Chapter 23
Grieve and I stood in
the middle of a makeshift bedroom, staring at one another. This was
the first time we’d had a chance to be alone since our brief talk
in the bedroom. I turned to him, still bloody from the
fight.
“My love, what have
we come to?”
He pulled me into his
embrace. “We’ve come to a crossroads. We go into hiding and we
fight from the dark. We become the monsters to fear, now. But not
for the townsfolk . . . only for Myst and her people.”
“Can you control
yourself?” I whispered, hoping he wouldn’t hear me but having to
ask, having to take a chance.
“I’ll try. We’ve come
so far from when you were little and I first found you. Lainule
knew you’d return—she promised me she’d help me find you again. And
she did. I had no clue what she was grooming you for—what she and
Geoffrey tried to pull. I wouldn’t have asked for her help if I’d
thought this would happen.”
He slid onto a
dilapidated sofa that was to be our bed and pulled me down on his
lap. Kaylin was setting up operations in the other room, and
everybody had graciously left us alone to get ourselves sorted out.
Even my father, who didn’t look all that thrilled when we slipped
away out of the room.
I snuggled against
him and rested my head on his shoulder and pushed the world away.
The only thing I wanted to focus on right now was the fact that I
had Grieve back, that we were together. Lannan would be a problem,
I already knew that, and we had lost our home and all our memories,
but we had each other and we had seven cats and soon enough, we’d
have the Consortium behind us.
And Lainule and
Geoffrey . . . we’d have to see how the shit hit the fan with
them.
I wrapped my arms
around Grieve and kissed him slowly, leisurely, my blood boiling.
But as he began to nip at my shoulder, I realized—the bite wasn’t
enthralling me. He suckled the blood, one drop at a time, but as
sensuous as it felt, his venom wasn’t pulling me in. Anadey’s spell
had actually had an effect.
Deciding not to
mention it to him—not just yet—I pulled away, slowly, and stared up
at the towering ceilings of the warehouse. Rusty metal cans and
stacks of boxes surrounded us, and the place felt dark and full of
shadows. It was huge; when Kaylin had led us in, a shiver of fear
had run through me because it reminded me of old graveyards and
haunted warships. The place had once been a shipping warehouse, but
now it was closed, standing empty on the outskirts of New Forest.
We were nearer the mountains, away from the Golden Woods, at the
base of the Cascade foothills. Here we could hide in the forest and
not be immediately subject to Myst, although I wasn’t sure how far
she’d spread her poison.
And we had room here
to spread out, to make plans and formalize our Society. Then I’d
call Ysandra and talk to her. Or maybe take a day trip out to the
local Consortium headquarters over in Seattle. Geoffrey was afraid
the Consortium would take over, but he’d outed his own agenda. No
more time to play favorites. We needed all the help we could
get.
The warehouse was old
and falling apart, but it was protected, and the suite of rooms
Kaylin led us to had obviously been used as a home for a long time.
His home. This was where he’d holed up. It was warm enough, with
steam heat racing through the pipes, and he’d jury-rigged
electricity. We had water and plumbing, and though Kaylin had
warned us against using too much of anything lest we set off
suspicion, we should be okay.
Yeah, it was creepy,
but there were no Shadow Hunters here. I would have felt them on
the slipstream.
Sometimes, the brightest light can he found amid the
darkness. And sometimes, the best allies, as well. Ulean
murmured an assent and passed by—I knew she was exploring the
place.
I let out a long sigh
and leaned back, staring at Grieve. “So, here we are. Together, on
the run, with friends. I have an idea, you know—of how to win
Lainule back to our side.”
“How so, my love?” He
nuzzled my neck. “You are so sweet, you taste so
sweet.”
“That may be, but
control yourself while we talk business.”
“As you will, my
love.” Grieve pulled back, listening.
“You thought of this
before—and I think it’s a good idea. Lainule’s heartstone still
lies within Myst’s realm. If we can find it, we can use it as a
bargaining chip. Lainule will be furious, but she’ll have to deal
with us—and it’s better than waiting for Myst to find it and
obliterate the Queen of Rivers and Rushes.”
Grieve stared at me,
long and hard, then inclined his head. “Cicely, my sweetness . . .
you remind me so much of yourself when you were Cherish, sometimes.
And that is not altogether a bad thing, so don’t get upset for me
saying so.” He stopped me when I started to protest. “To fight a
ruthless war machine, you need to become a little ruthless
yourself. And you’re doing so.”
“Be good or my father
will smack you down one.”
“He could do so.
Wrath is strong and powerful. And I’m not sure what he’ll think of
your plan, but there’s no mistaking it’s a viable one. But what of
Geoffrey? What do we do about him?”
I shook my head. “I
don’t know yet . . . but there has to be some weakness. I am afraid
that Lannan may give in because of his fear for his sister, and he
knows too much now. But we can’t afford to stake him—he could also
prove a valuable ally.”
A knock on the door
interrupted us. It was Peyton.
She peeked in. “Not
meaning to interrupt. I wondered—what about inviting my father
here? He’s definitely not on Anadey’s must-welcome list. He might
be able to help us with the Were community.”
I considered the
idea. “I think we should talk about it over dinner. Come on, let’s
ask Kaylin if there’s any food in this joint.”
Weary beyond belief,
we stood and headed into the main room. I paused, turning Grieve to
face me.
“Whatever comes, at
least we have each other. Know that I love you, and I’ll never
leave you again.”
“I know . . . and you
know . . .” He didn’t finish, just wrapped me in his arms and
kissed me long and slow and deep. “When this is done . . . Cicely
Waters—when we are triumphant, will you marry me and be princess to
a prince with no kingdom?”
Kissing him back, I
knew. I knew in my heart he would stay with us, would keep control.
I knew that he couldn’t entrance me with his venom. I knew that he
loved me beyond life itself and would do everything he could to
protect me—and the others.
“I will. If we can
defeat Myst, I will be your wife, and we’ll do our best to repair
the damage.” I took his hand and we joined the others. Luna was
scrubbing down a makeshift stove—a pair of hot plates Kaylin had
found for her. Rhiannon and Chatter were making up beds for
everyone out of ragged blankets and seat cushions from old love
seats. Peyton was helping Lannan test the locks on the windows and
doors. My father was consulting a bag of bones he carried on his
belt, divining our next move.
This was our new
home, and would be until we could regroup and figure out our next
step. Come good or ill, we were the Moon Spinners—standing against
Myst alone, unaided. The vampires and Lainule were going to be a
problem, but mostly, I thought about Myst. About the past and the
future. We were facing a conflict that might take months to
resolve.
But in the back of my
mind, I wondered—how much time did we really have to carry out our
private little war? I scooted closer to Grieve and took his hand,
leaning my head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around my
waist.
“For better or
worse,” I whispered. “This is as good as it’s going to get. We
can’t count on anybody else.”
“No,” Grieve said,
brushing the hair out of my face. “But we have each
other.”
I laughed then—just a
little laugh, but it felt like a shock wave. “Yeah, and that is a
priceless resource.”