An Embittered Witch, page 20
I bit my lip, and looked at her from the corner of my eye. Could I even now try to get her on my side? What was the worst that could happen? She could tell Cate, and that didn’t matter, Cate was already too aware of the situation she had created. We both began walking again. I waited until we’d passed a busy intersection. Directly ahead of us was a large park. I could see water and trees, a small respite from the hard concrete and metal of the city.
‘You know what people are saying about me.’
Win didn’t answer, not with words, but I felt her eyes glance at me.
‘You were there with me, the whole time,’ I added. ‘Last night. You didn’t leave my side. You know I had nothing to do with Li Minh’s curse.’
‘Looks that way,’ she grudgingly acknowledged after a moment.
I felt the tight bond in my chest loosen, just a little. ‘And Margaret. She was just arriving on the scene. Not leaving, as they claim.’
The pause was longer this time before she spoke.
‘But she had to have been there before us. We were outside for a long time, there was no other way into the hill.’
‘She has the power of flight,’ I said softly, almost holding my breath to see Win’s reaction to this news.
She stopped and whirled around to look at me. Her eyes were wide under her fringe. ‘That’s not possible.’
‘It is. I know Margaret, and I’ve seen her do it.’ There was no way in hell I was going to share about my own abilities.
‘It’s unnatural,’ Win insisted, although her conviction was faltering even as she spoke.
‘Is it? There’s lots of legends about witches with the power of flight,’ I reminded her. ‘’Those myths don’t just arise out of thin air, there’s usually some kind of basis to the story.’
‘But that would mean...’
I waited.
‘That would mean Cate might be wrong,’ she whispered. She shoved her hands into her coat pockets.
Our walk continued in silence for a while longer. I wanted her to think seriously about what she’d said, and to know this was a safe place to say it.
We reached the park gates and paused at the ticket office. Win waved her Kin pass and we were allowed into the grounds. Ahead of us, a white walkway led by the side of a lake. There were few people here this early in the morning.
‘Do you remember our first day in Beijing? After Lijiang Alley.’ I didn’t look at her as I spoke.
She didn’t reply as we continued along to a bridge. It stretched across the water to an island hill. The mound itself was lined with trees, but further up on the top of the rise stood a tall white pagoda. There were no other people on the bridge. We were quite alone here.
‘We were in your room,’ I reminded her. ‘You tried to say something about Cate. You didn’t trust her. But then she was there.’
Win was wavering, unwilling to admit it. I could tell by the way she hunched her shoulders.
‘She’s responsible for the curses,’ I continued in a low voice, as quickly as I could. ‘I don’t know how she’s done it, but she has. And tonight, she’s going to draw in Margaret and capture her. But Margaret is innocent.’
‘But it’ll get you off the hook.’
‘That’s not the point!’
‘No,’ Win said after a long moment, but her voice was uncertain.
I hurriedly listed off the all my reasons for accusing Cate of setting up this.
‘But why? Why would Cate Huxor do such awful things?’
I flashed back to Hogmanay, the pair of us sitting on the oak pew, staring into the mirror across the hall. Who is the most powerful witch of all?
‘Because she can,’ I said simply.
‘Just, no. This is not reason enough. She has done a lot for you Dara. You can’t act like this.’ Win turned to head back in the direction we’d come from, back to the hotel.
She probably couldn’t wait to tell Cate my accusations. Dammit, I’d misjudged Win. I should have known better. I followed her back along the route in silence. She left me in the lobby without even turning back to see where I was going.
It was all lost. I had no one on my side, or should I say Margaret’s side. Using her own creation that was now in Margaret’s hands, Cate would somehow summon the witch to appear into her trap. And the Kin would all be waiting.
Cate knew of Margaret’s ability to fly, she would no doubt have all avenues of escape closed.
For lack of anywhere better to go, I wandered into the bar. In the daylight, it was as shoddy as hotel bars tend to be without the illusion of glamor lent by night and artificial lights. The long windows looking onto the sidewalk cast a gray light into the room, which only served to highlight the stains on the carpet and the dust on the bottles behind the bar.
