Traitor (20 page)

“I feel as though we haven’t won anything yet,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but if anything should happen to you, the others need to know what to do, who to trust.”

“Do you think something’s going to happen to me?”

He shrugged. “Maybe all of us. If I die, I want you to know a few things. I think you can trust Elathan for a while. I still haven’t made up my mind about
Phoenix
. Get out from the clutches of ancient beings as soon as you can, Ava. None of them can be trusted to care enough to do the right thing.”

“Even you?”

His lips twitched a little. “Especially me. Remember what Fionnuala said. I didn’t act, and that’s what she counted on. Don’t make my mistakes.”

My cheeks flushed with heat as I thought of Mrs. Yaga’s will and Martin Breslin’s pleas for my help.

“There’s something else,” he said. “I once told you that you were immature, that one day you would reach maturity and pick a side. I made it sound as though you had no choice, as though it were already predetermined.”

I held my breath, panic flooding me.

“That was bullshit,” he said. “Fuck all of that crap.” He shook his head. “I’m beginning to sound like you. Seriously, don’t let them fill your head with destiny and responsibility. You’re the only one who can ultimately decide the path you’re going to take.”

“But the angel who—”

“There are no guarantees. Ever. Traps can be laid. People can point you in the right direction. But in the end, you’re the one who chooses to react. The way you were raised could have turned you into the ultimate bloodhound. It could have gone any way. But you are you, and that’s the difference. You decide. Nobody else has power over you. Don’t let anyone make you think otherwise.”

He gazed at me meaningfully until I grew uncomfortable.

“I feel like we’ve having a silent conversation,” I said.

He patted my head. “Maybe we are. Let’s go. The others are waiting.”

I folded my arms across my chest and walked next to him. “You know something.”

“We all know things.”

I glanced at him suspiciously, but his face remained neutral, giving nothing away.

Phoenix
was leaning against the car, Esther and Elathan already inside. “Ready to go?” he asked.

“I’ll drive,” Gabe said, getting in behind the wheel.

“Are you ready?”
Phoenix
asked.

I glanced behind me before nodding. “Probably should get this over with.”

He touched my shoulder. “You’ve done a good job so far. Almost there now.”

He got into the front passenger seat, and I sat in the back, putting Esther in the middle. She seemed totally relaxed, but I felt so jittery, I couldn’t sit still. At one point during the drive, I realised that everyone in the car was closely involved with the Council, and the trembling started anew. I blamed it on the memories of the whip.

“This is just a quick stop to check on things,” Gabe said. “We want to be early to the meeting at Headquarters. Deals are always made before meetings officially start, and we don’t want to miss anything.”

The car pulled in outside the gates of the children’s home. I caught a familiar smoke and salt smell in the air. The tension in the car ratcheted upward.

“Are those bodies?” Esther asked, leaning forward in her seat.

I got out of the car in a hurry, alarmed and horrified to see bodies of Guardians strung along the walls. The others followed. Gabe’s expression was grim, but unsurprised.

“Oh, shit,” I whispered as I took a few steps toward the gates. “I told them to be ready to defend themselves.”

A voice rang out in the air. “No further!”

I froze. The teenage boy I had met was approaching warily from behind the gate.

“Did you do this?” I asked.

He shook his head, his face pale and unsure, the cockiness long gone. “Witches. They came, and the Guardians just kept dying. They made us carry the bodies outside, and they did
something
to them.” He trembled. “They hung up the bodies, said we couldn’t leave. That the same thing would happen to us. We can’t get out. Nobody can get in. More Guardians came.
They
tried to get inside and died instantly. Don’t touch the gates or the wall, just in case.”

“Do you have food? Are the other kids all right?” I asked.

“We have plenty. They’re okay. Some of them are freaking, but we’re used to that. They didn’t hurt us or anything. The kids act like I’m in charge, but I just don’t know what to do.” He looked even younger than I had previously thought.

“Just stay indoors, and whatever you do, don’t let those witches inside the building. Don’t let them take any children or—”

“And how do you propose they stop us?”

I looked around to see a woman walking toward us.

“Leave them alone,” Esther said. “They’re just kids.”

The woman flickered, and I realised she wasn’t really there at all.

