Children of Poseidon: Rann (15 page)

“And Lykos is going to let her?” Rann sounded incredulous.

Maya shrugged. “He doesn’t own her. No matter what he thinks.”

“You keep on believing that.” Rann closed his eyes and made a visible effort to relax.

“Anyway, Kara won’t mess with me.” Maya dismissed Rann’s concerns. “She’s a bit wary of what I might do.”

“Call Maria.” Jewel leaned on the back of the sofa. “Let’s get it over. I’ll talk to her.”

Maya pulled her phone from her pocket, pressed a number, and passed it over her shoulder to Jewel.

“Maria?” She arranged her thoughts into a list of points and gave them to the coven witch. “I think you’ve got serious problems. I don’t want to go into details over the phone. You really need to know, though.”

Maria didn’t reply for a good minute, but Jewel could hear the sound of whispering from the other end of the phone. She suppressed her rising impatience. Someone else was with Maria.

“I’ll call you back,” Maria finally said. “I need to check with a couple of people. You’re right. We need to act. We’ll meet with you tomorrow. Early.”

“Call first. We might be out.” Jewel pressed the disconnect button. “Sounds like they’re taking it seriously.”

“About time,” Maya grumbled. “I’ve been telling them for months that something’s not quite right. The whole of the junior coven has told them. Idiots.”

The ringing of the landline interrupted her. Maya jumped to her feet and picked up the call.

Her eyebrows rose. “Damnam.” The purr in her voice was not a sound Jewel had heard before. “It’s been a long time. How’s life treating you? Managed to find yourself a tame witch yet?” She laughed then tried to dodge as Rann sat up, jumped to his feet, and held out his hand, demanding the phone.

“Give me that, Maya.”

She handed it over. Maya had a history with Damnamenos. He had kidnapped her years ago, when she was seventeen. His intention had been to press gang any witches he found into forming a coven with him. Maya’s potential power had fascinated him, but he hadn’t had much luck in persuading her to do anything. According to Lila, Maya had physically and verbally abused him and then told her sister she thought he was hot.

Jewel never met him but hoped she’d get the opportunity. Maya had high standards. She tried to listen to Rann’s end of the phone call but couldn’t make much sense out of it.

“Yes.” Rann said. He paused.

“We think she’s a seawitch . . . I don’t know . . . My mother . . . As soon as possible.”

He put the phone down and faced Jewel and Maya.

“Well?” Maya raised an eyebrow.

“He said to give you his love.” Rann’s wicked smile had Maya swiping at him with one hand.

He dodged.

“What did he say about the seawitch?” Jewel ignored their posturing.

“He says he’ll come and have a look.” Rann moved back to the sofa. “As soon as possible. He’s in Japan at the moment, so it may be a couple of days.”

“Japan?”

“Some property deal.” Rann shrugged. He let other people deal with his financial affairs. “He sees himself as a businessman.” His tone suggested amazement that anyone would waste their time on such things.

“Does he think he can do anything?” Jewel asked. “Help her?”

“He won’t know until he sees her. I couldn’t tell him what sort of spells had been used on her. I’m not a mage.”

Jewel sighed. This trip had proved to be a lot more exciting than she had anticipated.

Maya paced up and down the length of the room. Her face screwed up into a fierce scowl, and she muttered under her breath.

“What on earth’s wrong now?” Jewel asked.

“I hate not knowing what’s going on.” Maya dragged her hands through her hair. “And I know nothing at the moment. I don’t know what happened to my father. I don’t know what’s wrong with Seawitch. I don’t know what rituals Kara used to get pregnant.” She paused and looked at Jewel. “I don’t know what solution the coven will come up with. I don’t like it.”

“Well, there’s nothing you can do about it now.” Rann stretched full length on the sofa again, propping his feet on the arm.

“Thanks, Sherlock.” Maya pushed them off as she paced back.

“Dinner.” Jewel dodged out of Maya’s way. “I’m hungry. Call your sister. We can meet them somewhere. Fill them in.”

Maya picked up the phone again.

