by Petra Landon
They found Tasia by the grounds of the lodge, her gaze on the orange flames licking the sky. It was twilight and the rainforest around them was lit up with brilliant color, as if to herald the coming darkness.
Before Sienna could say anything, the red-haired sprite with Nandini piped up. “Whose ass should we kick, Tasia? I’ll take care of it” she offered.
Despite her foreboding, Sienna felt amusement bubble up in her. Nandini shot her a speaking look, heroically suppressing the grin threatening to burst through. Even Tasia’s quiet despondency seemed to give way before the sprite’s impudent overture. A tentative smile bloomed across her face. The sight had Sienna’s apprehensions ebbing away.
“Are you offering to kick ass, Temi?” Nandini remarked mildly, working to keep her quivering lips under control.
“Why exert yourself when you have the perfect man for the job” the sprite retorted.
Sienna’s eyes widened and Nandini’s jaw slackened.
However, Tasia’s face softened with affection. “Thank you, Temi” she said softly.
“Do you mean …?” Nandini’s gobsmacked voice trailed away.
The sprite shrugged. “Would you waste an effective weapon?”
Nandini’s eyes shot to the girl. “When the Deadly finds out you talk of him as your personal weapon — what happens then?” she challenged the sprite.
A gamine smile lit up the red-haired girl’s face. “He’ll play the part with gusto” she said with utter confidence, her eyes gleaming.
Sienna, equal parts amused and bemused by the assertion, focused on what troubled her. Whether the Archmage agreed to it or not was moot. Kicking ass would not solve Tasia’s problem. If only it were that simple, she wished fervently. Given what Sienna knew, there were few Chosen who could withstand Tasia if she chose to exert the full force of her magic.
“You can’t mean to choose the Vampires, Tasia? They’ll tear you apart” she said urgently, her voice shaking with passion. “The Pack is the only thing keeping them at bay.”
Sienna didn’t think her friend would ever side with the Clan, but Nandini’s words had disquieted her.
“I will never go to the Blutsaugers” Tasia assured her. “Not willingly, Sienna.”
“The First Ones?” Nandini asked.
“There’s history with the Blood Mages” Tasia acknowledged slowly. “I can’t be sure they won’t throw me to the dogs if it serves their interest.”
Nandini said nothing further.
Sienna hesitated, before issuing a warning. “I wish I could tell you that the First Wizard will protect your interests, Tasia. Her position is more secure than before, but it is impossible to foresee which side will have the upper hand on any given day.”
Tasia’s eyes tangled with her.
What she saw in their depths had Sienna straightening. “Go to the Pack” she urged her friend. “They’ll watch your back, as they always have.”
“Not this time” Tasia countered quietly.
“The Alpha will …” Sienna began.
“The price is too high. I can’t pay it, Sienna. I won’t pay it.” Tasia was vehement, clearly torn up by the prospect.
As Sienna prepared to make the case, Nandini shook her head discreetly at her half-sister. The Wizard subsided, albeit reluctantly. She’d come to trust Nandini’s instincts and if her sister was asking her to not press Tasia on the subject, she would back off for now. But the impasse set off alarm bells for Sienna. She’d been witness to the Pack’s assiduous guardianship of their Wizard charge, under their Alpha’s orders. How could everything change so drastically, Sienna wondered despairingly.
“If the Wyrs are not an option, what will you do, Tasia?” It was the red-haired sprite who asked the question but this time, she was grave, with nary a hint of levity in her.
“I don’t know” Tasia confessed. “From where I sit, the options are all bad.”
This time, Sienna could not bite her tongue. She’d be damned if her friend was sacrificed on her watch. This was the role she’d been prepping for, for nearly half her life. She had walked away from the Chosen, to be allowed to make her choices without the burden or complications of allegiances and loyalty. She would not allow the Council to put Tasia in the dock.
“I will make sure you have options, Tasia” she declared fiercely, determined to not fail her friend.
…
“Sienna” Jason exclaimed, his voice rising sharply.
The urgency in his voice had the others turn to them, only to see the Wizard topple over. If Jason had not held her up, she’d have collapsed onto the ground. As everyone rushed to her, a white-faced Sienna opened her eyes to stare at them blankly.