I was done. I’d tried my best, but couldn’t get anyone on my side. Margaret had no champions with the Kin. The only witch who had known her was lying in the equivalent of Snow White’s glass casket, not a mile from where I sat on that fake leather stool.
I had no heart for filling my day with the glorious sights of Beijing. I just wanted to get through the day in one piece.
‘Coffee,’ I said to the bartender. ‘With milk. No sugar.’
I looked into the smoky mirror behind him. The room was fairly empty that early in the day, just me and a guy hiding behind his morning newspaper. I narrowed my eyes and gave him a closer inspection. I recognized that cap.
I drank from my mug, keeping my eyes on that figure behind his newsletter.
Rob. He might refuse to have anything to do with me, but I could always try. He wasn’t the first person I would choose to have on my team, but I was in no position to be choosy.
What could he do to help? I swirled the coffee in the half-empty cup, making waves. He was no witch, Hugh said he’d been a poor practitioner, so he wouldn’t be of any help in an out-and-out magic battle waged to defend myself, which, pray to the Goddess would never happen.
Rob was a lawyer. Rob despised me, thinking I was just another Kin member seeking out power for my own advantage within the political organization. I couldn’t blame him, because really? I had been that, and more.
He was a lawyer who had his client’s interests at heart. That was enough for me, because so did I. I swallowed the last of my coffee, then stood up, ready to take him on.
He might be a loser according to the Kin, but, then again, so was I, by anyone’s definitions of the term. I smiled at the paper screen he hid behind, and I prepared to pounce.
‘Rob.’
The newspaper twitched. I was right, he’d seen me and he was on a mission of avoidance. I sat down opposite him at the round Formica-topped table.
‘It’s the end of the line for Margaret. The Kin are so sure she’s to blame for the cursing, they’re laying a trap for her tonight.’
‘That’s utter tosh.’ The newspaper gave a defiant shake.
‘What does that even mean?‘ Tosh. I’d never heard that word before.
‘Rubbish. Trumped up charges. They have no evidence she’s at fault.’ The newspaper twitched again and he peeked out from the side of it. ‘Do they?’
Just great. It sounded like even Rob wasn’t sure Margaret would have done these awful things.
‘They don’t much care about evidence. We’re talking Cromwell and the Covenanters. They probably won’t even bother with a trial if they manage to capture her.’
The Chronicle slowly lowered until it lay flat on the table. Rob stared at me through his spectacles. The heavy frames weren’t just a fashion accessory. The lenses were thick, making his eyes look like granite pebbles in the harsh morning light.
I’d never, ever known a member of the Kin to need glasses. Mrs. Battersea’s spectacles were worn for effect and fashion, while Nachtan’s pince nez were meant to convey his superiority. Flaws of eyesight were one of the easiest things to fix with magic. Hugh must be right, this guy was a genetic anomaly with little natural power in him. No wonder he’d renounced his place in the community.
He was going to be of no help at all. Still, two minds together had to better than mine alone.
‘You haven’t heard? Cate has some kind of plan in which she’s going to lure Margaret in and somehow capture her and force her to uncurse the great witches.’
‘How can Margaret do that when she didn’t lay the curses to begin with?’
I darted a glance all around us. The bar was empty save for the bartender fiddling with something unseen behind the counter. I sent out feelers for anything that smelled like a listening device, magic or otherwise, yet there was nothing evident. Still, I couldn’t trust the Kin not to be lurking in some capacity.
‘Let’s go for a walk.’
Thirty-Four
My second venture into the outside that morning. Again, we avoided the Hungtos and I kept us on the main street full of bustle and noise. I figured it was safer this way.
As we walked against the wind, I quickly told him everything I knew, or at least what I suspected. As I yet again heard myself reiterate the story, my heart sank lower for the whole thing was sounding more and more outlandish with every retelling.