The five of them met at a small Italian restaurant in the village, and as Jewel expected, Lila was completely speechless at the news of Kara’s pregnancy.

“What’s the big deal?” Lykos interrupted all the expressions of shock and debate as to whether they could believe her.

“The big deal is that she’s at least two decades past her fertile years,” Lila explained. “The big deal is that she thinks she’s going to give birth to some uberwitch.”

Lykos rested his arm across the back of her chair. “But Jewel said she performed a ritual.”

“That’s what I think she said.” Jewel nodded.

“She did.” Rann confirmed it. “That’s what I heard.”

“Yes.” Lila rubbed her face against Lykos’s arm. “If that’s the case, then it’s a very bad thing.” She said the words slowly, turning her head to assess her lover’s expression.

His mouth twitched in a smile. “Why? Witches cast spells. Do rituals. So why’s it a bad thing?”

“Because if she’s pregnant, then it’s a new life where no life should be. To make that work, a life has to be given. And to make Kara capable of carrying that new life, another sacrifice must be made.” The colour faded from Lila’s face, making her look ill. “If Kara really is pregnant, then someone has to have died.”

“I didn’t know you knew that.” Maya surveyed Lila with interest. “We were going to look it up in the library.”

“I think you should,” Lila said. “I don’t know the details. Just that it probably involves death magic or blood magic. Or probably both.”

Lykos glanced down at her. “Definitely a bad thing then.” He lifted his hand and stroked her cheek. “That’s witches for you, though. Haven’t I always said so?”

“So much that you’re becoming boring,” Lila retorted. She smiled at him. It was obviously an old argument.

“I asked Kara about your father,” Jewel said to Lila. “She wouldn’t answer. And she laughed.”

Lila frowned. “I think she’s lost it. Her link to reality, I mean. But we’re going to see her tomorrow. Aren’t we, Maya? That’s still on, isn’t it?”

“Oh yes.” Maya frowned. “I’d like to see her laugh at me.”

“You’ll be careful, won’t you?” Jewel couldn’t help worrying. The air of malevolence in the house had made a big impression on her. “My mother’s always packed a pretty big punch with her magic.”

“I’m better.” No arrogance coloured Maya’s voice, just an absolute belief.

“But she’s more experienced. And then she’s got Alberic.”

“Albert.” Maya folded her arms.

“I’ll be there,” Lykos announced. He wound his fingers through Lila’s long chestnut hair, and she shifted to stare at him. It tangled.

“Ow. You can’t come. Kara won’t say anything while you’re there.”

“There’s no negotiation on this.” Lykos’s voice vibrated with authority. Maya had said he could be scary, but Jewel had never seen that side of him. His voice made the hair on the back of her neck rise and the skin underneath tingle. It was easy to believe his father was Poseidon when he let his power show. She thought it strange that Rann never had the same effect on her.

It obviously didn’t impress Lila, because she glared at him. “You’re not telling me what to do.”

“Actually I am.” Lykos withdrew his arm. “I’d chain you in my dungeon before I let you set foot in that house without me.”

Lila’s brow furrowed. “I’d like to see you try.”

Jewel interrupted. “I think he’s right, Lila. There’s an atmosphere in there.”

“He’s definitely right,” Rann said. “Let him protect you. You might need it.”

“There’ll be Maya as well. The two of us—”

“Lila.” A small wind lifted Lykos’s hair from his neck. His voice echoed with distant thunder.

“Please?” Jewel tried to diffuse the tension. “If my mother harmed you, I’d never forgive myself. Let Lykos go with you.”

“I suppose so.” Lila’s delicate features screwed up in rebellion. “If you all think it’s necessary. But don’t think I’m going to forget your caveman act.”

Jewel assumed the last sentence was addressed to Lykos, who didn’t appear to be particularly worried by it.

Maya had said nothing, which was so unlike her that Lila asked her if she was all right.

“Just thinking.” Maya stared into space. “We have to find out what she did with our father. There must be some way of making her tell us.”

Lykos’s smile made Jewel want to hide under the table.

“She’ll tell me,” he said. “If I ask her.”

