by Ally Shields
Ari swallowed hard, her own tears threatening. The idea of losing Andreas…of him being in pain… “Why are they doing this? What do they want?” She stopped the rush of pointless questions. “Claris, please stop crying. You’re going to make yourself sick. I’ll leave for Germany right after the service, if you think you’ll be all right.”
“No.” Claris clutched her arm, her nails digging in. “Go now. I’ll be OK. Andreas needs you.”
Ari’s frown deepened, her heart torn in half. She heard the sincerity in her friend’s voice, but knew the hardest days of grief were still ahead, days when Ari should be at her side. She glanced at Ryan.
“Go. We’ll take care of everything here,” he said. “Mangi will stay until you get back.”
She returned her gaze to Claris, her voice soft. “But I wanted to be at the service to tell Brando I love him. And to say good-bye.”
Claris hugged Ari’s neck, her eyes misting again. “He already knows,” she whispered in her ear. “And if he was here, he’d tell you to go.”
* * *
Twelve hours after they left Riverdale, Ari and Lilith sat in a rental car on a winding mountain road in Germany looking down on the O-Seven’s stronghold. Both women held binoculars in their hands and were scanning the heavy forest that grew within twenty feet of the castle walls. That last open area was kept completely empty, insuring any visitors would be spotted before they reached the massive front gate.
“I’ve never seen woods so dense and dark green,” Lilith commented. “Is that why they call it the Black Forest?”
Ari almost jumped at the sound of Lilith’s voice. She’d been lost in thought, lost in the dream she’d had on the plane. Even now she couldn’t let it go. Andreas had held her in his arms, and she’d seen shadowy pictures of the inside of a stone structure. Much like this one. Maybe it was this one. Had their magics somehow found their way to each other once again?
She closed her eyes for an instant, trying to bring back those images. She wanted to see more. What was happening to him now? Was he thinking about her, wondering why she hadn’t come for him?
She forced herself to focus on her task and answer Lilith. “Sounds logical.” She moved her binoculars a little further to the left. “I’ve counted at least a dozen areas of movement. How about you?”
“Yeah, the werebears are everywhere. They aren’t taking any chances on someone wandering onto the castle grounds. Oh my God, did you see those wereraptors at the gate? They’re as nasty looking as I thought they’d be.” She dropped the glasses to her lap. “The castle is indestructible, and I don’t see a single weak spot in their defenses. “
Ari sighed. “I don’t either, but I hoped you’d see something I’d missed.” She leaned back and deposited her binoculars on the back seat. “Let’s go to the hospital and talk with Sophie. When I called the nurses’ desk, they said she could have visitors. I want to warn her about the warlock.” She put the car in gear and drove down the mountain. In her last view of the O-Seven’s stronghold through the rearview mirror, the fortress seemed to be looking back and mocking her.
* * *
Sophie’s face lit up in a broad grin. “Ari! I’m so glad you came back. Greta told me what happened with Rebekah and that you’d gone home.” The priestess was sitting up in bed, an IV still connected to her arm. Her head and one shoulder were wrapped in bandages. “I know I look a mess, but it’s not so bad. The drugs keep me happy, and the doctors say I’ll make a good recovery.”
“That’s great news. You look a whole lot better than when they loaded you into the ambulance.” Ari glanced at Lilith standing in the doorway and gestured for her to join them. “I brought my friend Lilith, and we’re hoping you’re up to a little shop talk.”
“Oh, yeah. I’m ready for anything that’s not magazines or TV. Pull up a chair. I may giggle now and then from the drugs.” She grinned. “But I can still think. Pretty much. What’s on your mind?”
Ari pulled a chair close to the bed. Lilith returned to the doorway, where she could still hear but also see into the corridor. She took her guard duties so seriously.
“Before we talk about anything else, I need to warn you about the Kirsch brothers. At least one of them is working with the O-Seven.” Ari explained what had happened in Riverdale, including the role of the warlock.
