Wolf in the Fold, page 5
“Emily,” Sienna said, as she turned. “It’s been a while.”
“A couple of days,” Emily said. Sienna’s tone was artfully neutral. “Is there somewhere we can talk?”
“We set up shop over there,” Sienna said. She led the way towards an office block that had been battered by the fighting, but left largely intact. “Do you, perchance, have something to tell me?”
Emily flushed, saying nothing as Sienna led her into a waiting room. It looked to have been looted, half the chairs missing and several portraits gone from the walls, leaving only bare space where they should be. A portrait of Resolute was still there, covered in cuts. Emily guessed it had been used for target practice. There was certainly no other use for it. Resolute was powerless now, doomed to spend the rest of his life as a mundane. She hoped he choked on it. He wasn’t mad, unlike so many others she’d faced, or even someone bent on enthroning himself at the expense of everyone else. He was a fascist in every sense of the word.
“Well?” Sienna sank into a damaged chair. “Do you?”
“Caleb asked me to marry him,” Emily told her. “And I said yes.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Sienna said. Emily couldn’t tell if she genuinely meant it. “I hope the two of you have a long and happy life together.”
Emily leaned forward, deciding to rip the band-aid off. “Do you have a problem with it? With me?”
“I think you’ll be good for each other, now you have both grown up a little,” Sienna said, after a moment. “But please excuse me for worrying about my children.”
She gave an odd little smile. “I suppose I should be glad I have so few obligations to my extended family. Or to Beneficence.”
Emily allowed herself a moment of relief. Caleb’s parents were important, but they weren’t aristocrats. They had few obligations that would make the wedding difficult, or cause shifts in the balance of political power ... probably. Emily had a nasty feeling that Caleb’s grandparents, the ones who had practically disowned Sienna for marrying a mundane, would try to get close to their daughter once again, in hopes of making use of the family connection. She hoped Sienna would have the sense to ignore them. She was certainly strong enough to tell them to go to hell.
“Yes,” Emily said, finally. “And ... I won’t let him down.”
“I certainly hope not, although marriage is very different from being in a relationship,” Sienna said. “My husband and I have had our ups and downs. We had to learn to communicate, to trust each other, to listen to each other ... men have it worse in that respect, Emily, because it is so hard for them to unburden themselves for fear of being called weak. You might speak the same language, but ... at times, you don’t. You think you said something and he thinks you said something else. And then there’s the ... marital duties.”
Emily felt her cheeks turn red. “I know about the birds and the bees.”
“Oh good,” Sienna said. A flicker crossed her face, a hint she was teasing her future daughter-in-law. “You’ll be surprised how many girls don’t.”
“I wouldn’t be,” Emily said. Alassa hadn’t known much ... she wasn’t sure about Imaiqah. Hell, she hadn’t known much and she’d come from a world where such things were discussed far more openly. “That’s something that needs to change, isn’t it?”
“Something else for you to worry about,” Sienna teased. She leaned forward. “You’re both old enough to make up your minds without my consent, so ... just learn to treat each other with respect and you should be fine. Learn to listen, learn to be patient, learn how to say yes and how to say no ... and don’t mess around with his emotions. Don’t let him do it to you either. Being an adult means being adult, not ... not a child in an adult’s body.”
“We’ll do our best,” Emily said. “Together.”
Sienna studied her for a long moment, eyes lingering on Emily’s face. Emily tried not to show her nerves. Sienna was a formidable woman and the thought of her turning into a monster-in-law was terrifying, even though she had enough common sense to refrain from picking a fight that could only end badly for everyone involved. Probably. Motherhood had changed Alassa, for better or worse, and Sienna had been a mother for over two decades. Who knew how she’d react when it became clear they really were going to get married? It might not be quite clear to her yet.
Emily cocked her head. “Did he ask you for your blessing?”
“Not ... no,” Sienna said. “He’s not a child any longer. He can do these things himself.”