“What happened?” she blinked, looking confused.
“You fainted” Jason pointed out, with a furrow between his brows.
He helped her to stand. Confused and unsteady on her feet, Sienna held on to him. Her obvious discomposure had her friends desist from asking any further questions. In silent accord, they trooped back to the lodge where a sumptuous repast had been laid out for them. Duncan did not last long, but the others tucked into the fare. Sienna was unusually subdued, and Tasia sensed that the Wizard was in shock. She wondered whether it was connected in any way to Sienna’s inexplicable desire to explore the arena.
After dinner, Roman wandered off to chat up the resort officialdom, while the others readied to retire for the night. Jason followed Sienna to her room, concerned by the interlude in the stadium. Once in her room, Sienna gestured silently to him, urging Jason to follow her. The resort had provided a map of trails that crisscrossed the grounds. With a flashlight and the map, they set out. In no time, they were on the grounds, by the edge of the forest. As they ventured further from the lodge, the manicured acreage gave way to something less tamed. Lush, thick and wild, the rainforest beckoned them. Soon, the thick canopy overhead nearly masked the moon from them. Jason was silent, allowing her to take the lead, the light from the powerful flashlight guiding their way.
Eventually, Sienna stopped in a tiny expanse where the moon shone down on them.
“Far enough, I think.” She turned to face Jason.
His teeth flashed white in the darkness. “It’s the rare occasion when Shifters are down for the count, Sienna. I’d say we are safe from prying ears.”
“That arena, Jason … I know it” she asserted impetuously, unable to hold back anymore.
The Guardian was startled. “You’ve been here before?”
“I’ve never been to Belize” she insisted. “But I’m intimately acquainted with the pit and those seats that look down into it.”
It was the air of suppressed and incandescent excitement about her that gave her confidant his first clue.
“The vision” he gasped, flabbergasted by this turn of events.
She affirmed it eagerly, her eyes shining like stars in the moonlight. “This is where the Council of Chosen will sit in judgement over Tasia.”
He blinked, as everything fell into place. “That’s why you fainted” he murmured.
“I didn’t faint” she corrected him, a smile blooming on her face. “I was momentarily overwhelmed.”
His eyes widened, as he unraveled the subtle cues. “You saw the vision again, Sienna?”
“No, I saw another glimpse of the future” she admitted. “A small snippet, like the one I experienced at the Lair. It’s not the original vision I’ve seen many times before, but it is connected to that.”
She had shared the strange flash of events, she’d mistaken for a dream, at the Lair with Jason, though Sienna had kept the details to herself. Not because she didn’t trust him, but because she was unsure how to interpret it. Or even bracket it with the original vision. But the one at the arena this evening had been different. For one, she’d been awake when experiencing it. And secondly, this particular interlude was easier to tie to the original vision of Tasia before the Council.
He looked confused. “What do you mean?”
“I was here, at the resort, with my sisters” she explained.
“Both of them?” Jason confirmed, picking up on the hint again.
“Yes.”
“What did you see, Sienna?” he asked, without ceremony. Jason was the only one who understood what paramount importance Sienna gave to these flashes of the future she’d been granted.
“I’m still processing it” she confessed.
“No new clues?” he persisted. “I know you suspect that Tasia’s ordeal might have something to do with her magic, but did you get a hint of anything else?”
Sienna reflected back on it. “Two things struck me, Jason” she averred. “A mix of good and bad. The bad news is that the Pack will not stand by Tasia when the time comes.”
He drew the obvious conclusion. “So, it is her powers that bring her to the attention of the Council?”
“I can’t tell for sure yet. But from what I was shown, she has a choice to make.”
He looked puzzled. “What kind of choice?”
“Something that involves choosing one of the factions on the Council.”
Jason tried to make sense of it. “She doesn’t pick the Shifters, despite her ties to the Pack?” he said incredulously. To him, Tasia’s decision should be simple.
Sienna shook her head, somewhat forlornly. “She seems estranged from the Pack, Jason.” There was dejection in her voice. Sienna had been hoping that with the influential Northern California Pack by her side, Tasia would have a powerful ally to back her before the Council.