“We’re protecting them,” she said. “Don’t worry. Nobody will hurt them. I promise.” She vanished.

I looked at Gabe, who seemed sick. “What’s going on?” I said. “How do we fix this?”

“It must be Brogan,” he said. “They have control over the children. Whether they want to use them or stop us from using them is another question.”

Those mistakes I had been making were coming full circle. At some point, I would have to go up against the one person who had the power to help me, the one who had brought me deeper into the supernatural world. At some point, I would have to face off with Eddie Brogan, Keeper of Gods, and see if I could still live another day.

“Maybe we’re wrong,” I said.

Gabe shook his head. “We’re not wrong. We need to get to that meeting and find out exactly what he’s up to.
Marina
’s coven are likely behind this, but I can’t imagine this being their idea.
Marina
’s the only natural witch amongst them.”

“What do they plan to do next?” Elathan asked grimly. Nobody had the answer. “We should hurry.”

“You’re leaving?” the boy called out.

“I’ll be back,” I promised. “We just need to figure out what we’re up against. We’ll fix this. I swear to you. What’s your name?”

“Unit…” He squeezed his eyes shut. “Noah. I chose Noah.” He shrugged. “But any name will do.”

“Noah, keep those kids calm. Get the older ones to keep the younger ones occupied. Don’t let them know exactly what’s happening. Not right now. Can you do that for me?”

He nodded. “Are we going to die?”

I shook my head. “Trust me. You’re too valuable for that.”

As we headed back to the car, I prayed I was right.

We were early to the meeting, but the place was already full of wannabe politicians and spokespersons. Guardians were spread throughout the room, all glancing around suspiciously. Friends stood against friends. I wondered how many of those hooded assassins were left.

Everyone hushed when we entered, and I felt angry eyes on us. Gabe took his usual seat to many whispers, and the rest of us stood behind him.

“I know there’s a lot of confusion and anger,” Gabe said. “So I’m going to briefly explain what’s been happening. For a long time now, Koda has been concerned about a betrayal within the Council. I had my own suspicions, but sadly, both of us trusted each other too late to save his life. Fionnuala has been training an army of assassins for many years now, all imbued with fae magic.”

“That’s nonsense,” a fae called out. “Fionnuala was a purist. She would never have done this.”

“It’s true,”
Phoenix
said. “Half of the Guardians were part of this group. Aiden has admitted his involvement, although he claims he wasn’t aware of all of her plans.”

“He murdered Koda,” the fae said in disgust. “Why would we believe him?”

“He didn’t hurt Koda,” I said. “Coyle was sent by Fionnuala to murder Koda. I was there. Aiden murdered Coyle. That was all.”

“I was there, too,” Quinn called out, and the crowd separated as she pushed her way through to the front. “I didn’t believe the tainted one either, until I saw for myself.”

“Fionnuala was involved in the slave market, along with Elaria, her son’s betrothed,” Gabe said as if there had been no interruptions. “They worked against all of us. Elaria helped the BVA, in effect causing the deaths of her own family members in order to inherit a position of power. Fionnuala also worked with the BVA, giving them information about our weak points. Many of us wondered at the bad decisions she made when the beasts came—turns out that it was all part of her plan. But when she saw the vampires would lose, she turned on them, too.”

“But why?” somebody in the crowd asked. “Why would she do any of this?”

“Absolute power,”
Phoenix
said. “She wanted my people to take over again. She didn’t like sharing power, and she was determined to rid herself of the Council. She spent a long time setting up others to take the fall. We returned from the
UK
before Koda was murdered, but she maintained secrecy in order to look guiltless. In any case, she caused the Council to fall. She attacked us and failed, but those of us who remain see that it’s time for change.”

“Maybe she was right,” the fae who had spoken earlier said. “If she was able to do all of this, then perhaps the Council doesn’t work.”

“Right?” Elathan asked. “She hid werewolves to use them against us. She helped those beasts come into the country. I know all of you were affected in some way. She worked with Gideon and Reuben to tear our defences apart. If it wasn’t for the tainted one and her rebel force, along with
Phoenix
and his werewolves, we may not have won that war. The
humans
helped us win. You do remember that part, don’t you?”

“You have a grudge against my people,” the fae argued. “You have an agenda.”

