Taliesin Ascendant (The Children and the Blood) (42 page)

Nathaniel nodded and then looked back at Ashe. She climbed from the car, drawing Lily after her.

“Gavin and I are fine,” Katherine said with a nod toward the guard. “The others…”

Her mouth tightened and she looked away. Her gaze caught on Lily and Cole. “Who…?”

Elias hesitated. “We should get inside.”

Katherine eyed him briefly and then nodded. She started toward the house, smoothing her brown curls as she went.

Glancing to the guard, Nathaniel jerked his head toward the car. Gavin went to move the vehicle.

The back door opened into a large kitchen. Dishes were piled high in one side of the sink, though the countertops were sparkling clean. White and blue patterned linoleum reflected light from the window above the kitchen sink and squeaked beneath their shoes as they came inside. Heading for the sink, Elias snagged a few paper towels from their dispenser and then flipped on the faucet to wash the blood from his face and arms.

“What happened?” Ashe said as the back door shut.

Her expression still tight, Katherine leaned against the counter, her hands braced behind her. “Mud,” she said precisely.

Ashe’s brow drew down. From the corner of her eye, she could see Cole look between them confusedly.

“I saw him,” Katherine continued. “He helped the human escape. And I can only assume that he contacted the Blood too. He seemed fully aware that they were coming, and the guards in the basement,” she grimaced again, “never came upstairs.”

Ashe dropped her gaze to the tile. Burying her reactions was getting harder, though she didn’t know what she’d do anyway.

Except scream.

The woman glanced to the window as Gavin shut the garage door, hiding their vehicle inside. “The Blood knew we were at Joe’s. They had already killed Derek out back before they ever came in the front door, and with Ethan and Wes downstairs dead as well… we barely made it out.”

Katherine looked over as Elias motioned for Nathaniel to take his place by the sink. “Joe saved us,” she continued. “He flung a vat of oil on one of them after they followed me into the kitchen. Another struck back, Gavin defended, the oil caught fire…”

She drew a breath. “Joe yelled at us to come here and then he ran. I presume, since you knew how to find us, that he is still alive, and that the Blood left him alone after we were gone.”

The back door opened and Gavin came inside. With a brief motion, Nathaniel ordered him toward the rest of the house. The man nodded and then disappeared down the hall.

“And now it’s your turn,” Katherine said, directing the words mostly to her husband.

Elias hesitated. “The twins are dead, Kat. And Joshua and the others are too.”

The woman was silent for a moment. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”

“I’m sorry.”

She nodded tightly. “How did it happen?” she asked, her tone edging toward clinical.

“Ambush.”

“The Blood have taken over Taliesin,” Ashe supplied distantly.

Katherine’s eyebrows rose. “What?”

“We don’t know for sure that they–” Elias started.

“Yes, we do,” Ashe countered, her heart starting to pound. “You really think they’d be
that
calm and have
that
strong a hold on Chaunessy if they hadn’t already killed the people hiding there?”

Elias grimaced.

“The Blood are making it look like we did this,” Ashe told Katherine. “And the Taliesin king controls them. Our best guess is, now that the council’s gone, he plans to blame their deaths on us and call for the Taliesin people to retaliate.”

Lily’s brow furrowed in confusion and then she looked from Ashe to Cole, the expression taking on an edge of concern. The young man turned away. Around the room, the wizards were silent, scenarios playing out behind their eyes.

“What do you want to do, your majesty?” Katherine asked quietly.

At the title, Cole glanced toward her and Ashe looked away, trying to ignore the twinge of old discomfort revived by the strange look in his eyes.

She caught sight of Lily’s hand in her own. The air slipped from her.

They couldn’t hope it’d take Jamison long to consolidate his hold on Taliesin. Nor to find out where the Merlin were hiding. With the tactics they’d seen on the streets not an hour before, the Blood and their wizard allies would have the factory’s location in no time. And then…

No one would believe what they were up against. And while a few hundred angry wizards were probably more than sufficient match for the Blood, she couldn’t think the Blood would be stupid enough to just go and get themselves wiped out by taking on the Merlin piecemeal. They’d have a plan. A strategy. They’d neutralized all of Chaunessy Tower, and the Taliesin guards, at least, had known what they were fighting.