She shrugged. “It is common courtesy to ask for a blessing from your parents, but hardly a legal requirement.”
Emily nodded, relieved.
“I take it you’re not here to tell me the news.” Sienna straightened. “What did you really come for?”
“I need to know how much you’ve pulled out of the wreckage,” Emily said, silently relieved that Sienna had so little patience for polite nothings. “Did you find anything from the portal?”
“No.” Sienna shook her head. “Most of the lower levels have collapsed. What little we have managed to save comes from the upper levels, and much was hammered when the entire building collapsed into rubble. I’ve sent what we’ve been able to recover to Heart’s Eye – Adam can take a look at it, if he’s feeling better – and hopefully we’ll learn something.”
Her eyes narrowed. “But where the portal led? We don’t know. There’s too much raw magic in the air for us to find any residue. It could be anywhere.”
“I know.” Emily wondered if she’d been foolish to come here. “I assume you got Katherine and Lucy out of the city?”
“Yes.” Sienna shot her an approving look. “They’re at Heart’s Eye.”
She paused. “You do realise you might be making a rod for your own back?”
“The thought has crossed my mind,” Emily confirmed. Katherine was Resolute’s daughter, a young woman who had truly loved her monster of a father. Emily knew enough about history to know there were few true monsters – Hitler had been kind to his secretaries, even though he’d been ... well, Hitler – and she couldn’t blame Katherine for wanting to avenge her father. “But she doesn’t deserve to be punished for the crime of being his daughter.”
“I hope it works out for you,” Sienna said. “But I fear the worst.”
“She has Lucy,” Emily said. “And hopefully ...”
She sighed. Her father had vanished from her life so quickly she knew practically nothing about him. Her stepfather had been so much of a rectum she was glad there was little prospect of ever having to see him again. Void had been far more of a father figure than either of them and yet ... her lips twisted, recalling just how hard it had been to stand against him. Alassa had had the same problem with her father. No, she couldn’t fault Katherine for loving her father. Or mourning his death.
Sienna met her eyes. “Don’t let her brood, if you can help it,” she said. “It’ll end badly.”
“I can try.” Emily suspected she was the last person Katherine wanted to see right now. “And if there’s nothing else here ...”
“I had a visitor yesterday,” Sienna said. “Lilith. She came all the way from Heart’s Eye.”
Emily raised her eyebrows. “She came back here?”
“She was asking questions about sharing life with a mundane,” Sienna said. “It was a tricky conversation.”
“I imagine it would be,” Emily said. She wasn’t sure if they should be having the conversation at all. “What did you tell her?”
Sienna looked pained. “If you happen to be stronger than your partner, there is always the temptation to use your strength to put them in their place,” she said. “Beat them up, turn them into toads ... it never ends well, no matter what you do. The relationship is ruined if you cross that line, destroyed for good. I told her that and ... I think she understood.”
Emily shuddered. “And ...?”
“And you need to beware of that too,” Sienna added. “Sure, you and Caleb are both magicians, but you wield power on a far greater scale. You might lose your temper and do real harm – or worse. It could end very badly.”
“I wouldn’t,” Emily said.
“So say they all,” Sienna said. “Beating your wife is perfectly legal in most parts of the world.”
“Not in Cockatrice,” Emily said, flatly. She’d written the laws herself, ensuring that both marital rape and domestic abuse were considered crimes. “Or in Heart’s Eye.”
“I’d be surprised if you stopped it completely,” Sienna said. “Too many girls grow up thinking their husbands have the right to beat them. Or fearing the consequences if they try to leave.”
Her eyes met Emily’s. “Don’t do that to him,” she added. “Really.”
“I won’t,” Emily said. She stared down at her hands, then looked up. “I asked Alassa – ah, Queen Alassa – to lend me some troops. They’ll be assembling in Zangaria shortly and will be teleported to the target, when we locate it. Would you ... would you go with them?”
Sienna frowned. “And what will you be doing?”
