Taliesin Ascendant (The Children and the Blood) (5 page)

For a moment, he fell silent, reflecting, and when he resumed speaking, the topic had been abandoned.

“But your father kept you ignorant of this. When the first Taliesin attack destroyed his own father and family, he took you far from our battles. He even changed your name. You were Ashley Carrington in those days, not the black-market identity he arranged for you later and kept secret even from us. But most importantly, he bound your abilities away from both you and your sister – a spell that held for eight years until his death. He wanted to keep you safe, to bury you away from the world and to prevent you from inadvertently drawing attention by using your magic if an enemy wizard ever passed by. Because while a bound wizard’s magic might still be detectible to some degree, it is substantially subtler than one who is unbound. Were the worst to occur, it was his intention for you and your sister to hide till he or his guards could save you.”

She swallowed, her jaw muscles cramping at the effort of keeping her face from giving anything away.

“Unfortunately,” Darius said. “Matters did not go as planned. We’ve kept word of your father’s death from the others for the past month, and due to the protections the king put in place for your sake, no one outside these four walls knows yet who you are. We told the guards only that you and your sister were persons of interest, to be captured alive at all cost, but nothing more. For all intents and purposes, you both ceased to exist eight years ago, and thus no one has connected the television newscasts with the Merlin royal family.”

He paused. “And, for that, I must apologize. We may have found you sooner, had word of your father’s death been spread, and you would have been spared tremendously. It was the decision of the council, however, that we couldn’t take the risk. To prevent a catastrophic loss of morale, we could not tell our people that the Merlin’s Children may well have been destroyed. Your family is all that stands between us and annihilation by Taliesin’s king, and our people know that. For them to learn you might all have been killed…” He shook his head. “Panic would have ensued. And amongst our soldiers, the loss of will to fight may well have cost us the war.”

Darius met her eyes. “You are a symbol to our people, as much as anything. Your family represents hope against the incredible odds we face, and leadership in the midst of the chaos of war. Merlin and his Children have been the stabilizing force that has led our people through five hundred years of peace and two eras of bloody war. I cannot overstate the significance you and your sister have to us, which is why, once again, I can assure you that you both are indeed completely safe in this place.”

She shivered as he stopped talking, and no matter how she tried, she couldn’t stop the shaking. Her gaze left his, moving around the table. The other wizards were still watching her. They just wouldn’t quit.

“Though,” Darius began again, his tone careful. “From the news, it sounded as though you and your sister had become separated.”

Her gaze snapped back to him. He glanced to Cornelius with a hint of question in his eyes, but Cornelius simply looked to her.

“Is this the case?” Darius asked.

She couldn’t trust herself to speak. In a short, jerking motion, she shook her head.

“Then we will send out–”

He cut off as a hoarse noise escaped her. Wetting her lips, she tried again.

“Lily’s dead.”

The silence in the room became palpable.

“They…” She cut off and regrouped. “She died a month ago.”

Because they only needed one of us.

She thought her bones would break from the shaking she was fighting to hide.

For the first time, the wizards looked away. Her eyes tracked across them, watching the reactions breaking through the impassive masks they wore.

To a person, they appeared genuinely stunned.

But then, so was she.

Swallowing hard, she looked down. Merlin’s Children. The Children. Cornelius had said that to Carter. And taking magic. She’d done that. She didn’t know it at the time but she’d done it. And…

Queen.

And Carter’d known. Carter had known and he’d sent her here. Carter…

She forced herself to breathe as she returned her gaze to the wizards. “I have to talk to you,” she said, her voice still rough to her own ears. “I… this isn’t why I came.”

Some of the wizards looked over, while others glanced to Cornelius questioningly.

“I–”

“Your majesty,” Cornelius interrupted.

The words weren’t anything but absurd, and at them she choked.

“There will be time for everything,” he continued. “But at the moment, you’ve had a difficult night. A difficult month, in truth. You need food. Rest. Fresh clothing.” He paused, meeting her eyes carefully. “It will do no one a dishonor to care for yourself as well.”

