Ellida (35 page)

THE MEN were so absorbed in military
preparations that nobody noticed that Betty and Maggie had
organized their own training schedule, disappearing into the woods
every afternoon for several hours. Soon Peyton joined them, but
Astrid was asked to stay away.

“The whole purpose of taking Seth down is to
protect you,” Betty explained. “You stay out of it!”

“So all of you are going to war, and I’m
supposed to stay here and make sure dinner’s ready when you come
back? I don’t think so. Why don’t you stay here with me?”

Betty squeezed her eyes shook her head.
“Brian… he kissed me one morning and never came back. I can’t sit
here and wait. If James goes, so do I.”

“But
I’ll
be sitting here and
waiting,” Astrid reminded her.

“That’s different.”

Astrid didn’t understand why it was
different, but she realized it would be pointless to argue with
Betty at the moment.

“What about you two?” she turned to Maggie
and Peyton. “What are your reasons?”

Maggie laughed. “I’ve never been in Copper
Ridge. Maybe my true love is there.”

“Shouldn’t you be looking for a job? I
thought you didn’t want to hang out here longer than
necessary.”

“That’s right, I won’t stay longer than
necessary. Besides, I completed my four-year degree in three years,
with summa cum laude. I deserve a break.”

“And I’m sort of an ace up our sleeve,”
Peyton said. “Nobody knows about my wizard skills. That could be a
nasty surprise. Ingmar’s going to be there. What could happen?”

“Anything could happen,” Astrid said quietly.
“You have nice energy, I know because I’ve been training you, but
no offense, Peyton, I’m way more capable of fighting than any of
you, and I have to stay here. Why do you think Jack would let you
go? He doesn’t know about this, does he?”

“Of course not!

Oh, but he will
. “How did you plan to
do that, Betty? You know Jack won’t allow it.”

“Don’t patronize me, Astrid! This isn’t my
first war,” Betty snapped. “And I repeat, I
will not
sit
here and wait to see if my husband will return or not. Do you
understand? Never again!” She exhaled deeply and added in a raspy
voice. “I’ve survived once the loss of a man I loved. I don’t think
I would be able to pull through it one more time.”

Astrid wrapped her arms around Betty’s
shoulders. “I’m sorry for doing that to all of you. I really
am.”

Betty smirked. “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s not
your doing. It started long ago, and now it’s time to end it.”

It was pointless to argue with any of them at
that moment, so Astrid decided to leave it to Jack to deal with the
three crazy women later.

JACK WENT berserk when he heard about his
mother, sister and friend’s plans. He simply ordered them, when the
time came, to stay with Astrid.

“Traitor!” Maggie hissed at Astrid over the
phone. “I thought we were still the Fellowship of the Full Moon,
but apparently it means nothing to you. Why did you tell him, for
Crissake?”

Astrid laughed. “Nice way to talk to the
clan’s Ellida. You really thought you’d be able to sneak out
without Jack’s or James’ knowledge?”

“Probably. We have our own methods. What
about Eamon? Is he going?”

“Nobody under the age of twenty-one will go.
No women other than the three Captains, Morgaine, Liv, Ella, and
Jack’s grandmother. I’m sorry.”

“So Jack can order his mother to stay, but
not his grandmother?”

“That’s why she came here, to fight. Seth
killed her son.”

Astrid’s explanations didn’t smooth Maggie’s
ruffled feathers.

“He was mom’s husband at that time,” she
said. “And you know what? You pissed off your future mother-in-law
big time, and that’s never a good idea.”

“I’m sorry. She’ll forgive me, eventually. Do
you really think she was serious about letting you and Peyton go
with her? It was a smoke screen, Maggie.”

For a long moment there was silence, and then
Maggie said with a smirk. “So she was bluffing, you say?”

“Of course she was. Listen, want to come for
lunch? I’m making perch fillets.”

“You really think I can forgive your betrayal
because you’re going to make me my favorite fish?”

“Uh-huh.”

“How about German potato salad with it? Oh, I
hate myself for being so easily bribed! Mom and Peyton are going to
strangle me, whoever finds me first.”

“And Napoleon slices.”

“I’m surprised my brother finds the time to
give you cooking lessons, being so busy bullying three women.”