“Searching for the target,” Emily said, flatly. “If we locate the Hierarchy, we need to bring in the troops – and fast. We’ll have one end of a teleport gem with us ... the other will be with the troops. And when we need them, we can bring them in fast.”
“Assuming the Hierarchy hasn’t worked out what you can do,” Sienna pointed out. “It isn’t the first time someone has used portals to move troops from place to place. You’ve done it yourself.”
“Yes, but not teleporting a small army into a hot zone,” Emily countered. “They might not be ready for it.”
Sienna looked doubtful. Emily could understand her concerns. Teleport gems were her invention, true, but they were hardly new. She’d devised the first gem over a year ago. There was no way to be sure the Hierarchy hadn’t duplicated the spellware, or come up with their own way to power a teleport that didn’t rely on a magician’s inherent power reserves. Or ... that they hadn’t found a way to block teleports outside regular protective wards. If they had, the army could find itself being teleported to its death.
“And you can’t send the army with you,” Sienna mused. “It would be a diplomatic nightmare.”
“There’d be no way to keep it secret, no,” Emily agreed. A handful of explorers might not be noticed, regardless of where they were going. She had passed through hostile kingdoms without attracting attention before and she could do it again. An entire army would be a very different story. “Better to rely on stealth until we finally locate our target.”
She scowled as she contemplated the map. They needed to find a way to force the Hierarchy to react to them, rather than being forced to wait for the Hierarchy to act, but how? There were no obvious targets, no kingdoms to invade nor castles to storm ... she understood, suddenly, why the United States had invaded Iraq before she’d been yanked out of her old world and into the new. They’d had to do something in hopes of reshaping the battlefield in their favour and invading Iraq might have been the best of a bad set of choices. Maybe not the best idea anyone ever had, but ... she wondered how it had all worked out. She’d probably never know.
“I may be there,” Sienna said. “No promises. Where are you going now?”
“Back to Heart’s Eye,” Emily said. She stood, brushing down her dress. “Have there been any problems here?”
“Not openly, but they are starting to get restless,” Sienna said. “They may have elected a new council by now, and that council is going to start pushing us out. Fighting will even save them from having to fix the problems caused by the sudden loss of their slaves ... they’re not going to be able to recruit more in a hurry. I’d be surprised if anyone chose to sign up after ... after everything that happened. How much pay could they offer to make up for the risk?”
“They’ll just have to learn to get along without them,” Emily said. The servant problem in spades. The aristos had to outbid far more competitive employers or treat their servants with respect ... or learn to cook and clean for themselves. The regime had once promised every magician a family of mundane servants, slaves in all but name. She wondered how the magical families would cope without them. People who had no trouble brewing potions would object, strongly, to having to cook their own food. “Who would want to come here?”
“No one.” Sienna grinned, although there was little humour in it. “You take care of my son, do you hear me? I don’t want to lose another.”
Emily felt her heart twist painfully. Casper – Caleb’s older brother – had died in front of her. It hadn’t been Emily’s fault, except in a sense it had. She’d been the one to suggest sneaking behind enemy lines to get to the necromancer, she’d been the one who’d underestimated their target and nearly been killed herself ... Casper had been an ass, she admitted privately, but he hadn’t deserved to die. Not like that. She wondered if Sienna blamed her for Casper’s death. It would have been hard not to blame her.
“I will,” she promised. “I’ll see you shortly.”
She felt cold, despite the warm summer air, as she stepped out of the building and looked at the remains of the Citadel. The poisoned magic hung in the air, a nerve-jangling reminder the regime had been messing with forces it couldn’t control ... and that it had been the pawn, in the end, of a far darker opponent. She shivered helplessly, feeling something unpleasant brushing against her skin. Just being so close to the nightmare made her feel dirty, almost defiled. She had no idea how Sienna coped, or the other sorcerers. Couldn’t they feel it too?
