately they weren’t much help in breaking the code some of the book is written in. Now we need to turn to whatever help we can find, and that includes enemies from the past.” Sitting for so long seemed to bother Rawney, so she stood and paced. “Do you think Vadoma would answer your call again?”
“We’re not exactly pen pals, but I can contact her and see,” Kendal said as Piper stiffened in her arms. “Is this why you invited the fleabag to our home?” Kendal asked Rolla.
“Convel Lupo is no one’s first choice, Asra, but unfortunately we’ll need her in the hunt for a few things that have been lost in time. Queen Tala asked us for help in bringing Convel back into the fold and thought this would be a good first step, but she’ll send a few more if we need them.” Rolla sounded almost weary as he sighed. “To include Convel in something like this makes me nervous, but it’s hard to refuse Tala.”
“What does Lovell have to say about it?” Kendal asked, and Piper raised her head to glance up at her. “Lovell Lupo is bonded to Queen Tala and Convel’s older sister.”
“She knew you’d ask, so the royal family is here, and they’d like to meet with you if you’re so inclined. I was forced to invite Convel, but I’ll leave Tala and Lovell up to you.” Rolla stood, and Piper knew the meeting was over.
They really didn’t have much more information than when they’d started, but that dragons were real was enough. “Thank you, and I’d like to have Queen Tala and her consort here when we meet with Convel. She’s been on her own for years, but let’s hope she still has some respect for her queen and family.”
“From what I’ve seen, don’t count on it,” Piper said. “You might end up needing to put a choke collar and a leash on her.”
Chapter Nine
“What is that?” Pauline asked as she stared at Oscar’s computer screen.
“It’s the answer to understanding the glyphs we found, and it’s amazing,” Oscar said as he started printing. “The area and the time period when the site was built should’ve been exclusively Mesoamerican, but if this is true, then what we found is incredibly out of place. It’s a totally new, never-before-seen revelation.”
“Tell me what you mean.” Pauline pulled her pants back on and picked up the papers from the printer.
“I think the extensive glyphs are a form of Romani language, but that’s impossible. They would’ve had no way to get from Europe to that jungle that long ago. The only known inhabitants of Mesoamerica were the ones we know already.” He set another search with new parameters. “There’s no way for them to have traveled, or communicated, but here it is. It’s hard to argue since it’s literally carved in stone.”
“So you can translate it?” Pauline glanced up from the pages and stared at him with an almost predatory expression that came close to frightening him.
“Not yet, but maybe.”
“Why the hell not?” she snapped.
“Because the Romani language is fluid even today. It’s unique to each particular tribe, so while they had a common way of communicating with each other, each symbol on these stone markers and its exact meaning might be known to only a tribe member. That’s true even if it’s the same symbol from one marker to another, if more than one tribe was involved.”
“How do we find where to at least start looking to decipher it?” She folded the sheets in her hand and pointed them at him like a weapon. “And don’t think you can hide anything from me.”
“What are you accusing me of? You know everything I do.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.” She changed her approach instantly and placed her hands on his shoulders. “Do you think you can find the key? If you’re right, we’ve at least narrowed the field.”
“Maybe, but you have to realize these people were a very closed society. If there’s a record, we’ll find it only within their ranks, and it’ll be hard to uncover.” He moved away from her and po
ured himself some coffee. “Let the computer work, and let’s take a break.”
“You go ahead, and I’ll see you later.” Pauline smiled almost too sweetly and left before he did.
She’d saved him the trouble of having to come up with an excuse to get away from her for his own answers. He changed his search again so it’d find what he had already, not trusting Pauline’s motives any longer. The aggravation of getting mixed up in this had blinded him to the beautiful assistant who’d miraculously shown up to help him and had quickly fallen for Alejandro’s bullshit.
He made sure the security system was running before he shut off the lights and locked up. It was probably over-the-top paranoia, but something about all this wasn’t what it seemed. The only person who’d be honest with him was his father, and he wasn’t sure about even that relationship. Sometimes devotion to something superseded every obligation, including family.
“Are you home?” he asked his father once he was outside.
“Yes,” Sebastian said, but he sounded distant.
“Wait for me in the park, and, before you say no, it’s important.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be there.”
Oscar glanced around him, sensing eyes on him, watching to see what his next move would be. He went into the parking garage and waited in the stairwell to check if his imagination had run wild after being locked in the lab so long. After a few minutes two men entered and walked close to his car, then started toward the other exit. They were talking to someone as they hurried to the other side, where the taxis usually queued up.
“What the hell is going on?” he muttered as he waited to see if anyone else would come. It didn’t totally surprise him when Pauline appeared with two more men. The only person he figured who’d want to keep this close a tab on him was Alejandro. With any luck, his father had left without all these people trailing him as well.