“The cake is courtesy of Chef Herzog”.

“Is Jack there, by the way? I’m not sure I
want to see him now.”

Astrid laughed. “He’s coming later. Come,
I’ll make us a pot of black tea first. That always helps me to
relax.”

ON THE surface, life in Red Cliffs seemed
ordinary, but the atmosphere was tense, and the signs of serious
war preparations were practically everywhere. Astrid tried to be
her usual self, but nothing could put her mind at complete
rest.

Jack had stopped going out of town, except to
meet with Darius or his messenger at Silverbell Ranch, or to talk
to the Blakes at their hiding place. Astrid knew Jack planned to
strike at the beginning of December, but he still hadn’t decided
the exact date. She was sure he wouldn’t tell her even if he knew.
One morning he would kiss her and be gone. And she would be left
here in the empty house, waiting for him to return… or…or…

Astrid’s mind would stop there, numbed with
fear, and her blood would turn to ice.

Her inner harmony that kept not only her but
her entire surrounding balanced was disturbed. Her famous
intuition, manifested through her ability to feel life through
light and colors, was paralyzed by deep fear in the pit of her
stomach for so many people she loved and cared about. Even for
those of her mother’s clan, who’d been suffering for such a long
time under Seth Withali’s iron fist. So much was at stake because
Seth wanted her.

How many lives would he try to destroy in his
final acts of madness?

JACK, JAMES and Ahmed didn’t look overly
concerned about the upcoming war. Helping Darius to put an end to
Seth’s reign was something that had to be done. There was no room
for second thoughts and doubts, and certainly not for the horror
that Astrid was wrestling with.

Jack knew what was going on in Astrid’s head,
no matter how hard she tried to hide her panic. He was gentle and
tender, spending as much time at home as he could. He talked to her
when she wanted reassurance, made her laugh when she was too tense,
and made love to her when nothing else worked, which was quite
often.

“It will be over in no time,” he told her one
sunny morning at the end of July, holding her tight. “I promise. Do
I ever break my word?”

“What if somebody dies?” she’d asked, not
reassured. “You can’t control that.”

“I can do everything to prevent it. That’s
why I’m training my people, taking a small army of Tel-Urughs with
me, plus several wizards and one Ellida. I’m not taking any
chances. You must trust me.”

She braced herself on her elbow, locking her
moss-green gaze with his golden one. “I do. I just don’t understand
why I must stay here.”

“Out of the question, Astrid,” he cut her
off, instantly irritated.

“I’m the most powerful wizard around, you
know that.”

Jack cupped her head between his palms. His
love, so clearly visible in his eyes, took her breath away. “I
can’t risk anything happening to you, Astrid,” he said so slow, so
quiet. “I’m not that strong.”

“Oh, Jack,” she whispered as a sob ripped
from her throat.

“Shhh, don’t cry.” Jack kissed her lips
tenderly, brushing her tears away with his thumbs. “If you really
want to help me, promise to stay here. And don’t get pregnant in
the next few months.”

She sniffed and managed a tiny smile. “Well,
I haven’t heard anything about a shortage of condoms, so we’ll be
fine. You know, physical intimacy soothes my nerves.”

Jack laughed. “Happy to oblige. Now, throw a
few things into your suitcase, including
the
dress. We’re
going to Las Vegas tonight.”

He had finally succeeded in distracting
her.

“Vegas? Now?” Astrid asked, amused.

“No better time than now. No one will know,
except our family. I have tickets for a
Cirque de la Lune
show. By the way, your former Praetorians are coming with us. James
wouldn’t hear of it otherwise.”

Astrid laughed, “James wouldn’t hear of it?
Who’s Einhamir here?”

“Well, I’m smart enough to know when not to
challenge my father. The alternative was to take Betty and him with
us. He wholeheartedly proposed it, but my mother’s still mad at
you.”

“Oh, God! She is, isn’t she? She hasn’t
phoned in days. Peyton’s angry, too, and Maggie tolerates me only
because we have a freezer full of perch. She told me that. Peyton
will get over it eventually, but how should I mend fences with your
mother?”

“I’ll leave that to you, Ellida. You’ll find
a way.”

AS JACK had summarized, my greatest
contribution in the upcoming events would be not to get pregnant.
It looked like an easy task.