“Are you sure about this?” Jason’s voice was gentle.
“She’s adamant that she can’t pay the Alpha’s price. Those are her words.”
Sienna did not tell him what she had declared to Tasia. This new glimpse into the future suggested that, more than ever, her friend would need Sienna by her side when the time came for the confrontation with the Chosen.
Jason took in her expression. “What’s the good news?” he prompted her.
Reminded thus, she perked up. “The Deadly that has my sister means her no harm.”
This time, Jason was taken aback. “He means to help her?” he exclaimed, his own excitement rising at the news. If her half-sister had found an ally to defend her from the Vampires, not only was that good news for their investigation, but it would also set Sienna’s mind at ease.
“That might be going too far, Jason. But my sister doesn’t believe he’s a threat to her. And she should know.”
Sienna met his eyes. “Whatever the future holds, it’s good to know that she is with someone that means her well. What the rumors say about Monseigneur …” She shuddered.
Jason agreed with her. Sienna could do with this news, for it was tempered by the knowledge of the coming schism between Tasia and the Pack.
“I’m sorry about Tasia,” he said quietly. “But don’t fret, Sienna. You’ll figure it out. And I will stand with you when Tasia is hauled before the Council.”
Sienna’s face softened at his words. “I’m not fretting any more, Jason” she said.
“When we started this, I was filled with anger and bitterness about my mother, Da, and the past in general. It was eating me up from the inside. But over the months, through the course of the investigation, I found a new perspective on it. I have the chance to get the answers I’ve been seeking all my life. And more crucially, I’ve gained friends and a wonderful sister along the journey. I understand now that lifting the veil is the only balm. Until the past becomes clear, my future will continue to remain clouded.”
“Yes, I’m disappointed that Tasia will be alone when she needs her friends the most” she conceded. “But I’m no longer uncertain or confused about what I must do. I am meant to be on her side when the time comes. And I won’t be alone. When that day dawns, Nandini and you will fight by my side.”
He said nothing, simply reaching for her hand to intertwine their fingers together. Sienna glanced down at their clasped fists, his palm warm around hers.
“Trev asked me at the Lair if we were together” she remarked, a whimsical note in her voice.
The chocolate brown eyes caressed her face, glowing in the darkness.
She smiled. “He also told me that you had a soft corner for me in high school.”
“I did” he admitted, without any prevarication.
“I wish I’d known, Jason. I had a major crush on you.”
His eyebrow arched up. “I wish I’d known, Sienna” he echoed her words deliberately.
She contemplated him. “Do you? Wish that you had known then” she asked him seriously.
He considered her question, giving it the due it deserved. “No, Sienna. We were callow children and had a lot of growing up to do. I had to find my path and you were yet to discover your cause.”
Sienna’s eyes wandered his face, the clean-cut features that hid the quiet strength and inner conviction he’d always had, even as a boy. His innate confidence and certitude about his place in the world had been part of what had drawn her to him. But she had been lost then. He’d read it correctly. They had been right to wait until she found herself.
“And now?” she asked, her voice a whisper in the night.
He drew her to him, their lips a hair’s breadth apart. “Now … it would be a shame to waste any more time.”
Under the light of the moon, they reached for each other, surrounded by the silent forest, giving in to what had drawn them to each other, even all those years ago when circumstances had been far more tangled.
“Where is everyone?” Tasia glanced around the empty dining room. She wondered if the Shifters were still suffering the after-effects of jetlag.
Despite the table laden with a hearty breakfast, only Nandini and Duncan had come down for it. It was after ten, but from the food piled high on the servers, it was evident that few guests had partaken yet.
“Sienna is asleep” Nandini responded. “She mumbled something about a late night when I looked in on her.”
“The Shifters are gone” Duncan remarked, cutting a piece from the generous portion of roast beef on his plate.
The enigmatic declaration had both ladies staring at him, their breakfasts forgotten.
“Gone where?” Nandini asked.
Duncan gestured vaguely with his fork. “The forest.”
“They’ll be back by sundown tomorrow” he added helpfully.
