An Enigmatic Witch, page 23
‘Drank the line, how dramatic,’ she chided. ‘Speaking of drinks, I’ve been remiss as a host. Let me pour you a cup of my special lavender tea. It’s surprising how refreshing a hot drink can be on a warm day.’
The fine china teacups were so delicate I could see the liquid rise in them as she poured. The sickly smell of lavender permeated the windless space.
She set the teapot back onto the tray, then continued in a dangerously calm voice. ‘And I believe you when you claim you won’t say a word. At least for the moment, until I get your little friend out of jail. But then...’
She leaned closer. ‘But then I have a problem. I need to ensure your continued silence.’
I could only stare at her blankly, but my mind was running through possible scenarios. How could I save Brin and still get revenge on this false witch? I made sure that my mental shields were good and solidly in place.
‘How can I do that?’ she asked, her eyes wide and darkly innocent. ‘How can I ensure you won’t run to the Kin with your grudging stories? After all, when a certain amount of time passes, they will wonder that I didn’t speak out right away, about how you pushed me into the ley and tried to burn me. It will look odd, won’t it?’
I said nothing. I would just let her have her fun, for I had a feeling that nothing I said would make any difference anyway.
‘I’ve pondered this problem over the past couple of days while I’ve been waiting for you,’ she continued, staring off to the depths of the sea. ‘Until it came to me. This solution will bring much joy into many lives.’
She turned back to me, and noticed my small china plate was empty and I hadn’t drunk my tea. ‘Have a macaroon or two,’ she said, pushing the platter towards me. ‘I had them made especially for you.’
I didn’t touch them.
‘They’re not poisoned,’ she said acerbically. She took a blue one from the top and bit into it. Small crumbs broke away, then with a sigh she swallowed the whole thing. ‘Delicious. See? Perfectly safe.’
The sun had passed its midpoint and was creeping under the cover of her sheltered verandah. I shifted my chair a little to escape its burning rays.
'Eldric is grateful to you, by the way,' she observed as she spread a delicate Oriental fan and languidly wafted air toward her neck. 'And having the Dark Elf in your debt is no small feat.'
'I don't see what he gained by this whole debacle. Why bother with the bomb?'
She paused her fanning, her eyebrows lifted as if surprised, but I knew by then this whole visit was an act, a charade.
'It interrupted the siphoning ceremony. Yes, you saw the initial clearing of the lines, but the real action happens right after. The bomb was timed perfectly.' She smiled. 'Everyone wins, you'll see. The Veil is weakening already. Not that I care about that. Veil or no Veil, there's always a market for adamantite.'
'Everybody wins except Brin,’ I reminded her heavily.
Her eyes narrowed confidently like a cat about to pounce on its prey. ‘Yes, your elf friend.’ She sighed, enjoying the tension between us. ‘Quite the dilemma, isn’t it? Tell me. What would you do in my place? How would you solve my problem?’
Cate sounded interested, as if she really wanted to hear my take on it.
I took a deep, steadying breath, then shrugged the leather jacket off my back. I could feel the sweat greasing my armpits and I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand. ‘I would trust,’ I replied. ‘Trust that Dara Martin would be as good as her word. What choice do I have, as you’ve so clearly pointed out?’
She laughed, that tinkling sound of broken glass. ‘Yes, that’s good.’ She nodded. ‘But not quite enough for my security.’
Cate cut off her merriment abruptly. She stared at me. ‘I want more.’
I shrugged my shoulders. ‘So tell me. Enough of this foolish play. Just tell me what it is I have to do to get Brin freed from your trumped-up charges.’
She took a delicate sip of her tea and savored the steam rising from the cup. ‘You have everything you ever wanted, now, don’t you agree?’
‘My new-found recognition from the Kin, you mean?’ My voice was bitter. That fame was meaningless, now I knew how it had come about. That it had been a set-up right from the start.
‘I gave you that,’ she continued in her calm voice. ‘And I would still like us to join forces. If you’re by my side, I can give you everything you want, even more, a fast-track to glory.’