Chapter 15

“Do you want me to go with you?” Jewel hovered round Maya as she pulled a denim jacket over her t-shirt. She was making no special effort for Kara.

Lila answered from the hallway. “No, it’s okay. I think you had enough of her yesterday.”

In a way, Jewel was relieved, but she also thought she had a duty to deal with her mother. Her face must have reflected this, because Maya turned back to speak to her as she headed out.

“She’ll just mess with your head.” She joined Lila by the front door. “She always has. She knows it gets to you. And I bet that would annoy his royal arrogance.”

Jewel assumed she meant Lykos.

“Then it could all end in blood and tears.”

“Don’t exaggerate.” Lila nudged her. “But she’s right, Jewel. Kara likes to upset you. She always has, and I just don’t understand it.”

“I don’t care. Not anymore.” Jewel folded her arms as she watched the door close behind her two newly discovered half-sisters. Repressing the urge to kick it, she returned to the sitting room where Rann lounged on one of the sofas, playing with the remote control for the television. He seemed to think it was some sort of toy. Jewel snatched it away from him and switched the television off.

He stretched then placed his hands behind his head, watching her through half-closed eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Jewel stared at him. His upper body was bare, revealing a wide expanse of golden skin that covered well-defined muscles. She met his eyes. A hint of gold flashed in their brown depths, and she took a deep breath, pulling her gaze away before she allowed herself to be sucked into their warm invitation. “Nothing.”

He waited.

“All right.” Her voice sounded strident in her ears. “I feel useless. I feel I should be doing something. She’s my mother.”

“You are doing something.” Rann sat up and swung his legs to the floor. “You did a lot yesterday.”

“It’s not enough.” Jewel stamped her foot. She couldn’t believe she’d done that. She’d worked hard to tame the outbursts of temper that had characterised her teenage years.

“It’s not all down to you.” Rann shuffled to face her. “It’s a little arrogant to think all the responsibilities are yours. And to want to sort it out all by yourself? Hubris.”

Jewel’s eyes narrowed.
How dare he?
She knew deep down that he was right, but she wasn’t feeling reasonable. The last time she had lost her temper had been at least seven years ago, and she’d forgotten the euphoria that came with loss of control.

“My family. My responsibility.” She marched forward until her legs hit the sofa. “And I don’t know what you think you’re doing here. Interfering, insisting on taking control . . .”

Rann’s eyebrows rose as Jewel ranted, and she began to feel ridiculous. “No one asked you to—”

Rann leapt to his feet, and Jewel jumped backwards. He wrapped long brown fingers round her upper arms. She pulled away, but he held her in front of him while he stared into her eyes.

“No one asked me. But I view you as my family.”

She tried to interrupt.

“I know that’s not how you see it, but it’s the way things are, so you’ll have to put up with it.”

His face was close to hers, and she felt his breath on her lips. Rann’s attention drifted. His head lowered until his mouth touched hers. The rich brown of his eyes darkened until they were almost black. In the depths, pinpricks of gold swirled, and his features blurred. His mouth moved across hers, stroking her lips. She closed her eyes to concentrate on the sensation.

A small voice at the back of her mind asked her what she thought she was doing. She’d decided she couldn’t do this with Rann. She’d left the island so she wouldn’t succumb to temptation.

I should stop this now.

She didn’t move.

He thinks he can order me about. I shouldn’t let him do that
.

Rann’s tongue touched her lower lip, and she sighed, letting her own meet it. He released her arms and pulled her closer to him, kissing her hard. She let her head fall back.

Surely just once would be all right.

She lifted her arms so her hands rested on his shoulders, her fingers flexing on the warmth of his bare skin. After a moment, she stroked his neck, and one of her hands tangled itself in his silky black hair. His hand cupped the back of her neck, holding her head in place. She moaned and moved against him. He nipped her lower lip and stepped back, hands resting lightly on her waist.

He couldn’t believe he was letting her go. Those little noises she made in the back of her throat had him hard immediately. She was upset and off her guard. For a lot of women in his past, sex would have worked as a method of distraction, but he was pretty sure trying it with Jewel would be a mistake. Her decisions had to come from a position of strength, not weakness. He rubbed the back of her head, letting the soft strands of hair tickle his fingers. She opened her eyes and stared at him, as though he had two heads.

