Children of Poseidon: Rann (19 page)

Jewel remembered the ritual she’d read about. She shivered.

“No one important.”

“Tell me, Kara.” Lila’s voice was persuasive. She might not have been a major witch, but she was an empath and her mastery of voices excellent. “A ritual to reverse your loss of fertility? A ritual to create a child? Who had to die?”

Kara gazed into space and opened her mouth. For a moment, Jewel thought she might answer, but she pulled herself together and tossed her head. “Don’t use your pathetic skills on me, Lila Redcar.”

“Kara—”

“Don’t forget the ritual of power.” Kara studied Maya. “Did your father use it to get you? I wonder?”

“Ritual of power?” Jewel looked questioningly at Maya, who raised her shoulders in a dismissive shrug.

“Alberic knows it.” Kara still spoke to Maya. “Alberic knows a lot of things that have been forgotten. You could—”

Jewel looked around. “Where is Alberic?”

Chapter 19

Alberic had waited quietly behind the sofa for most of the conversation, not saying anything, but now he was nowhere to be seen. Jewel dashed for the door at the same time as Lila and Maya.

The door to Maya’s bedroom stood open, and all three women hurried towards it. Long-legged Maya got there first, but Jewel and Lila were close behind. Seawitch still slumped in her seat by the window. Alberic bent over her, whispering.

Maya tapped him on the shoulder. “Albert?”

He straightened slowly.

“What are you doing in my room?” Maya’s voice was steady, and Jewel heaved a sigh of relief. She’d regained control.

“I thought I could help with this poor creature.” He smiled a saintly smile. Maya wasn’t the only one who’d learned to master temper. “And my name is Alberic. You know that.”

“I don’t care what you call yourself. Get out of my room.”

Alberic moved towards the door in an unhurried fashion. “If you insist.”

“Wait.”

He halted and glanced back at Maya with both eyebrows raised.

“How did you know she was here?” Maya surveyed him with narrowed, assessing eyes.

“She told me.” Alberic nodded at Jewel. He brushed against her as he left the room.

“Is that true?” Maya’s golden stare rested on Jewel, and she fought the urge to squirm. She suspected Maya wasn’t completely under control after all. Tiny flames leapt in the depths of her eyes.

“He eavesdropped on a conversation,” Jewel said. “When I thought my mother might have known something about seawitches. Remember? We agreed to ask her. We discussed it.”

“Right.” Maya’s eyes followed Alberic as he moved back to the sitting room.

Jewel sank to her knees in front of Seawitch. Colours swirled in the depths of her eyes, blues and greens; sea colours, impossible to focus on. Lila joined her and crouched at her side.

“She’s frightened.” Lila leant forward. “I can feel it. Her fear is muted. Trapped. But it’s there.”

“Do you think Alberic did something to her?”

“I don’t know.” Lila tilted her head as though listening for something. “Something scared her, though.”

“I’d like to know what Albert wanted with her.” Maya’s voice was hard.

Jewel straightened and faced her. “I don’t know. She knew enough to be frightened of him, though. I wonder why.” She examined Seawitch, who sat motionless on the small sofa. “I wonder whether the whole visit was an excuse.”

“What do you mean?” Maya touched her arm.

“Just that Alberic was interested in her the first time I met him. He offered to come straight back with me and look at her. I’m sure I mentioned it.”

Lila rose to her feet. “I’m going to call Lykos.”

“Come on.” Maya headed back to the sitting room. “Let’s get rid of them.”

Jewel took a deep breath and followed.

Lila rested her hand on Jewel’s arm. “I can tell you feel guilty, but it’s not your fault. We can’t choose our families.”

Jewel tried to speak, but the sound that came out of her mouth was a cross between a snort and a laugh. Lila patted her arm and followed Maya.

Pulling herself together and with a last look at the seawitch, Jewel returned to the sitting room.

Maya stood in front of Kara who sat on one of the sofas with Alberic, once more, standing behind her. “Kara. Please tell me where our father was sent.” She kept her voice even, but the tension under the surface filled the room.

Jewel hung back, watching her.
Please don’t let her lose control again.

“I can’t.” Kara glanced up at Maya. “You know I’ve always been fond of you, Maya. I wish you’d been my daughter. You’d have been a great addition to the family.”

Maya snorted. “My father?”

“I didn’t want to know what the traffickers did with him.” Kara rose to her feet. “So when I say I can’t tell you, that’s exactly what I mean.” She looked over her shoulder, at her lover. “I think we should go.”