“I’ve fought next to
Phoenix
,” Elathan said good-naturedly. “I won’t blame him for the decisions of his ancestors.” He patted
Phoenix
’s shoulder as if to convince everyone.

An uproar began immediately, and Gabe shouted for silence.

“We don’t answer to you,” the fae shouted.

“I’m still a member of the Council,” Gabe said. “The Guardians work for me right now. Do not forget it.”

“Perhaps you shouldn’t forget that half of your Guardians aren’t loyal to you,” the fae replied.

“Half is more than you have,” Gabe snapped.

Phoenix
glared at the fae. “If it comes to power, my mother’s seat automatically comes to me, and I control the werewolves.”

“You murdered your own mother,” the fae said. “You’re a traitor to our own kind.”

“My own kind betrayed me,”
Phoenix
said calmly. “Perhaps I haven’t finished with my vengeance.”

People began to speak over each other, and too many of the Guardians had their weapons on display. I spotted Shay entering the room and waved him over to where we stood.

“How are we doing?” he asked.

“Not so good. Be ready to run for it because most people here aren’t ready to hear what we have to say.”

“Listen!” Esther shouted. “Fionnuala murdered
Conn.
She married him to hold on to her position, then killed him when she didn’t need him anymore. That’s why
Phoenix
disappeared. He didn’t agree with her schemes, and he left to protect his new family. She went after him and stole his family and his memories away. It was his right to seek revenge. That’s part of the fae laws, right?”

That seemed to appease the crowd slightly.

“It’s true that there were losses,” Gabe said. “But those losses were on both sides and only occurred when Fionnuala attacked. Those of us who weren’t part of Fionnuala’s plans were all attacked by assassins. Did you expect us to sit there placidly?”

“What happened to Erossi?” somebody asked.

Gabe shifted in his seat. “We aren’t sure. The witch Marina claimed some kind of responsibility, but she didn’t give us details.”

There was some shouting, and a fight broke out in the centre of the room.

“This isn’t working,” I said. “We have to get out of here and deal with the children first.”

“If I concede whatever power I have left, it will be a mistake,” Gabe said.

“Tell me what’s coming and how to fight it, and then maybe I’ll give a shit about whatever power you have left,” I hissed at him.

His jaw twitched. “We’ll leave, but we can’t let anyone else take over. We have to deal with this madness.”

“We can’t let Eddie use those kids, Gabe. We have to find him.”

“We will. I promise we’ll track him down and figure out what’s going on.”

We pushed our way through a supernatural mosh pit to get to the exit. But before we could get there, the doors burst open, and a dozen assassins strode in, weapons in hand. A hush fell over the gathering.

“Bloody hell,” I said. “I’m so sick of these gobshites. They have to be multiplying.”

“At least we don’t have to go to the bother of tracking them down,” Elathan said drily.

One of the assassins threw back his hood. Immediately, Guardians began to speak amongst themselves, so I assumed he had once been one of them.

His gaze roamed the room until he found our group. “We’re here to repay a debt.” He pointed his sword at
Phoenix
. “
You
owe us a life.”

A glass kylie whizzed through the air. I hadn’t even noticed
Phoenix
move. The weapon hit the assassin above the nose and sank deep into his head. He fell to the ground almost instantly.

“Come and take it,”
Phoenix
said, sounding livelier than he had in a while. He had hesitated when faced with his mother, but her assassins were fair game.

Two assassins stepped forward, both of them holding two daggers each.

“How dare you?” one of the fae shouted behind us. “You don’t come in here and threaten
our
royalty.”

I looked over my shoulder. He had been against
Phoenix
during the meeting. That apparently didn’t matter when it came to outsiders.

“These men belonged to my mother,”
Phoenix
shouted as he rushed at the assassins. “Choose carefully what side you take!”

Elathan grinned and joined
Phoenix
. Esther and I followed, albeit more slowly. I heard Gabe tut, but he struck out at the closest assassin. Most of the crowd backed away from the fighting, but many of the fae and Guardians helped us. The assassins didn’t stand much of a chance, but they put up a good fight.

