by K. F. Breene
I had gotten the impression that he was quite old. I wondered how old his family was.
“I think it was the stars that led me to my mountain,” he went on. “Every so often, the stars choose a basajaun and lead him, or more likely her—our females are usually more courageous—to a great future. A future the family can be proud of. I think the stars have chosen my path.”
“Hmm,” I said, having no idea where this was going.
“It is not for me to decipher the journey of others,” he said, “but it is an interesting thing that we should meet under the mountain, forge our friendship in battle, and that you should then find yourself facing down another battle under a mountain.”
I’d been really working on controlling my reactions, but I was pretty sure a brow furrow seeped through. “Mhm.”
“It is a clear sign if ever there was one,” he went on. “So…” His voice drifted away, as though he was waiting for something.
“It probably is a sign, yes,” I said vaguely.
“Yes.” He nodded as though that answered that. I still didn’t understand what I’d agreed to, which was probably a mistake. “The stars, as I thought. This is the right way.”
He took a step toward the back door of Ivy House, and I stepped with him.
“I thought we were supposed to dress up a little?” the basajaun asked, taking another step.
I ran a little to keep pace. “For what now?”
“For the ceremony. I thought we were supposed to dress up?”
“The ceremony…” I stopped and faced him again, my eyebrows climbing and my shock too great to be hidden. “Wai—”
“Yes, the ceremony. I thought you agreed? It is not easy to decipher the stars, but they didn’t even attempt subtlety this time. My job, when we first met, was to guard you under the mountain.”
“Your job wasn’t so much to guard me as it was to keep me from escaping—”
“We helped each other that day—you generously promised me flowers, and I allowed you to escape.”
Well, sort of. He’d feigned an injury so the mages who’d enlisted his help wouldn’t accuse him of dereliction of duty. The prison I’d been held in was in his mountain, which apparently meant it was his role to guard it.
“We have battled together often since then,” the basajaun continued. “You have assembled a fearsome collection of magical people, from an alpha who gives me pause to a mythical creature I could not fight.” He was talking about the phoenix. The night Cyra had showed up, he’d tried to help take her down, but the burns had incapacitated him. “My ancestors will not be disappointed to see me join such a crew, especially since I was led by the stars. I have debated the decision for months, of course. I do not like to be tied down, which is why I left my family in the beginning. I do love those redwoods, but I do not like being governed. So I have been watching you. The alpha is strict with his people, yes. The gargoyle is strict with his gargoyles in town, yes. But you are not so strict. You merely ask that we all respect one another. That we help fight and protect one another. That is how a family should work. The grievances of one can be claimed by all.”
“Right. Except…” This was blindsiding me. I would never in a million years have guessed he’d want to join the Ivy House crew. It had never even occurred to me, mostly because of all the things he’d said about moving away from his family and living alone on his mountain. “It’s just that you live really far away—”
“And then I heard your next battle is to be under a mountain.”
“It’s a different mountain, though—”
“My first introduction to you was guarding you under a mountain. The job that cements me to you will be guarding you under a mountain. That fits. The stars led me here—me and the alpha and the rest of your crew—and here we will bind together. A strange sort of magical family. I will be laughed at, yes. But I have always been laughed at, and when they see a female gargoyle and the phoenix and the thunderbird… The basajaunak will come around. It is as the stars will it.”
I stared at him blankly, my mouth gaping open. This was all coming out of left field. I didn’t know if I was comfortable with having him on my team. Sure, he was an amazing asset in a battle, and he’d hung around often enough that I was comfortable with him personally, but he was picky about his rules. He traded for the simplest of things.
Which reminded me…
“Would I have to trade for your involvement on the team?” I asked.
“It would not be a trade, but a basajaunak partnership. Like family. If I am slighted, this small magical family will be entitled to claim vengeance, and vice versa. If your family is in trouble, like young Master Jimmy, it will be within my power to go to his aid. The same would be true if my family were in danger.”
“We doing okay?” Austin approached us from the house, glancing back and forth between us. He rested his hand lightly on the small of my back.
“The basajaun thinks the stars led us all here,” I said, “and it’s a sign that Elliot Graves’s stronghold is embedded in mountain tunnels. He wants to join the Ivy House crew.”
Austin’s expression didn’t change, and no surprise trickled through the link. He’d clearly been in hearing range, because otherwise I didn’t know how all that hadn’t blown his hair back.
“He says that if he joins the crew,” I went on, “then it basically joins our families. So if something were to happen to Jimmy, he’d…probably pop heads off and spike them like footballs, as he likes to do, and if something happens to his family…I guess we need to return the favor?”
“Yes. As is standard,” the basajaun said.
“As is apparently standard, sure…” I said.
“Can I speak to you for a moment, Jess?” Austin asked, oddly formal.
“Yes, sure.”
We took a few steps away, and I covered us in a soundproof spell.