Protests swelled up in her, but before they could emerge, Darius nodded. “Agreed,” he said.

He motioned to the suit-clad wizard, and the man rose, circling the table to pull back her chair. “This way, your highness,” the man said, gesturing toward the door.

“We will arrange for food to be brought to you,” Darius told her. “And clothing as well.”

The woman in the gold glasses nodded and stood to leave as he glanced to her.

Darius’ expression hinted at a warm smile. “Welcome home, your majesty.”

Ashe stared. The room was spinning and everyone was going too fast. Getting up, leaving, moving around like any of this was normal or sane. With quiet voices, the wizards had turned to confer among themselves, Cornelius included. Leaning over, he spoke quietly to a man with shoulder-length graying hair, and drew Darius’ attention when his question could not be resolved.

And not a single one of them glanced at her again.

“Your highness?”

She blinked and then looked up at the man next to her. Dressed in a faintly reflective black suit with the light glistening from his oil-slicked hair, he regarded her with diplomatic politeness as he waited.

Her gaze returned to the wizards. It would be so easy to just say the Blood were real. To tell them the Blood killed Lily. Her father. Carter. So many others. She could just yell the words and then get out of here.

Because these people were crazy.

Cornelius glanced up, meeting her gaze across the length of the table. Her brow furrowed at the look in his eyes.

Behind her, the man cleared his throat and she flinched, turning back to him. He gestured toward the door again.

Feeling vaguely lost, she followed him.

On the factory floor, people glanced up as she emerged from the conference room. Her eyes darted from them and locked on the grated metal walkway. The man strode ahead of her, turning down a narrow passage that bisected the sheer wall. The ceiling overhead felt far away, while the walls felt too close, and shadows crowded out the air. Struggling to breathe, she hurried after him when he turned down a wider corridor.

At a door several yards down the hall, he stopped. Glancing around, he checked that no one else was near, and then pushed it wide. Watching him warily, she stepped into the room.

In years past, the space had been an office. Or perhaps two, if the girder running down the center of the ceiling was any indication. But now a four-post bed was against the far wall and an oak cabinet stood nearby, its doors open and hangers waiting for clothes inside. Matching nightstands were positioned on either end of the headboard, and a dense rug lay by the bedside.

“The royal suite, your majesty,” the man said, his voice perfunctory.

Ashe glanced back. “The…”

“Such as it is,” he amended, a touch of sarcasm emerging, and then he explained. “This was your late father’s room.”

She trembled.

“Once we announce your presence, it will be easy to arrange servants for you. Until that time, should you need anything, my name is Sebastian Monroe, second in line of authority on the Merlin council and representative of the eastern States region. I will be happy to assist you.”

He paused, waiting for a response.

Her head managed a nod, though the motion felt alien.

“Katherine should be in shortly with food and clothing,” he continued. “Until then, if there’s nothing else…?”

Jerkily, she shook her head.

With a fractional bow, he stepped back and closed the door behind him as he left.

Slowly, she turned, her gaze straying to the bed. The nightstands. The cabinet.

She jumped as a knock sounded on the door. Heart pounding, she blinked in numbed confusion at the noise.

The knock came again, and the right response returned to her.

“C-come in,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady.

The door swung open, admitting the woman from the council. Balancing a stack of clothes in her arms, she nudged the door closed with her foot. Over the rims of the gold glasses perched on her nose, she regarded Ashe.

“Katherine de Vila, my lady,” she said by way of introduction, cool precision in her tone. “Fourth in line of authority on the Merlin council, representative of the western Canadian region, and lead healer to your people.” Her gaze dropped briefly to the clothes. “These are for you.”

Crossing to the bed, she placed the stack on the edge of the mattress and then turned back expectantly. Ashe hesitated, and then walked over and glanced down at the clothes.

Jeans. T-shirts. Everything she could need, down to socks and underwear. She looked at Katherine. “Thank you.”

The woman nodded, and then her eyes scanned Ashe’s face. “If you would permit me, I would heal that cut for you.”