Phoenix
tore a hood from one of the bodies to reveal the magical tattoos. “Do you understand now?” he asked. “How deep this has gone? It’s time for change. The old ways are over. The more united the races are, the stronger the country will remain. We can never allow one person to dominate. We can never allow one race to enslave the rest of us. We must stop making the same mistakes of the past.”

“What are we supposed to do?” a shifter asked. “Brother is against brother, and there’s fear on the streets that the humans will rise up against us all. There’s no way we can unite. Not like this.”

“We can try,” Gabe said. “There are worse days coming. Fionnuala wasn’t the only person with power who courted darkness. Something is on its way, and if we don’t stop it, we’ll all pay. Go back to your people. Discuss your options. Remember that there is more at stake than power and quotas. There are the werewolves, the exiled, the slave market children, and the other special children scattered across the country. The secrets must end, and you must all make a decision. We’ll meet here again in three nights. Be prepared to answer.” He strode out the doors.

I hesitated. I felt as though I needed to warn them or convince them or
something
.

“Koda was a decent person,” I said, surprised to find they were all listening to
me
, the tainted mongrel they had all been suspicious of or feared or hated. “But he didn’t act in time. Don’t make his mistake. This isn’t about one person against another. We won against the BVA because we all worked together, even humans. Change might be more hard work, but we’ll end up stronger. News of the werewolves is going to spread, and we’ll be the ones facing any repercussions from that. The best way to prepare is to protect ourselves with unity. We can do it, but we need your help.”

I headed for the door, accompanied by my group. Once outside, I stayed alert for any stray assassins.

“Nice touch,” Shay said. “I could really use you at one of the press conferences.”

“No, thanks. I’m only good at fake confidence for a few minutes a day.”

The way out remained clear, but we were slowed by Guardians who wanted to pledge their loyalty. We had changed some minds, but that wouldn’t be enough if Eddie came out swinging.

***

Gabe,
Phoenix
, and Elathan left to seek out Eddie, and the rest of us waited in the cul-de-sac. We were all injured and tired, and we didn’t know what else to do with ourselves. It was time to back off and let what was left of the Council take over.

Shay remained with us, quieter than usual.

“You okay?” I asked him.

He nodded. “They don’t think twice about taking life. None of you do.”

“It won’t always be this way,” I said. “This is war time. This is different.”

He gazed at me unhappily. “Is it?”

“Yes,” I said firmly. “We’re not worse than the beasts, Shay.”

“That’s not what I’m saying. It’s just strange for me to see people so willing to kill those who disagree with them.
Phoenix
…” He shook his head. “Makes me wonder if there’s a right side to be on.”

“We’re changing centuries of rules and orders. It comes at a cost.”

Esther nodded. “And it’s far from over. We have to keep protecting ourselves, no matter what it takes.”

“The assassins could come here at any time,” Val said. “Anyone could.”

“Not much has changed,” I said, “except now they don’t have a leader and we have some idea of who was involved.”

“We’ll never get everyone,” Shay said. “It’s impossible.”

“We’ll make it harder for them to get away with this kind of thing again,” Carl said. “We have to, or it’s not worth it.”

“Can everyone stop looking so depressed?” I asked. “Plenty of people in that room took
Phoenix
’s side when it came down to a fight. That says way more than their words.”

“She’s right,” Esther said. “It’ll take time, but I think we can swing this properly.”

“But Eddie’s still missing,” Carl pointed out.

“I get the feeling that Gabe knows something,” I admitted. “I just wish I knew what that was.”

“We can’t trust anybody,” Lorcan said. “We’ll have to figure it out for ourselves.”

“How?” I shook my head. “We can’t even find him. All we know is that he’s a keeper of power. I don’t know what that means exactly. He traps souls. A natural witch who practises dark magic is helping him, along with her coven. He’s very old, and he has access to a lot of ancient, important books. Archives, practically. He was disgraced for something a long time ago and kicked off the Council. He owes Daimhín money, and he wanted rid of the Council. His spare room is luxurious, but all there is in his bedroom is some crappy old furniture and a painting of a woman. How does it all fit? What exactly does he want?”

“He wants to do something that’s important to him personally,” Carl said. “And he needed the Council out of the way to do it. Maybe it’s linked to whatever disgraced him. Maybe he wants to break some kind of old law.”