“So?” He kept his eyes on hers. “Do you want me to leave?” Of course he had no intention of doing that, but he needed her to think about it.

She closed her eyes again and took a deep, shaky breath. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I don’t know what I was thinking of.”

He stroked her hair, loving the silkiness of it. “You’re stressed. She’s your mother. But you need to let Maya and Lila talk to her now. You’ve done your bit.”

“I hate sitting around.” She gave an experimental wriggle, as if trying to see how easy it would be to distance herself.

Rann ignored it.

“I thought we could go and have a chat with the investigators this morning.” He needed to do something to pass the time and distract Jewel. “I know they’ve only had a day, but they could tell us how they intend to tackle the cases. We can tell them what we learned yesterday. It might help them.”

Jewel’s blue eyes widened. She really did make him want to pull her close and kiss her until she realised where she belonged. Unfortunately, he didn’t think it would work, so he waited for her to process what he’d just said.

“Jewel?”

“Mmm?” She stared at him with a blank expression.

“Do you want to come along?”

“What? Oh yes. Thanks.” She gave her head a tiny shake and pulled away from him. This time he let her go with a tiny frisson of regret and picked up the phone, pacing to the window with it.

“We’re meeting Annis in a pub in Camden Town.” He ended the call and put the phone down. “The Anchor. We’ll have lunch there.”

“What about Connor?” Jewel asked.

“He’s out looking for your father.”

“Looking for him?” Her nose wrinkled. “I thought Annis was the finder.”

“I don’t know what that means.” Rann pushed her shoulder. “Come on. Move yourself. We might as well go out.” He knew if they stayed in the flat, he would have difficulty keeping his hands off her.

They walked through the stalls of Camden Market for an hour, and Rann felt some of the tension melt out of Jewel. She bought a long silk dress from the woman who made them, a box of handmade sweets, and an embroidered backpack to put them in.

“We used to come to the market every Saturday,” she told him. “Me and Maya. We’d just hang out. I’d forgotten.” Her expression softened.

Rann studied the crowded street. He wasn’t keen. Too many people, too much concrete, and too many cars. He grunted.

“It’s a bit more claustrophobic than I remember.” Jewel pushed past a gaggle of teenage girls, who were debating the wisdom of having their eyebrows pierced. “Or maybe it’s my age. I’ve been away for too long.”

“I can’t imagine wanting to live here. It’s just . . .” Rann wasn’t sure what he meant.

“Too crowded? Too urban?” Jewel filled in for him, and he narrowed his eyes.

“Yes. That’s exactly what I mean. Too cold as well. Surely you don’t want to live in a place like this?”

“I don’t know.” She sounded uncertain to his ears. “Not here of course. I’ve gotten used to the sun. And this place has bad memories. Mostly. But covens tend to be in urban centres, so I’ll probably have to live in a city.”

Rann grunted again.
Not if I can help it.
He was convinced that she didn’t really want to leave the island, and he didn’t want her to go.

Surely we can come to some sort of compromise. She’ll come round to my way of thinking. She belongs in the sun, near the sea, not in a place with traffic fumes and stressed people. She belongs with me.

“We’d better find this pub,” was all he said.

“I know where it is.” Jewel headed decisively towards the canal.

Annis already waited in the pub, saving a table in the window. She sipped a pint of lager while reading some papers. The place heaved with lunchtime drinkers; people clustered round the bar and spilled out onto the pavement, but Annis had managed to keep the table to herself. Rann was impressed.

“Hi.” She glanced up as they walked in. “Micromanaging or what?”

Rann raised an eyebrow.

Annis shrugged. “You need to order at the bar. Food and drink.” She shook her head when Rann asked if she wanted anything. “I’m sorted.”

She stacked her papers into a pile and slipped them into her bag, pulling it out of the way to make a space for Jewel. Rann pushed his way through the crush at the bar and ordered before joining them.