“Go on then.” Maya narrowed her eyes. “Take your demon lover with you. And don’t come back.”

Kara sniffed. “Ingratitude. You’ve always had that arrogant streak, Maya. I just hope someone doesn’t knock it out of you.” Her tone said the opposite.

Alberic edged round the sofa to Kara’s side. Maya shepherded them out, her body vibrating with tension.

She came back into the room and flung herself onto the sofa. “Albert offered to help with Seawitch. Can you believe that?”

“Help her?” Jewel shivered at the thought.
If I have any control of the situation, that dark mage won’t get anywhere near Seawitch.

“I wonder what he wants with her.” Maya’s brow wrinkled with consideration. “There was something there. It wasn’t a coincidence. And whatever he said to her scared her enough that Lila detected her fear.”

“Why did they really come here?” Jewel couldn’t believe it was a polite response to Maya and Lila’s abortive visit. “It has to be something to do with Seawitch.”

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it.” She glanced at her sister, who placed her phone on the coffee table and sat down in front of it.

“Lykos is coming back,” she said. “I called him.”

“Now?”

“He wanted to kill Alberic.” Lila smiled ruefully.

“Is he . . .?” Jewel could only be grateful Alberic had left. She didn’t have a problem with terminating Alberic, but she didn’t want to watch, and it shouldn’t happen in Maya’s flat.

“I told him no. I don’t think he likes him, though.”

“Does anyone?” Maya stretched her arms above her head.

“What about Rann?” Jewel hoped he was on his way back as well.

“I don’t think he likes him either.” Maya lowered her arms.

“I meant . . .” Jewel broke off and glared at Maya, who smirked.

“Lykos said they had an argument about who should kill him.” Lila shook her head. “I didn’t realise Rann was so violent.”

“Pragmatic.” Jewel had never seen Rann behave with anything less than perfect control. “And neither of them will kill Alberic. It’s not their battle.”

“Mmm.” Lila didn’t sound convinced.

“I’m going to say it again.” Lykos strode up the hill, hands in pockets and eyes scanning the street. Rann waited. “That mage needs removing.”

Rann didn’t disagree, but he was more interested in the report of the dark master. He thought Lykos wasn’t viewing this seriously enough. No mage had the power of a son of one of the old gods, but a dark master was a different sort of challenge. What had happened to Seawitch typified the sort of arts they practised. Not that he’d ever met one or had any interest until Annis’s witch had traced Seawitch’s problems to a dark master. He turned his mind back to Lykos’s concerns. “Let the witches deal with it.”

Lykos glanced sideways at him. “Is that all you’ve got to say?”

Rann sighed. He knew he shouldn’t interfere and, until recently, it would have been no problem to let the coven deal with their own issues, but he wasn’t going to take any chances with Jewel’s safety. “Maya can handle him.” He paused and let out a deep breath. “I’ll be watching him very carefully, though.”
If it looks for an instant as though Jewel might be in danger, I’ll step in.

Lykos grunted but increased his pace. “Why would he be interested in your seawitch?” He stopped in front of Maya’s front door and pressed the bell. Rann leaned back against the wall, waiting until they were buzzed in.

Lykos held the door open but paused at the bottom of the flight of stairs. “If it looks like he might threaten Lila, then I won’t wait.” The storms swirled in the depths of his gray eyes.

Rann pushed past and marched up the stairs. He hoped Lykos wasn’t going to be difficult.

Maya waited at the top and closed the door behind them as they came in. “You didn’t have to rush back.”

“Lila called me.” Lykos scowled at Maya and headed for the sitting room.

Rann shrugged and followed him. His eyes darted straight to Jewel. She stood in front of the window again, staring out, as though she expected to see something. He strolled over to join her. “What’s out there?”

“I don’t know.” Jewel rested her head against the glass. “But there’s something. I just feel like I’m being watched all the time.”

Rann placed his hand on her shoulder, and she turned to face him. Under his hand, her body vibrated with tension.

“It’s probably nothing.” Her voice sounded uncertain.

“Come and sit down,” he said. “Lykos is a little tetchy about the Albert incident.” He looked over to where Lykos sat on the sofa, wrapped round Lila.

Maya stared at them with an expression of disgust on her face.

“Tell us exactly what happened.” Rann guided Jewel back into the room.

Maya explained about Alberic and the fear they’d seen in Seawitch.

“Odd.” Rann hadn’t detected any fear in Seawitch when he met her, other than the almost undetectable flicker of her eyes. He wondered if she could sense the aura of dark magic surrounding Alberic or if she knew him from the past.