“Is this not throwing you for a loop?” I asked Austin the second we were cut off from the basajaun’s hearing. “Everyone has always been surprised that the basajaun even fights with us. I got the impression basajaunak families are very tight-knit and don’t care for outsiders. I don’t want to piss them off. And…what if the basajaun wants to live in Ivy House? I don’t have a bed that big. Does he shed? Mr. Tom would pitch a fit if there are rolling balls of hair all the time.” I ran my hand over my face. “I know that I should be jumping for joy, since he is a very good creature to have in my corner, but this has really taken me by surprise. I wasn’t ready for it.”
“It’s ultimately your decision,” Austin said, bending a little to catch my gaze. “But you should know that this is an incredible honor. This basajaun is essentially offering to add you—all of us—to his family. He is connecting us with the rest of the basajaunak the world over. You’re right about their usual attitude toward outsiders. They rarely bother with anyone but their own kind unless it is to get something they need or to claim vengeance for a perceived wrong. Usually their council of elders would need to approve of this decision, and maybe he got it to them somehow. Or he might just assume they’re on board. The thing he said about being led by the stars…he’s talking about fate. He thinks fate is guiding his feet—all of our feet—and their kind do not turn their backs on fate.” Austin glanced back at the basajaun, in his bow tie with his freshly braided beard. “If you take him on, you’d have the whole of the basajaunak at your disposal. You’d be their family, and they would protect you with their lives.”
My stomach dropped out of me. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what I could say.
Austin nodded slowly. “Yes, this is a big deal. A huge honor, like I said. It has happened occasionally in the past, but it is incredibly rare. You are on the precipice of securing a powerful ally.”
“But what if they refuse to honor the connection?”
“I’m sure they could cut him out of the family if it came down to it, but special allowances are made for situations like this one. The basajaunak really do bel
ieve in following the stars. From what I understand, anyway. I’m certainly no expert.”
“You think I’d be crazy to pass this up?”
“I think you need to be comfortable with your team. That’s the most important consideration.”
I glanced over at the basajaun, who was now eyeing the nearest flowers. “I mean…the hair…”
“I doubt he will want to sleep inside. That’s not really what they do.”
“Right, true. He was really good with Jimmy when he was here. And he’s always been nice to me, in his way… I mean, if I had thought he’d ever want the position, I totally would’ve offered, but it was just such a surprise that it threw me for a loop.”
“What will you do?”
Nine
I tore the privacy spell away and took a deep breath. “I usually do dress a little nicer for these things,” I said, offering the basajaun a nervous smile. “I’ll head up now and change. I’ve just had a lot on my mind—”
“Yes, with the trials ahead.” The basajaun nodded gravely. “I can help. I am as proficient under a mountain as I am atop one.”
“So…you know that Graves’s lair seems to be a collection of tunnels within the mountain, not necessarily below it, right?”
“Yes.” The basajaun frowned at me.
“Right. Just…making sure. Yeah, okay, sure, come inside. I’ll go get changed for the ceremony.”
For the first time in a couple weeks, the stress in my shoulders and the coiling in my stomach relaxed a little. Having the basajaun with us would be an incredible help, especially if he felt at home in the underground lair that would have the rest of us itching to escape. An incredible help. The fact that he’d actually sought out an invitation eased my mind too. He knew exactly what he was getting into, and he had chosen to add his name to the roster. That was good news.
“Miss—”
“Hah!” I jumped and karate-chopped the air, three feet from Mr. Tom waiting near the table in my room. I could feel him both through the link and through my awareness of everyone on the house’s grounds, but given he was basically white noise to me, I never bothered to check his location.
Mr. Tom pursed his lips. “I do hope you will refrain from that method of attack once you are among the other mages. I can’t imagine it’ll be a good look.”
I let out my breath and clutched my chest. “You know I try not to use my magic in the house. The last thing I need is to accidentally kill one of you after a jump scare. Why are you standing in the shadows like a creep?”
“It is not creepy to wait patiently while conserving electricity.”
“Yes it is. Take a note.”
“You’re running late. The others are nervous that you’re having second thoughts.”
“No. The basajaun showed up.” I told him about our conversation.
“I wondered why he was showing such an interest,” Mr. Tom said as I took out some slacks and a blouse. “I must admit, I didn’t expect that.”
“Yeah, me neither. Austin said it isn’t for me to ask about how that decision will go down with his family, but…it’s definitely on my mind.”
“Basajaunak are certainly touchy about dealings with their families. They are very private, even within their own species. Definitely better not to mention it.”
“So does that mean soon he’ll be touchy about all of us?”
“Likely. Now, hop into the shower and wash away some of that stink. I’ll refresh the champagne and tell them you’ll be down in a minute.”
I paused in turning around. “They’re nervous I had second thoughts? They’re eager to join, then? Even though it’ll be really dangerous?”
“Nathanial knows there is no higher honor than to protect you from danger. The more intense the danger, the higher the status he’ll gain within the gargoyle community. All of us will. The others answered your summons when they could have resisted, and they were immediately confronted by Austin Steele’s incredible power and your ever-growing strength. They aren’t fools; they see the vast potential in this outfit and want to be on the winning team. Of course they are eager to join, miss. You are not seeing your worth clearly, which is why your decision not to play the field, as it were, concerns me. Have you even considered anyone with wings?”