I was lost for words. She’d blindsided me with this unexpected, ridiculous suggestion.
‘What the fuck, Cate? How does that.... What does that...’ I could only sputter out my incomprehension at this strange request. ‘How could you even think I would want to align myself with you now?’
And I certainly didn’t want what she was offering. I’d given the matter a lot of thought as I’d driven over the old highway. A life away from the Kin with Margaret learning to use my power was no longer an option – I’d screwed that up entirely.
So what did I want? After this past two weeks, I wanted nothing more than a nice tidy life, a safe one, removed from treachery. A Normal life was out of the question for me now with all I’d been through, I accepted, so my future had to lie with the Kin. I could still work my way up through the Kin ranks on my own merit, with Hugh at my side as my equal. I wanted to prove myself and earn my way. Then perhaps, probably, we would marry, but only when I was ready, at some distant time in the future. Only then would we have the family he desired.
She was shaking her head. ‘I know what you believe you want, but I’m afraid life doesn’t work that way. You see,’ she continued, her rueful tone matching the sad smile on her face. ‘Despite this newfound glory, it hasn’t really changed how the Kin view you. They don’t truly trust you, and they never will. Not without my championship behind you. Not even as Hugh’s partner.’
Cate sat back and took a thoughtful sip of tea. ‘Quite frankly, they can’t trust you. You’re too powerful, and that still scares them. You’re a loose cannon in their eyes. Even though you saved the ley line, did the impossible, you didn’t follow the correct steps, didn’t go in the prescribed pathway to take such a big decision. Do you see what I’m saying?’
But I would have Hugh by my side. He believed in me. I opened my mouth to say this, but she carried on as if she were reading my mind.
‘Hugh is not going to help you in this matter. You must know he doesn’t actually have your best interests at heart.’ She shook her head decisively. ‘Yes, I don’t doubt that he loves you. But is that really why he’s so anxious to tie you down in marriage? Pressure from his parents is the force behind that. They want to ensure the line of succession, an heir and preferably a spare. And they’re positively drooling at the fresh magic your blood will add to their line, absolutely quivering with delight. Once you get that horrible Sabarin ring on your finger, your life will not be your own, not for a long time.
‘In time,’ she continued. ‘Yes, in time, you’ll be freed to do your own thing, but right now? What about your dreams right now?’
‘No,’ I cut in firmly. ‘Brin doesn’t need me to sacrifice myself to you in order to get justice. Besides there’s no proof, except for the adamantite which was planted on him.’
Then I remembered the text he’d sent, the text which stated Trevor had given him a package for me. Why hadn’t I thought of that before? ‘In fact, I have the proof that it wasn’t his.’
‘Your phone’s dead now,’ she quickly reminded me. ‘If that’s what you’re relying on. Any texts he sent you have disappeared. Besides, that’s not evidence at all, it only ties you in deeper with him. It could be used to prove that you were working with him. In the right hands.’
She continued to smile as I could only stare at her, desperately searching for a way, a reason, for her to be wrong.
‘Join up with me. It’s the only way. I’ll make sure Brin is freed,’ she continued, her voice very kind and reasonable. ‘By the way, the Kin? They don’t treat terrorists kindly, you know. Death will come, but not soon enough, your poor little elf will find.’
‘My father would not be a party to such cruelty.’ That much I could be certain of, no matter how betrayed he felt at Brin’s supposed treachery.
She shrugged. ‘Too bad Jon’s not in charge of the judicial system here.’ She blinked slowly. ‘My cousin runs that branch of the local Kin.’ Her face took on a grotesque mask of sickly sweet sympathy.
‘I just don’t understand,’ I said, my voice cracking. Defeat was looming. She controlled Brin’s future. I thought of Alice’s absolute heartbreak if her soulmate was locked away, even put to death, all because of the choice’s I had made.
And Cate’s words about the Kin and my future within them, I knew she spoke the truth. Sure, right now they were all happy and celebrating me, but when they got off that high of relief, they would realize I had greater power than any of them, and they would shut me down, keep me down, like they’d kept Margaret in the dungeon for all those years. It wouldn’t be as obvious a prison – I wouldn’t be kept behind bars or cursed - but I also wouldn’t be moving up through the ranks of the Kin. They would never trust me, not without a sponsor by my side. A sponsor of Cate’s stature.