She closed her eyes. So many innocents would be killed. Children. Families displaced by the war. They thought she was crazy and it didn’t really matter, but she’d spent the better part of the past few months trying to find a way to save them. Even if they did think she was insane, she couldn’t just leave them to die.

Though Darius and the council would probably try to keep her from even getting in the factory door. And that was putting it mildly.

But anyone she sent in her place stood even less of a chance. The first mention of the Blood and Darius would have them locked up so tight, they’d still be in a cell when Jamison’s people found them. And anyone she took with her would be a target.

Lily leaned her head against her side. With her free hand, she ran her fingers across Ashe’s forearm as if to soothe the conflict twisting in her older sister. Heart pounding at the small contact, Ashe glanced down at the girl again.

She couldn’t just leave Lily here. She wouldn’t. Something could happen to the girl, even if she didn’t really know what. Anything. Something that maybe she could prevent, even if it was just by being there. Even if it meant taking the hit instead of the girl.

And she didn’t want to bring Lily to the factory. Darius wanted a puppet queen and he’d do anything to force her to become one. Regardless of who it hurt. Regardless of who it killed.

“Your majesty?” Katherine prompted.

Ashe looked up, her gaze running over the others in the room. There weren’t enough guards in the world to keep Lily safe. All these Merlin and even Cole… they weren’t enough. Nothing was.

Roughly, she made herself draw a breath. There wasn’t any choice. There was never any choice. She couldn’t leave the girl. And she couldn’t let hundreds of people die.

“We have to go back to the factory,” Ashe said.

Silence greeted the words.

“Are you insane?” Elias blurted.

“Excuse me?”

He reddened. “I’m sorry, your majesty. It’s just–”

“You know what Darius will try to do to you if you go back, your highness,” Katherine filled in. “And what he will try to do to us as well.”

“I know what the Blood will do if nobody at the factory knows they’re coming,” Ashe said. “The Taliesin council can’t have been their only targets. They’ll go after our people too.” She paused. “I really don’t want us to be the only Merlin left in this city by the end of the day.”

Katherine looked down.

“How quickly can you get a second car?” Ashe asked, glancing from Elias to Nathaniel.

The large wizard hesitated.

“This is suicide, your highness!” Elias protested. “And if that’s what you order, then fine. So be it. But–”

“I’m not ordering suicide! But we have to tell them–”

“Then let me go,” Nathaniel cut in. “I will tell them.”

“And when Darius tries to stop you? He’ll lock you up, and that’s the best case scenario. He won’t get that far with me.” She fought to keep her gaze from dropping to Lily. “He doesn’t have hostages he can threaten this time.”

“The couple hundred people hiding there ring a bell?” Elias snapped. “The man is
insane
, your majesty. We didn’t break you out of his custody just for you to trot back to it again!”

She stared at him, eyebrows climbing. Scowling, Elias turned away.

“We cannot continue risking you like this, your highness,” Nathaniel said more quietly.

“And what do you suggest?” Ashe said, tearing her gaze from Elias. “Send them a text message and run for the hills? You won’t get past the door, Nathaniel.”

His face became stone. She turned away, hating herself for letting her anger answer him.

“What about your sister?” Elias argued. By her husband’s side, Katherine looked between him and Lily in alarm. “This puts her in danger too.”

Ashe glanced to him. “She stays with me.”

“Sister?” Katherine said, looking at the little girl. Lily shifted, uncomfortable under the scrutiny. “She’s…?”

“Yeah,” Ashe said flatly.

“But–”

“She stays with me,” she repeated, desperate to keep the focus from turning to Lily’s strange appearance. “And the rest of you do too. Everyone sticks together, we go warn all the innocents who’ll otherwise get killed, and if Darius tries to stop us… we handle him.” Her heart pounding, she met Elias’ eyes. “You know I’m right about this.”

Elias looked away.

“So how soon till you have another car?” Ashe asked Nathaniel again.

The wizard watched her and she struggled not to drop her gaze from his eyes. “A few–”

He cut off as tires grumbled on the gravel drive. Striding across the room, he motioned her away from the window.

“Who is it?” Katherine asked, her attention torn between Lily and Nathaniel.

“Joe,” Nathaniel said after a moment. “He appears to be alone.”