Sophie’s sunny face clouded over. “Good Goddess! I’m so sorry about your friend.” She sat up straight. “I remember now. The last fight with the vampires has been so hazy for me, but I think I tried to warn you. I saw a warlock in the forest. He was a Kirsch, but too far away to identify which one. You realize they’re twins, don’t you?”
“I’m not surprised, although they aren’t quite identical. Up close, I can see differences.”
“Mostly personality. I dated Gerhard for a while, ages ago, before he developed such a huge ego. At the time I could tell them apart, but they’ve both changed over time.” Sophie grimaced and shook her head. “I didn’t realize either of them was capable of this. Why would they betray us?”
“He said he wanted to be on the winning side.”
Sophie’s jaw tightened, revealing the stern face of the warrior witch she was. “The slime. Well, he is wrong. We will never let the vampires defeat us. I can hardly wait to get out of here and show him.” She glared at the IV in her arm. “Nurse! Nurse!” she shouted.
“Shh, calm down, Sophie. This might work a little better than shouting.” Ari reached across the bed and pushed the nurses’ station button. “Why do you need the nurse? Are you in pain?”
“I want this IV off.” Sophie held out her arm with the dangling tube.
The nurse sailed in through the open door. “It’s not going to happen. Not yet. The IV stays right where it is until the doctor says otherwise. And keep your voice down. You’ll disturb the other patients.”
“Call the doctor then,” Sophie ordered.
The nurse put her hands on her sturdy hips. “I know it’s the drugs talking, but if you don’t lower your voice, I’ll have to ask your guests to leave.”
“We can come back at a better time.” Ari stepped out of the nurse’s way.
“What’s it to be?” The woman continued to give Sophie that no-nonsense look.
“OK, but I hope he comes soon.”
“The doctor will be here in good time but don’t expect that IV to be out today. We’ll see about tomorrow.” The nurse approached the bed, fluffed the pillows, and pushed the button to lower the head. “If you lie down, your friends can stay a few minutes, but you need to rest.”
“Bossy, isn’t she?” Sophie rolled her eyes as soon as the nurse left. “But they’ve been good to me. I’ll talk with Greta about Warin and Gerhard. Rebekah isn’t taking my calls.” She sighed in exasperation. “She knows I don’t like her turning you out. I can’t countermand her orders until I’m back on my feet, but I’ll keep my promises. We may not be much help. Our losses were heavy this time.” Her lashes closed, then popped open with an effort. “There might be another way. Find a troll named Grogan. There’s an old story…might be true…about a tunnel…” Sophistrina was asleep.
Ari put a finger to her lips, and they tiptoed out of the room.
As she and Lilith exited the hospital’s main entrance a few minutes later, she tried to temper her excitement. After all, Sophie hadn’t been sure there was a tunnel. Still, it was hard not to be encouraged. This was the first inkling of good news they’d had. “She had to mean an underground access to the castle. This could be our way in. And we could take a fighting force with us.”
Lilith looked at her sideways. “Sufficient forces to fight a castle filled with vampires, raptors and werebears?”
“Well, maybe not,” Ari said sheepishly. “But a way in, which was more than we had.”
“That’s true.”
Ari opened the car door but paused when her phone rang. Unknown caller. Hmm, 5:30 p.m. She calculated quickly. Doubtful it was anyone from home. The services for Brando started thirty min
utes ago. The realization hit like a body blow, and her response to the caller was subdued. “Yes.”
“Ms. Calin? It’s Ramon.” The Italian werefox leader sounded agitated.
“Is something wrong?”
“I’ve lost contact with the foxes inside the stronghold.”
She closed her eyes in disbelief. “Both of them?”
“Yes, if they were discovered, well…they’re dead.”
“How’d it happen? I thought they were in almost constant contact with their partners on the outside. Isn’t that how it works?
“Sort of. It’s more of an awareness until they deliberately choose to communicate. But it was suddenly cut off. Those on the outside attempted to establish a link, but it was like they’d been snuffed out.”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions. Would their partners have sensed intense fear or pain?”