A sponsor which should have been Hugh, but our love was already tarnished with his all too human jealousy. I was no longer the ignorant disregarded halfling who crushed on him, who looked up to him as a shining example of what I could achieve in life. I had matured, grown in my own power, and besides, he’d spoke with far too much enthusiasm about our life in that secluded castle on the Scottish island, where I would be busy making babies and living a life of quiet domesticity.
And Margaret. Margaret had abandoned me. I’d had the chance to go off with her and live a life of learning and utter freedom from responsibilities, but that portal was forever closed to me now.
I thought back to the days when I faced the threat of Trade School and a Normal life, and a future with a Normal guy. That picture of what could have been was looking pretty rosy from where I stood here.
‘Why? Why this? Why do you want me?’ My shoulders sagged, and Cate’s face was lit with triumph.
‘Because,’ she said. ‘Because together we can reach heights undreamt of. A partnership, of sorts.’
I was numb by this time, and I just let her talk.
‘When the dust clears, there will certainly be questions about your actions with the elves. I can explain that your investigation found out, at the last possible moment, about the adamantite bomb. And that you called me in a panic, knowing I was the most likely expert on this precious metal. I made the executive decision to act quickly to undo the damage, without conferring with the Kin, for I knew we had little time.’
‘And Margaret? How about her role in this?’
She laughed again. ‘Oh, I wouldn’t bring her name into this. You wouldn’t want to jeopardize your newly won reputation, would you? No, best if we say it was just the two of us acting.’
And I had no doubt the Kin would believe her when she told them this. After all, she was the expert on adamantite. ‘What exactly do you want from me?’
‘What I want from you is simply what you yourself desire,’ she said. ‘I want you to climb the heights of the international Kin, to become the darling of the whole Kin world. Your future is shining brightly, and I’m going to pave the way for this rise.’
‘And I’ll be a puppet for you.’
‘Hah! I wouldn’t put it that way, but if you insist...’
My excuse in accepting her offer was that I didn’t have a lot of other options ahead of me, not if I wanted to save Brin, and not if I wanted to have the kind of life I had set my heart on. I nodded, slowly. Reluctantly.
‘But,’ I said. ‘I need Brin freed right now. Prove that your word is good.’
She gave me a level stare as if debating, then she drew out her phone and tapped it a couple of times.
‘Jon,’ she spoke into it, all the while keeping her gaze on me. ‘Yes, I’m recovering quite nicely, thank you. I’ve remembered something about that night.’ And she told Dad about Trevor, how she’d seen the goblin lurking suspiciously around the Temple grounds. How Trevor had stolen adamantite from her private stash and, working with the Dark Elf king had engineered the whole thing.
‘I’m devastated with the goblin’s betrayal,’ she told him, her voice filled with false sorrow as she winked at me. ‘And Eldric, I never thought he’d go so far. But the elf Brin? He wasn’t a player. He’s far too insignificant.’ She gave an intimate laugh at something he said, a laugh that spoke of years of marriage, and I bristled for my mother’s sake.
She put her phone away. ‘It’s done. I’ve proved my part. Now, how about you?’
‘I’m in. What more do you need from me?’ Yes, I sounded sullen. I certainly felt that way, entering into this reluctant partnership.
She reached into the pocket of her white lawn dress, then held out a tiny object, a small stud of the blackest metal.
‘This. A tiny earring for you to wear,’ she said. ‘Don’t worry, it’s adamantite, but it’s not magicked or anything. Well, not much. It will be unnoticeable behind that lovely mass of hair.’
‘What’s the purpose of it?’ I asked dully. The black stud didn’t glitter or reflect the light in any way. It lay on her palm dully, not even casting a shadow as it sucked up the light all around it.
‘It’s only purpose is to show your fealty.’
‘You have my word already, what more do you want?’