They’re not here any longer, Emily told herself, firmly. Boswell had said as much, in the final moments before the portal closed. The man was hardly trustworthy, but the operation had been exposed and the bad guys would see no reason to stick around. There’s no point in coming back.
She sighed, then started to walk back out of the city. She’d get clear of the magic and then teleport back to Heart’s Eye for a shower. And then ... she was sure Caleb would have some good ideas involving a bed. And after that ...
We’re running out of time, Emily thought, grimly. She’d hoped to swing past Whitehall and consult with the tutors – and Frieda, whom she hadn’t seen for far too long – but she had a feeling it wasn’t possible. Just how much time do we have left?
Chapter Five
“You know,” Caleb said, “I’m starting to get the impression someone talked.”
He held out a broadsheet. Emily took it and swore under her breath. The headline ran LADY EMILY TO WED HEADMASTER CALEB OF HEART’S EYE. Someone had definitely talked and yet, she had no idea who. Alassa wouldn’t have told anyone and ... she shook her head. The castle was filled with servants, passing unnoticed even though they had eyes and ears and sometimes a willingness to sell themselves to the highest bidder. Being someone’s agent in the castle was a good way to make money, if you lived long enough to retire and enjoy the proceeds, or so she’d been told. Alassa’s father had had a bunch of servants feeding false information to their masters, several different masters, and pocketing the cash without ever giving a hint they were really working for the king.
She looked up. “Headmaster? When did you get promoted?”
Caleb snorted at her teasing. “Mistress Irene isn’t going to be pleased,” he said. “She’s the Administrator.”
“I’m sure she won’t be that mad,” Emily said. “She’s not the sort of person to worry about it.”
“She’s too old and too experienced to care,” Caleb agreed. “But still ...”
He shrugged. Emily nodded in agreement. A more insecure administrator, one who didn’t have decades of service and a reputation that would linger longer after their deaths, would throw a fit at the broadsheet promoting a younger man ahead of them. She knew countless lower-tier aristocrats who’d done exactly the same when they’d been accounted at court, playing up their titles because they were the only things they had. They lacked the wealth and power to ensure everyone knew their names ... Irene, thankfully, was very different, as were most of the instructors. There were few at the university who’d take the misnaming seriously.
“At least they got your name right,” Emily said, running her eye down the article. “That’s about all they got right.”
She snorted as she returned the broadsheet. The writer had had few details and it showed, because he’d made up a bunch of nonsense that didn’t stand up to the slightest examination. Apparently, Caleb had been courting her daily at Dragon’s Den ... never mind the fact neither of them had been to Dragon’s Den for a while, or that they’d both had other problems they needed to tackle. It wouldn’t take much effort to confirm she’d been in Celeste when she was supposed to be sailing down the river of love in Rose Red, although she supposed she had been with Caleb at the time. It hadn’t been her idea of a romantic getaway. They’d have been safer going on holiday to Chernobyl right after the nuclear reactor had blown.
“And they got mum’s name wrong,” Caleb agreed. “And her relationship with her family.”
“Charming.” Emily forced herself to stand. There was no point in trying to do anything about it. Making a fuss would only draw attention to the article. “It’ll be gone before we know it.”
Caleb snorted. “There’ll be rumours everywhere,” he said. “How many of our friends are going to hear it from the broadsheets?”
“Our friends have enough sense not to believe everything they read,” Emily said. “But I do need to finish sending letters out as quickly as possible.”
She sighed under her breath. Her name had been linked to hundreds of prospective husbands, and not a few wives. She’d been reported engaged to monarchs and magicians, aristocrats who could trace their bloodlines back hundreds of years and commoners who were the firstborn magicians in their families. One article had linked her with Adam, something that had irked her at the time. Lilith didn’t deserve the suggestion her boyfriend was cheating on her ... Emily scowled. A broadsheet had insisted Adam was her long-lost brother and another that he was her son, never mind that there were only two years between them. It was about as foolish as insisting William Wallace had fathered the historical Edward III, and even more pointless when Adam and herself were still alive.