Ramon hesitated. “Maybe. But what else besides death would cause a sudden telepathic failure?”
She thought about the blackout the warlock had created in Riverdale. He would know she’d come after him. What if he’d used something like it to shield the castle as a precaution against infiltration? This might have nothing to do with the foxes, except it interfered with their telepathy. She didn’t want to raise false hopes, but it was plausible.
She told Ramon what had happened in Riverdale.
He heaved an anxious sigh. “I hope that’s the answer. The scouts I sent aren’t only my best, they’re my friends.”
“Ask the partners to keep monitoring. And let me know if they reestablish contact. I’ll be in touch with you as soon as I have a new plan.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know. Give me a few days.”
“The woods are full of werebears and trolls. My scouts are having a tough time dodging them.” He clearly didn’t want to agree to further delay. “If you can’t come up with something in forty-eight hours, I’m saving the people I can by pulling them out.”
Dammit! She shook her head. She couldn’t blame him for making his own people a priority, but she didn’t have to like it. And she was tired of being understanding. She disconnected, climbed in the car and slammed the door. As soon as Lilith entered the passenger door, she vented. “Forty-eight hours. I hate freaking deadlines, and I hate not being in control. Why can’t just one thing work out right?” She frowned at Lilith. “I need more time, but Andreas may be running out of time.”
“Why? You mean because they've had him so long?”
“Well, that too, but I was thinking more about why they kept him alive in the first place. What if his only use to them was to keep Gabriel and the Riverdale vamps under control?”
The corners of Lilith’s mouth sagged. “Since their plan failed, they wouldn’t have any use for him now.”
“Yeah. That’s what I thought.” A flash of suffocating fear made Ari reach out for that small spark that was Andreas’s life. It was still there.
* * *
How do you find a troll? Ari had no idea where to start. The forest surrounding the O-Seven’s fortress was filled with them, but since they were on the vampires’ payroll, she wasn’t likely to find any help there.
“Do you think this troll will talk to us?” Lilith asked.
“We’ll worry about that once we find him.” Ari sat with her hands on the steering wheel, thinking about the next step. They were still in the hospital parking garage, and she hadn’t turned on the engine. She dropped her hands. “I don’t know where to drive. We can’t just wander aimlessly through the countryside.”
Lilith was on her cell phone, searching the Internet for trolls in Germany.
Ari consulted her watch. A little after six, that would be eleven a.m. at home. The service should be over. How was Claris holding up? Should she call?
She compromised by calling Ryan. “Hi. How is she?”
“Hanging in there. Brando’s mother is a mess, and as you’d expect, Claris is trying to comfort her. We’re on our way to the cemetery, and she rode with his parents. Are you having any luck?”
“No, it just seems to go from bad to worse.” She told him about the foxes and her hopes of finding the troll. “But I’m at a loss.”
“Why aren’t you going after the warlock? Or his brother? Make them tell you what’s going on. Your witch friends must know where these guys live.”
“Geez, Ryan. You shouldn’t have to tell me that. I’m really am losing it.”
“Do I have to state the obvious? You’ve lost a close friend; you’re afraid of losing another. It can mess up your thinking.”
“Yeah.” She rubbed her temples. “I’m guessing the warlock we fought in Riverdale is hiding out inside the castle. He knows his cover is blown, but the brother might be a source of information. It’s worth a try. Thanks, and tell Claris…well, just tell her I’ll call later.”
“Will do. Good luck.”
Ari’s next call went to Greta for directions to the warlocks’ home. In addition to the directions, the German witch caught her up on the coven’s recovery efforts.
“Everyone except Sophistrina is out of the hospital, and we joined another coven that was hit hard three weeks ago. They lost their priestess. Right now we’re setting up a new camp.”
“Have you seen either of the warlocks?”
“No, why do you ask?”
“Sophie will be filling you in on the details, but I wouldn’t tell the brothers about your new camp.”
“Why?” Greta sounded astonished.