‘I want proof that your word is good,’ she replied in a mocking echo of my own demand. ‘Don’t worry, this won’t hurt.’
I started to undo my own earring, one of the silver hoops I always wore, but she stopped me.
‘No need to do that,’ she said as she got up from the table and moved towards me. Cate lay one hand on my shoulder, and with the other took the top of my ear.
I jumped as I felt a sharp pinch, which just as quickly disappeared.
She was right, it didn’t hurt at all. And in time, I wouldn’t even feel the heaviness of that metal, although it would ache from time to time, deep in the darkest nights. But that was in the future. Cate brushed my hair back over my ear, hiding the black stud from view.
‘Your future is set now,’ she said, her voice low and triumphant. ‘Be free little bird, fly up to your new heights.’
To the outside world my life might have the appearance of freedom perhaps, but nobody would be able to see the confines of my invisible golden cage.
I had never felt so alone as on that long ride back into town. I had never missed the weight of that dragonfly brooch more, my only line of communication to Margaret.
The Harley ate up the miles too quickly. There’d be hell to pay with Hugh for borrowing his precious bike, no doubt, but that was the least of my worries.
A small delegation awaited me when the motorcycle finally pulled into the driveway of Richmond Cottage. I approached Brin first, and he allowed me to give him a hug.
‘Thank God,’ I said as I removed my helmet, then stepped back to examine him. He didn’t have any marks of suffering on him. ‘I’m so sorry.’
The elf shook his head. ‘For what?’ His face wore that selfless, generous smile still. He had no idea of my role in his incarceration. ‘Just please,’ He glanced nervously over at Hugh, and lowered his voice to a whisper. ‘Just don’t tell Alice, okay? She doesn’t need to know about any of this, don’t you agree? Not that I want to keep secrets from her, but she’d only worry.’
I nodded. I was getting good at keeping quiet about things.
‘You have my solemn word I won’t be getting mixed up in politics anymore,’ he continued earnestly. His eyes darted over at Hugh and he spoke in a whisper again. ‘Heads up - he’s been pretty quiet. He may be a little annoyed about his bike.’
I nodded again. ‘I can handle it.’
Brin gave me one last uncertain smile, then quickly disappeared into my house where, judging by the smell, Mom was cooking lasagne. That left me alone with Hugh.
‘The bike,’ I began. ‘I know. But I had no choice...’
He didn’t say anything.
‘Look, no damage.’ I pointed to the Harley. It had a fine layer of dust on it by then, but no dents and scratches or cracked fenders. ‘As good as when I took it.’ I tossed the keys to him, almost as a challenge.
He caught them in mid-air with one flick of his wrist. ‘I don’t care about the bike.’ He took a step closer to me, then another one, till we were almost touching.
‘I care about you.’ His eyes searched mine. ‘You’ve changed, there’s something... You weren’t hurt, the other night?’
‘No,’ I denied. Not physically touched by the lines, at any rate. ‘Look at me, you can see.’
He nodded slowly. ‘But something’s not right.’ He took a deep breath and placed his arms around my shoulders. The weight was almost tender. ‘Tell me what’s going on.’
I leaned my head against his shoulder, the white cotton of his t-shirt clean and fresh. I could stay here in the safety of his arms, unburden myself. Tell him about Cate, and... What would he do?
I shook my head almost imperceptibly. Hugh would feel the need to protect me, like a knight in shining armor. He would take charge. And no matter how well-meaning his deeds, he would somehow put his foot in it. And who knew what would be the repercussions from that devious witch Cate? There was no way I could tell him. But I had to give him something, he was far too perceptive to let it go.
Lifting my face, I sought his eyes, the pure green with the hidden flashes of gold deep within, and I braced myself.
‘Our marriage,’ I began, and I could feel his arms tighten around me. I took another deep breath and forced myself to continue. ‘I’m not ready to settle down yet.’
He abruptly relaxed his hold as he stepped away from me. ‘Well, thank God for that.’
‘What?’ I admit I felt outrage for a short second, his reaction was so natural and relieved. ‘I thought you wanted to tie me down and start producing babies and wear that stupid ring.’