“We’ve got some news for you.” Annis propped her elbows on the table. “Nothing concrete. It’s only been twenty-four hours.” A note of reproach leaked into her voice.

“We thought it would be interesting to know how you’re going to approach the investigation. But we had something for you as well.” Rann lowered himself onto the bench next to Jewel. “That’s really why we’re here. Jewel talked to her mother again yesterday.”

“Yes?” Annis’s green eyes sharpened.

“I think you should tell Annis what happened.” He touched the back of Jewel’s hand with one finger. “It’ll give her more of an idea of the way Kara’s mind works.”

Jewel had the uncomfortable feeling that Rann had set this meeting up for her, to help her deal with the stress of doing nothing. She looked at him sideways, but his face showed nothing of his feelings, so she gave Annis a succinct update on her visit to the coven headquarters. She could recite the tale in her sleep. She’d told it so many times.

“That’s interesting.” Annis pursed her lips. “I’m not sure how to use it yet, though.” She sucked the end of her pen, her expression thoughtful. “I don’t think Kara had your father killed. It’s early days, but there are rumours. I cast a spell last night, using the blood from all three of you. Evidence says he’s still alive. London is the place we need to look.”

“You sensed that?” Jewel supposed it made sense. “London?”

“Yes. That’s what Connor’s doing now. Chasing down information. Closing in on what I told him. He talked to some underground magic users this morning. Sort of petty criminals. Apparently there have been rumours about your mother for years.” A note of apology crept into her voice. “Outside the covens. People are scared of her.”

Jewel raised her eyebrows.

“You’d be surprised how many fringe talents there are out there,” Annis said, “and most of them like to gossip. Anyway, Connor might turn up to tell you himself. He told me he’d drop in here if he finished in time.”

“So you think Fergal might still be alive?”

Finder spells didn’t distinguish between the living and the dead.

“That’s what it feels like. As I said, it’s early days, but Kara didn’t have him killed. Not according to rumour. She paid for his disappearance from all accounts, but not his death. I don’t know what’s happened to him since.”

“She paid?” Jewel’s spirits sank. It sounded as though her mother had been walking the edge of either madness or evil for a long time.

“People trafficking’s been around for years”—Annis scowled at the tabletop—“as we know from experience. And if Fergal had been cursed and drugged, he’d have been vulnerable.”

Jewel covered her face with her hands.

“It’s better to know.” Rann touched her shoulder then laid his hand on it.

Jewel removed her hands and looked up at him. That was his opinion. “I lived in blissful ignorance of this for nine years. I could have gone a lifetime without hearing this sort of thing.” She sighed heavily. “I suppose you’re right, though.”

Annis’s phone buzzed. She excused herself, walking out to stand on the pavement. When she returned, she told them that Connor was on the way and he’d talk to them about some rumours. “You’re paying for information. We can give you things as we come on them and you can make your own minds up, or we can wait until we have the whole story.”

“That might be never,” Jewel said. “I’d go for the rumours. What do you think?” She glanced at Rann.

He shook his head. “It’s your investigation. But if I were you, I’d take all the rumours. Between you, Maya, and Lila, something might ring a bell. You know all the players better than I do.”

“Okay.” Annis squeezed back into her seat. “We’ll see what Connor has to say when he gets here. In the meantime, I hate to tell you, but we’ve heard nothing about a seawitch. Most people think they’re extinct. We have heard rumours about users of death magic, though.”

“What have you heard?” Jewel felt a strong nostalgia for her quiet life on Rann’s island. Unrequited love and all.

“There have been reports of an increase in dark magic,” Annis said. “Worldwide. There’s always been a small group of practitioners who are willing to sacrifice others and risk their own sanity to get what they want. But it seems to be on the rise.”

“What on earth could they want that much?” Jewel couldn’t begin to imagine what would be worth the cost.

“Power. Money. Sex.” Annis sounded disgusted with the banality of it all. “There’s the occasional rare mage who wants knowledge and thinks he’ll get it by practicing atrocities. And I knew a witch once who sacrificed her sister for a new wardrobe.”