Rob listened with a straight face, displaying no emotion whatsoever, so I couldn’t judge how he was taking it. I just shoved my hands in my pockets and kept pace with him through the crowd.
‘Let me get this straight. You believe Cate is using these black magic balls to somehow curse the great witches. She will, again using methods or magic unknown, use the ball that was used to perpetrate the curse on Li Minh to bring Margaret to a predetermined spot this evening, in order to capture her and turn her over to the Covenanters.’
‘Yep.’ Right. When he put it that way…
‘And,’ he continued, breaking into my thoughts. ‘You suspect these balls are created from adamantite, which, of course, Cate controls.’ He broke off and stared into the distance. We were coming upon a body of water, a lake and river system in the center of the city. Not the same artificial lake Win and I had visited that very morning. He leaned against the railing overlooking the river.
‘I see.’ Rob appeared to be conferring with himself. ‘And Margaret is suspected, because?’
‘Win had a vision in a temple,’ I said. ‘We saw Margaret in Li Minh’s cave. It appeared that she had just cursed her…’
‘But the reality of that vision was that you believe Margaret had just arrived on the scene, like yourselves.’
I nodded.
‘And the common factor in each of the cursings, or at least the two we know about, is the dark crystal ball.’
‘And me,’ I added miserably.
‘And Cate,’ he pointed out sternly. ‘Right then.’
I peered at him from under my bangs, hardly daring to allow hope to rise. ‘You believe me?’
‘I believe this is all possible.’
I leaned back against the railing. This was a start, a good start. ‘I know you can’t help, but it’s a relief to know that someone else sees reason in all this.’
He peered at me through his thick spectacles. ‘Why do you think I can’t help?’
‘You know, the whole magic thing.’
‘Yes, the magic thing.’ He was silent for a beat. ‘What are you going to do about this? Are you planning to thwart Cate and the Covenanters?’
I laughed bitterly. ‘I wish it could be done, but I don’t see how,’ I replied. ‘If Margaret would only show herself, I could warn her.’
He cleared his throat. ‘And on the mountain, you said you felt her around you,’ he reminded me. ‘Do you think it’s possible she’s keeping an eye out and is aware of everything that’s happening?’
I whirled around to face him. ‘No!’
He adjusted his cap and looked off down the river, saying nothing.
‘No,’ I repeated myself, a little less certain this time. ‘Because if she did, then, she wouldn’t have allowed this to happen. She would have set the Kin straight. Right?’
He shrugged. ‘Don’t know. I’ve never met the woman. She didn’t bother introducing herself when you released her from the curse.’
‘Ah. Yet you still came all the way over here, to try to get me to contact her?’
‘I couldn’t leave it any longer,’ he said. ‘The Kin had been sniffing around, which is what caused me to look into her Trust, to see how secure it was.’
‘She’s hard to pin down,’ I agreed.
‘So. All this. Are you going to try to contact her?’
‘Right now?’
‘Will there be a better time?’
‘But we’re in public,’ I objected, throwing my arm out to encompass all the passers-by and the traffic on the road. ‘I can’t just call out to her here. I need to be, I don’t know, on a mountain top, or a holy place.’
‘Why?’
‘You don’t understand magic,’ I muttered. The truth of it was that I didn’t know why I thought I needed to be in a special place to call her. It just seemed right. After all, you had to treat magic with respect, you couldn’t just use it willy-nilly wherever you were. Like by the harbor on a busy Beijing street,
‘Won’t hurt to try,’ he said. ‘Unless you’re not actually as powerful as everyone says.’
The man was beginning to get on my nerves. ‘Fine. I’ll just call her, shall I?’
He leaned against the railing, crossed his arms and hooked one leg over the other. The classic waiting pose.
I shut my eyes tight. How had I called her any other time? The dragonfly brooch. That was how. This was useless. A waste of time. I pictured her in my mind, sending out feelers. Nothing, as I’d known. Not even a whiff of her.