Ari hesitated. Sophie was their leader, and she'd had a history with Gerhard. The news of his treachery should come from her, not an outsider, but Ari couldn’t leave Greta without sufficient warning. “At least one of them is working with the O-Seven. You’ll have to trust me on this, Greta. And talk to Sophie as soon as you can.”
She hung up and sat for a moment, fighting back the anger and sadness that threatened to overwhelm her every time she thought about the warlock’s betrayal in Riverdale. If she didn’t find Andreas soon, she’d have too much grief to handle.
Lilith interrupted her grim thoughts. “Did you get the address?”
“Yeah, sorry. I was thinking about Brando…and Andreas.” She cleared her throat and turned the key in the engine. “Let’s go find some answers.”
After nearly an hour of driving the narrow, dirt roads, they located the Kirsch brothers’ home deep in the forest. Ari thought it was significant that they’d chosen to live outside any of the witch encampments, but it was hard to say whether it was personal preference or an attempt to conceal their activities. Gerhard didn’t seem like a recluse, although Warin fit the profile, but why weren’t they living with a coven for protection? Had one or both of them always been working for the vampires? Or was the betrayal recent, the final culmination of a detachment from their own kind? Warin had been reserved, and yes, both were supremely arrogant, but they’d been on decent terms with Sophie’s coven. That made the deceit by at least one of them even more depressing.
She parked the car on the side of the road. “Their house should be just round the corner, and someone’s home. I can sense the magic of brewing potions.”
Lilith pulled a gun from her holster.
“Good idea,” Ari said. “Whichever brother is home, we have to consider him hostile.”
Lilith shot her a smirk. “Just tell me when I can shoot him.”
“If he even looks funny, don’t wait for the go-ahead from me.” Ari wasn’t joking. “Nathan and Brando weren’t given any warning.” She slammed the car door and headed up the road.
It was at least a half mile, but finally the house came into view. A small, wooden chateau with a tile roof. Not as elaborate as she had expected, but a huge step up from the cabins that Sophie’s coven had used. Ari and Lilith cut through the woods, circling the house until they could see a small patio area in back. One of the Kirsch brothers was stretched out on a lounge chair reading a book.
As Ari started forward, he sat up. “
Hello. I thought you went back to the States.” He pushed off the lounger and strolled toward them.
“Stop right there,” she advised. “No closer.”
He came to a halt and frowned, his eyes moving from her to the pistol in Lilith’s hand. “What’s going on? Why the gun?” He seemed genuinely taken aback, but Ari wasn’t ready to accept anything either of the Kirsch brothers said.
“Which brother are you?”
“Gerhard. What’s wrong with you?”
“Where’s your brother?”
The warlock’s face hardened. “Now I get it. Warin’s done something, like usual. Who did he piss off this time?” He looked at the gun again. “It must be serious.”
“Where is he? And where have you been the last twenty-four hours?”
Gerhard crossed his arms. “I’m not telling you anything until you explain why you’re asking.” He turned his back on her and walked toward the house. “I’m going to get a beer and check on my mixture. If you want to talk, come inside, but put the gun away.”
Ari lifted a brow at Lilith. “We can either shoot him or go have a drink.”
“He’s got balls. I’ll give him that.” Lilith took the second pistol out of its holster, holding one in each hand. “I’m not putting my guns away.”
“A compromise then.” Ari grinned. “Beer and guns.”
They entered the house and found the warlock stirring a pot on the stove. He turned the dial to off and set the potion aside. Three beers already stood on the table.
“I thought I said no guns.”
“She doesn’t take orders well, and never from traitors.”
Gerhard straightened. “Traitors? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Are you saying you don’t know?”
“Of course I don’t know,” he snapped, clearly losing patience. “Tell me what you think Warin has done.”
“I didn’t say it was Warin. You could be the freaking coward we’re looking for. So the guns stay.”
“Me?” He thrust out his jaw in angry defiance. “Are you crazy? I don’t even know what crime I’m supposed to have committed.”