“We’re certainly not letting him near her again.” Maya folded her arms across her chest.

“No.” Lykos raised his head. “Are you sure you don’t want me to kill him?”

Maya jabbed her index finger in his direction. “Absolutely sure.”

Jewel changed the subject. “My mother has no idea what happened to Fergal. She didn’t seem concerned.”

“She’s completely mad.” Maya twirled a finger in the air. “It’s sad really.”

“We don’t need her help,” Rann said. “Annis and Connor seem pretty sure they can find him.”

Lila extricated herself from Lykos’s arms and sat up. “I hope so. I feel I ought to be doing something.”

“As long as it’s just a feeling.” Lykos radiated possessiveness.

“You—”

Rann interrupted before Lila started an argument. “They’re on the trail of Alberic as well. I want to know what he was doing before he joined your coven.”

“He didn’t join,” Maya pointed out. “He moved in with our leader.”

“Right.” Jewel nodded. “And she’s pregnant and talking about some ritual to make the baby powerful. Some ritual involving blood.” She covered her face with her hands. “And there have already been deaths to create this child. My half-sister.” She made a noise that sounded like a mixture of a laugh and a sob, and Rann reached for her.

She jumped up. “What did she do for my birth? Who did she kill?”

“Jewel . . .” Lila’s voice soothed.

“I’ve got to get out of here. I’m going to get some fresh air.” She left the room without looking at anyone.

Rann took a deep breath. “I’m going after her.”

“Give her some space.” Maya grabbed his arm.

He glared at her. “She suspects someone is watching her. Her mother is completely mad, and I don’t trust that mage an inch. I’m not letting her wander about alone.”

“Okay.” Maya raised her eyebrows. “Calm down. I’m just saying she might need some time alone.”

Rann grunted. He just wanted to be sure that Jewel was all right. He closed the door carefully behind him.

Jewel let herself out of the flat and ran down the stairs to the street. She had to get away; her pulse pounded in her ears, and she trembled on the edge of losing her control. Breathing slowly, she walked down the hill, counting her breaths. It was a struggle, but by the time she reached the high street, she’d managed to regulate her stress levels. At least on the surface. She pushed her way through the late lunchers, unsure where to go.

Rann might have been right and she should have stayed on his island. She grimaced at her reflection in a shop window. She couldn’t have stayed, but when she had made the decision to leave, she had had no idea what lay ahead of her. Unrequited love was a breeze compared to what she’d walked into.

Pausing in front of a trendy furniture shop, she stared at the single white chair in the window. It resembled some medieval torture device. She carried on walking, occasionally stopping in front of a shop window to gather her thoughts. She reached the coffee shop, thought of going in, crossed the road before realising she’d come out without a coat or a purse, and had no money. She shivered and turned back round, intending to head home, her brief meltdown over.

The traffic heading up and down the street was heavy, and she hovered at the kerb, waiting for an opportunity to cross back again. Something slammed into her back, and she toppled forward. A horn blared, a car swerved, and a hand grabbed Jewel’s arm, swinging her back before she fell under the wheels. She staggered and sprawled onto the pavement, hands reaching out to save herself.

“Are you all right?” A woman bent beside her.

Jewel gathered her breath and pushed herself to her feet. “I think so.” Her knees were on fire, and her back ached. Someone had pushed her. “Thanks.”

The woman straightened, too. “That might have been nasty.” She inspected Jewel. “You should sit down. Have a coffee. You look shaken.”

“I didn’t bring any money. Anyway, it’s okay. I live nearby.”

“Well, if you’re sure.”

“Thanks.” Jewel wished the well-meaning woman would leave so she could take stock of the damage to her person. A few people had paused to see what had happened, and a wave of embarrassment swept over her. She gritted her teeth.

The woman shook her head. She reached in her pocket and handed Jewel some coins. “Get a drink. You look really pale.” She walked off before Jewel could protest.

Examining the money, Jewel limped back towards the coffee shop. Her benefactor was right.

A man loomed in front of her, so close his features blurred. Her already pounding heart sped up. She retreated until her back met the plate glass of the café window.

“Lila?” The voice was tentative, and she focussed her gaze on him. Her eyes narrowed. The strange tramp-like figure who’d haunted her steps for the past few days swayed in front of her. Shorter than she’d imagined and slightly built, his body was swamped by the tweed overcoat.

“What do you want?” She made an effort to sound assertive. “Why have you been following me?” She pushed herself away from the window.