I opened my eyes. ‘Not working.’
‘Hmm,’ was all he said.
‘Well, anyway,’ I said as I pushed myself off the rail. ‘I appreciate you listening and believing me.’
‘What will you do?’
What could I do? Scenarios raced through my head, visions of me triumphantly rising and exposing Cate for the wicked witch that she was, of being lauded by the Kin and Margaret. Of all the sleeping witches brought back to life, and me being lauded as a hero, instead of vilified. I even threw in some fireworks, while I was at it.
But how could I get to that point? I didn’t have a clue, and no flight of imagination could make me believe the Kin would be so easily swayed. There was no way forward that I could see.
‘There’s nothing I can do, I just have to let the whole thing run its course. Margaret will be captured, I have no doubt Cate has it all planned. I’ll be let off once they have their scapegoat, as long as I keep my mouth shut. Cate will go unpunished because no one else believes how evil and self-serving she is.’
‘I would advise you to be very careful,’ Rob said, his voice quiet. ‘There’s a distinct possibility that Cate might not let you off. You know where the bodies are, so to speak, and she would be best served if you were out of the picture. Permanently.’
The night came too soon. Once again, all the Kin gathered inside the Forbidden Palace. I had to hand it to Cate, she sure could pull strings and charm her way into anything she wanted. The flashiest stage for her final showdown, for the performance that would convince the Kin she was their savior, that she was the most powerful witch of all.
If they only knew she’d already proven her power, used her magic and music to trick the most revered witches in the world into succumbing to her musical curse.
Would she ever lift it? I doubted it, for then they would surely tell the world what she had done.
And would she ever let me go? Again, doubtful. Although no one believed me about her, so she didn’t really need to bother with the whole earring thing.
Hugh wasn’t present that evening. He’d told me he would make it to the palace later, as he had something pressing to do. He couldn’t, or wouldn’t, tell me what it was. But his absence from the affair didn’t auger well for me.
The large red wall loomed before us, and one by one, we all entered the central gate, the Meridian Gate. I could feel the excitement in the air, I could hear it in the voices all around me even if I didn’t understand the languages. I pushed myself to follow in the wake of Cate and Win.
I hadn’t been invited to the pre-game show, to watch Cate’s preparations. Win had taken my place there. Now she proudly walked two steps behind Cate, her head held high, knowing that even her mere presence so close to the older witch had raised her standing in the eyes of the Kin. She could have it as far as I was concerned, but I had no opportunity to tell her this, as she refused to meet my eye.
I’d been excluded from their retinue, yet Cate had insisted I be present and close at hand. My fear was that this meant Cate might be planning to cut all ties with me. That she planned to tie up all the loose ends of the witches who knew about her misuse of power, just as Rob had warned.
If I was her, that’s what I would do. Bury all the evidence, preferably six feet under.
I looked around the crowd for a familiar face. My eyes met Rob’s. He had his cap pulled low over his forehead, and the glasses were gone in favor of his usual contact lenses. He did not acknowledge me.
It felt as though we walked forever, as we made our way into the heart of the Emperor’s City. Up the stairs, down the stairs, through the magnificent halls, each successive room more awe-inspiring than the last. Cate led the procession, Win behind her, and me trailing off to one side, my heart growing heavier with every step.
The two of them were a good match. Both slim, elegantly wearing their silk dresses and their dark hair in elaborate arrangements. And the high heel shoes. Always the damn heels, as if the ability to walk in those things made them special. Me, I wore a dress but with the flat cloth slippers. I had nothing left to prove.
Finally, we arrived at the steps to the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. It wasn’t the hall in which we’d feasted the previous night, but the next one on, the last of the great halls before the Emperor’s garden.
I wondered if they’d moved Li Minh over to the Palace of Cherishing Essence to join Nachtan in his slumbers, or if they’d left her peacefully in her chosen tower, hidden in plain sight to all the thousands of tourists.