Nandini exchanged a bemused look with Tasia.
“Duncan” she protested laughingly. “You can’t leave us hanging with that.”
He glanced up from his plate, to flash them a smile. “I was planning to flourish all the details after breakfast.”
Tasia recalled what the Alpha had called it the night they’d spent at the cave in Oregon. “Letting out their beasts, Duncan?” she inquired.
“Something of the sort” he affirmed. “It’s rare we have the chance in the city. And Raoul wants everyone looking for tracks. She didn’t just vanish into thin air.”
Tasia was taken aback. The Shifters, thanks to their beasts and their superhuman senses, were trackers par excellence. But this was the proverbial needle in a haystack. “Will there be any tracks months later?”
“Unlikely” the English Shifter acknowledged. “But away from the resort, the rainforest is thick. So dense in places that little sunlight reaches it. If someone trucked through those sections or camped out there, there will be signs. Of course, it’s vast and we’ll need a little luck. But if it’s out there, we’ll find it.”
“You don’t plan to join them?” the Indian Chosen inquired curiously.
“I have a different assignment, Nandini. I’m to take a look at the site of the explosion. Our hosts have been kind enough to offer to show us around. Would any of you be interested in the excursion?”
“I’ll join you, Duncan” Tasia piped up, catching onto the ploy immediately.
“I will too” Nandini concurred.
An hour later, neither Sienna nor Jason had put in an appearance. But Ro
man had, accompanied by an older Chosen. They trooped out with their host who led them into the courtyard to a gate that provided access to the grounds beyond. A well-trodden path circled the lodge, through the manicured shrubs and bushes. Tasia cast her eyes beyond, to the rainforest. They had been told that if they went deeper, it was wilder and the going tough.
On the eastern edge of the lodge, they came upon a wreck. A part of the three storey building had crumbled into itself, like cardboard someone had bent out of shape. The blackened edifice, with the debris strewn around it, made for a discordant sight. Surrounded by the undamaged lodge and pristine grounds, the mangled structure was a macabre reminder of the power and brutality a Magick could wield.
Nandini gasped softly and it was all Tasia could do to not follow suit.
“I hope that whoever did this does not believe in her cause” the Indian Ancient remarked, under her breath.
Tasia agreed with the expressed sentiments. For the first time, the enormity of the challenge that faced them hit home to her. She was opposed to Lady Bethesda because of what the ex-Guardian’s lust for power represented. If the Lady Bethesdas of this world were to triumph, injustice and inequality would reign over the Chosen, even more so than today. In such a scenario, the Chosen with less magic, less influence, less allies or the wrong bloodlines would be crushed under the wheels of the relentless juggernaut as the strong trampled over the weaker. But Tasia had always envisaged defeating their adversary’s ambitions as a tactical, even political, problem. With the likes of Faoladh, the Alpha and Roman banded together to stop the Guardian, surrendering to Lady Bethesda had begun to seem an unlikely prospect to her. Yes, there were fears that halting the Wizard’s advances might incite a civil war that forced Chosen to pick sides. And yes, such a war would shed blood and cause enormous suffering on all sides, making life for the average Magick tough. The resulting turbulence might even blow her cover, forcing her to make some hard choices. Yet, Tasia continued to hope that, with the right tactical acumen and proper strategic alliances, Lady Bethesda could be brought to justice without the mayhem and turmoil she planned to unleash. Faoladh, no matter how ambiguous his role in The Prophecy was purported to be, was a tactician with few peers, unparalleled at playing power games in the highest of Chosen echelons. His connections, influence and relationships with the other factions would be near impossible to counteract by a Guardian forced to live in the shadows, to escape the music for her past. As for Faoladh’s lieutenant, Tasia knew how formidable the Alpha was in his own right — a daunting mix of brawn and brain; tenacious, strong-willed and dogged in the pursuit of his goals. With them, stood Roman Durovic, heir to the leader of the Setik in North America, and the likes of the First Wizard and their adversary’s daughters. Given the Chosen arrayed against her, Tasia had begun to believe that Lady Bethesda would soon discover that fulfilling her aspirations would be no cakewalk, prophecy or not.