Our trip to Las Vegas was a welcomed
distraction.

When James’ blue-white Barron 55 took off
from Red Cliffs, I decided to leave all my worries and fears at
home and enjoy this incognito and unexpected getaway.

Jack had booked a luxury suite at the
Alhambra Hotel, next to the room where Livia and Tristan were
staying. We’d checked in with false passports as Mr. and Mrs.
Montesquieu, from Montreal, Canada. Tristan and Livia had
registered as Mr. and Mrs. Whyte.

They were waiting for us in our room.

“Married life agrees with you, Princess!”
Tristan said, pulling me into his arms. “Boy, I’ve missed you!”

I winked at Jack. “As my step-brother
correctly pointed out, I’m still technically single, but, yes,
living
with Jack does have its advantages.”

“We’re in Vegas, baby. We can easily change
your marital status,” Jack said.

“Oh, let’s do it!” Liv said, pulling me from
Tristan’s embrace. “I love weddings, especially without me in the
main role… I’ve missed you, Astrid! It annoys me to no end that we
live so close but can’t see each other.” She took a step back,
examining me closely. “Let me see you. You look great! The mountain
air, I suppose.”

I was missing my friends dearly, too, and I
was excited to have a chance to spend some time with them.

As if he could read my mind, Jack said,
“Don’t count on seeing much of Liv and Tristan, honey. This is
our
romantic holiday.”

“Oh, don’t count on seeing too much at all,”
Liv said, laughing. “Your Vegas experience is going to be limited
mostly to this room. That’s what Jack’s trying to say. Let us know
if he forgets to feed you.”

IN SPITE of Liv’s prediction, we spent a
good part of our first day with the Blakes. For people with our
abilities, going to a casino was out of the question. Ignoring
Jack’s grumbling, Liv and I decided first to catch up on all the
news while relaxing in the spa. Later we explored the hotel’s shops
and boutiques, leaving the men to themselves at the bar.

“I love shopping in hotels! It’s so
convenient,” Liv said happily. “Everything we need is in one place:
Prada, Armani, Dior, Tiffany, Louis Vuitton…”

I treated myself to a bottle of perfume, and
bought an indigo-blue cashmere scarf for Peyton, silver pins for
Ella and Anwen, and a bamboo bracelet for Maggie.

I chose an elegant and rather expensive brown
leather shoulder bag and paid for it without a blink.

Livia gave me a puzzled look.

“Betty’s furious with me. I have to make
peace with her somehow. If a designer bag could help, I don’t care
about the price,” I explained my sudden out-of-character shopping
behavior to my friend.

“You must’ve screwed it up colossally if you
feel you need to make an eight hundred dollar amends,” Liv said. “I
just hoped for a second you’d bought it for yourself.”

“Are you insane? I’d never pay eight hundred
dollars for a handbag. I mean, for myself.”

Livia rolled her eyes. “You are a seriously
shopping-challenged person, Astrid. Not to mention cheap.”

“I certainly am not cheap! I have very
expensive lingerie,” I said defensively.

“Okay, you know lingerie, I’ll give you that.
But that’s not enough,” Liv said. “You know what? When this is
over, I’ll take you to Rome or Paris. Consider it as an educational
trip, a learning experience, to widen your shopping horizons. No
museums, no galleries, no operas. Just you and me, and the credit
cards.”

She put on the fifteenth pair of shoes. She
turned around and glanced over her shoulder at a tall mirror. “What
do you think?”

“Very sexy!” I said, delighted with the black
pumps with metal heels. “You know shoes, I’ll give you that.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure about these ones. You try
them, Astrid, and walk in front of me, will you?”

I slipped on the shoes—we were both size
eight—and they fit like a glove. I took a few steps.

“You’re right, they are sexy,” Livia nodded
approvingly. She paid for the shoes and pushed the box into my
hands. “Here, consider it lesson number one.”

Later we watched a
Cirque de la Lune
show together, two hours of my favorite human magic.

“Not exclusively human,” Jack said when I
mentioned it. He pointed at the tall young man high up on the metal
straps. “The leading trapezist is your kind. His name is Etienne
Pascal, and he’s from Winston. Most of the shows have one or more
werewolves or wizards among their performers.”