Ashe tensed and Katherine’s eyebrow lifted at the reaction.

“Unless you prefer I not?”

“It’s okay…”

“I will not hurt you.”

Ashe hesitated. “Alright,” she said uncertainly.

Katherine’s lips tightened, but she raised a hand, her slim fingers coming to rest lightly on Ashe’s forehead. Barely breathing, Ashe struggled not to flinch away.

Powerful but brief, a surge of magic licked across her skin, its focus so narrow it felt like a laser. In spite of herself, Ashe recoiled, but the magic was already gone.

Katherine stepped away, her hand brushing an imaginary piece of her auburn hair toward her tightly styled bun. Watching her warily, Ashe reached up, touching the place where the gash had been.

Smooth skin met her fingertips, without any trace of bruising or scar.

“Do you have any other injuries to be addressed?” Katherine asked.

Ashe shook her head.

“Then I will return once you’ve had the opportunity to change.”

The woman left the room.

Ashe’s gaze dropped back to the clothing, and after a heartbeat, she hesitantly unzipped her jacket and pulled it off. The holster straps and gun followed, and then her jeans and shirt. From the pile, she drew out the closest matches to her old clothing she could find.

It felt better that way.

Smoothing the shirt down, she glanced to the holster and weapon, trying to determine how to wear them now that the jacket would probably be taken away.

A knock came on the door. “Come in,” Ashe said.

Katherine walked back inside, her clinical gaze taking in Ashe and her new clothes before catching at the sight of the gun. Her eyes flicked to Ashe, and a new expression touched her cool face, almost considering in tone.

“You will not need that here, your majesty,” she said carefully.

Ashe didn’t answer, and after a moment, Katherine bowed her head.

“As you wish.”

Carrying a tray of food, a man approached the door, hesitating as he saw Katherine. His gaze on the ground, he waited until the woman made a small noise of approval before coming in. Without looking up, he edged around Ashe, placed the tray on the nightstand, and then disappeared back out of the room.

Katherine waited till the door shut before speaking.

“You
do
realize you are safe here?” she hazarded. When no answer came, she continued. “There are people who can protect you now. Anyone who dares threaten you will have hundreds of wizards to contend with. Wizards who would willingly give their lives for you.”

Ashe couldn’t find the words to reply, but at her silence, the quiet insistence in Katherine’s voice became stronger.

“You are home, your majesty.”

Pausing, Katherine watched her, but whatever response she’d been seeking didn’t seem to be in Ashe’s face. Consternation flickered through her eyes as she bowed her head again.

“Call if you need anything,” Katherine said.

Still appearing slightly perturbed, the woman gathered Ashe’s old clothes and then left.

Silence settled on the room.

Ashe sank onto the bed, her hand finding the gun.

Safe. Home.

Images played back through her mind, and her fingers tightened around the weapon as she pushed the memories away.

Home died a month ago. And no matter what Katherine said, she’d long since learned there wasn’t any such thing as safe.

*****

The little yellow house on Pine wasn’t more than a few days dead, but the neighborhood teenagers had already taken to it as a canvas by the time Harris reached the ruins. Graffiti covered the charred beams, and beer cans littered the yard beyond the cordons of crime scene tape. As he left his rental car, Harris could feel the eyes of the kids across the street on him, though when he glanced back, they were predictably looking elsewhere.

Climbing the steps from the curb, he surveyed the house. Forensics had already been over the place, as had any detectives in the area. According to the newspapers, they hadn’t found much in the way of leads, but Harris wasn’t concerned.

It wasn’t the first time the cops thought Ashley’d left no evidence behind.

He’d headed here after learning that Jamison’s men had already screened the apartment wreckage for clues to her whereabouts. They’d gathered little information from the debris, though. Whoever had been staying inside had apparently set up an extensive network of explosives that’d destroyed their computers and records in the building’s final moments. The location was a complete wash, and it was currently too early in the morning to follow his other leads. But no one had looked back at the house since Ashley had left.