“He’s back from the restaurant already?”

“It would seem so,” Nathaniel answered as the back door swung open.

His attention on his key in the lock, Joe got halfway through the door before spotting them. He came to a stop, his gaze running over them all. “You folks look like hell.”

Elias scoffed. “You seen a mirror, Joe?” he replied, jerking his chin to the man’s soot-covered clothes and bandaged arms.

Chuckling, Joe came the rest of the way inside, shutting the door behind him. “Not sure I want to.”

He tossed his keys onto the counter and then caught sight of Nathaniel by the window. “It’s okay, big guy. Nobody followed me. Told the police I needed to run home to get my insurance info. Took the longest route I could think of, and I didn’t see anyone behind me.”

Nathaniel appeared scarcely reassured. Lifting his phone, he called Gavin to check on the status of the house and then summoned the guard back to the kitchen.

Shrugging equitably, Joe looked over at Ashe. “You alright?”

“Yeah,” she said, and then her gaze went to Elias. “But we should go.”

The councilman sighed.

“Hope it’s not on my account,” Joe said.

“No,” Elias told him, shoving away from the counter. “We’re just giving the people who want us dead another shot. You know, for old times’ sake.”

Ashe eyed the councilman, but he didn’t look her way. Pulling open the back door, Elias strode outside.

“Let me look at that,” Katherine said, starting toward Joe.

“Nah, it’s alright. Cops see me all healed up, they’re going to have some interesting questions.”

The woman’s lips tightened, but she left his arm alone.

A moment went by. “Anybody want something to drink?” Joe offered.

No one answered. Uncomfortable, the man hesitated and then went to the refrigerator. He pulled out a can of soda and then opened it with an expression that made it clear he wished the contents were much stronger.

Taking a breath, Ashe looked away, trying to calm down. Her gaze caught on Cole. Standing by the back door, he was studying them all, his eyes flicking to Lily from time to time.

Ashe’s brow drew down, uneasiness moving through her, and instinctively, her arm went around Lily, pulling the girl closer.

Cole blinked, his gaze twitching to meet hers. Muscles moved beneath the skin of his jaw and then he looked away.

Elias pulled up outside in a blue sedan.

“That was fast,” Joe commented.

Katherine gave him a small smile and headed for the back door. Motioning to Gavin, Nathaniel sent the guard ahead and then glanced to Ashe, waiting.

Pulling her gaze from Cole, Ashe tried not to scowl at herself. She was on edge and just needed to calm down. Cole wasn’t a threat. He’d rescued them from the Blood, for pity’s sake, and obviously kept Lily safe ever since. Everything was fine. As much as it could be, anyway.

Drawing a breath, she drove the tension from her expression and ordered herself to focus, determinedly ignoring the fact she couldn’t have pried her arm from Lily’s shoulder if she’d tried. Pushing away from the counter, she started toward the back door and then paused, her conscience catching her.

“Joe?”

He looked to her curiously.

“I, um… I’m sorry about your restaurant.”

The man smiled. “Danni’s worth a thousand of them.”

She tried to mirror his expression and failed miserably. Nodding awkwardly, she headed for the door.

“Hey, Ashe?” Joe called.

She glanced back.

Seeming uncomfortable, he hesitated, and then crossed the distance to the back door.

“Listen, they told me what happened before you first showed up at my place, and well…” he shrugged. “Just take care of yourself out there, alright? Like to see you all back under better circumstances someday.”

She nodded again, though the motion felt like a lie. They’d all do what they could. And anyone who hurt Lily wouldn’t survive the mistake. She couldn’t promise anything beyond that.

Wordlessly, she walked out the door. In the garage, Gavin was waiting with the other car.

“Ashe?” Lily asked.

She glanced down to see the little girl looking up at her.

“He called you Ashe,” Lily said, a touch of accusation in her tone.

“I…”

Hesitating, she caught sight of Cole studying her as though unsure what to make of what he saw.

“I go by that now,” she finished uncomfortably.

Lily’s brow furrowed, her expression vaguely hurt.

Ashe grimaced. “I’m sorry. It’s just…” Her mouth tightened as she tried to put it all into words. “Everything fell apart, Lil. Everything. And I just… I didn’t want to lose the last thing I had of you. The last thing that felt real.”