“Oh my God, what is your malfunction?” I said on a release of breath, and turned toward the shower. He’d always been weird about my sex life, trying to get me to bang everyone in town, it seemed like. I had a man. I wasn’t like the gargoyle guys—I didn’t need more than one, especially not at the same time. I’d tried that in college once. More than one dong just got tedious after a while.
Clean and dressed, I hurried down and found everyone in the front sitting room, the basajaun among them, sipping their champagne and talking quietly. They fell silent as I appeared in the doorway, Mr. Tom approaching with a glass immediately.
“Welcome everyone,” I said, because I didn’t really know what else to say. Other than the basajaun and Austin, they all lived here, so why was I welcoming them to their own sitting room? “Do you want to follow me back?”
“Me first.” Cyra shoved Hollace, who rolled his eyes at her toddler antics. To be fair, she was only a week old in her current iteration. The dolls, scattered around the room, ran forward with their glasses or cups of water, liquid sloshing down their fronts. Cyra wasn’t even shedding fire at the moment.
“It’s not first come, first served,” Hollace drawled as he followed her. A doll ran across his path, and he kicked in its direction. It swerved just before his foot could connect. They were getting smart to his antics. Too bad.
They followed me down the hall, the others behind them. At the door to the council room, I stopped for a second and took a deep breath.
“Here we go,” I said quietly.
I’d already explained what kind of magic they’d get: a sort of fountain of youth in every way but one. They’d feel younger, with more energy, stamina, and ease of movement, but they’d retain their current appearance. They’d become immortal unless killed, if they weren’t already. I’d also explained the link that would develop between us, and between them and Ivy House. I’d laid all this out before asking if they’d like to join the team.
They hadn’t hesitated then, and they didn’t hesitate now, filing into the room behind me and spreading out, sipping their champagne. Their sparkling eyes and smiles indicated that Mr. Tom hadn’t been feeding me a line. They were definitely eager to become part of the Ivy House crew, as weird as we were.
I walked around the large, ornate chairs, positioned in a circle, and entered near the little flag marking the first chair. Once in the middle, I felt the pull of Ivy House magic, directing those in the room to their rightful seats, one at a time. I chose my crew; she chose where they sat in the circle based on their importance to the group as a whole.
Austin walked forward, taking his seat in the first chair, my most important asset. No one needed an explanation as to why. Niamh would usually step forward next, Ivy House having placed her in the number three spot before I was even chosen as heir. But she didn’t move. I frowned as Ulric walked toward the little flag, his face screwed up in confusion. He nodded to me as he passed, then took a seat in the number six spot. Jasper came next, in the number seven chair, and Mr. Tom claimed the number nine spot, which only proved that the order was based on fighting prowess and not the council members’ relative importance to my life and wellbeing.
Edgar came last, offering me a smile before sitting on the chair on the other side of the flag, number twelve.
“There has been a change,” Ivy House said to me in our magical language.
Cyra stepped forward with a big smile and her lensless glasses. Fire dripped from her fingers, and I was starting to wonder if she leaked when she couldn’t totally control her emotions. The dolls thudded after her, water sloshing out, little streams of smoke rising from the snuffed-out flames. I’d need to constantly replace the rugs in this place until I had a handl
e on the elemental magic.
She passed by Austin, smiling down at him as she did so. She stopped in front of me and offered me a bow.
“I pledge to you my allegiance, and in so doing, place with you the honor of the phoenix. You are a friend to my kind. When in great need, call to us and we will answer.”
I widened my eyes as she about-faced. She hadn’t mentioned that part of it.
“She is strong for her species, power incarnate,” Ivy House said. “She does your circle proud.”
“The house is controlling me, Hollace. This is neat.” Cyra laughed as she started forward, aiming for the number two spot. She lowered next to Austin and then beamed at him.
The basajaun’s hair puffed out and he tensed.
“Don’t try to force him,” I told Ivy House quickly. “This is not the time for a battle of wills. Remember when Austin pushed back? You’ll probably get the same thing from the basajaun, only a lot more violent.”
She was quiet for a long moment. The basajaun tensed further, proving she hadn’t backed down.
“Fine…” she finally said, but I could sense her annoyance. She was playing along, for now, but she’d probably try to mess with the basajaun in the future like she had with Austin. I wondered how that would go. Austin wasn’t the epitome of patience when someone was messing with him, but he was ten times more civil than that hairy beast.
“What’s the story with Niamh?” I asked as the basajaun finally started forward.
“Niamh is very valuable, but when I appointed her all those years ago, I could’ve never imagined the power you would amass. You have already collected more power than any of my other heirs did, with a larger variety. You were a good choice, and your circle shows your merit. I must change the positions as befit the players. None of these places are ever set in stone.”
That was news to me. I wondered if she changed the rules as the game continued. I wouldn’t put it past her.
Not like it really mattered. I didn’t treat anyone differently based on where they sat.
