Traitor (2 page)

“You’ve been reading the newspapers again?”

“Yep. Doesn’t look good for us. Fionnuala’s made some important friends. If we make a move against her, we had better be prepared for their wrath.”

“You underestimate your own position,” Margie said. “The fae have been playing nice across the waters, but you’ve been working hard here, where it counts. Shay alone has been persuasive. He’s charming on camera, and that works in your favour. Carl tells me that the numbers are increasing rapidly because of the media’s aggressive reporting.”

“She’s right,” Anka said. “The end of the human government will probably drag the Council down with it.”

“You’re not worried at all?” I asked.

She glanced at me with a smile. “Not yet. The British leaders are too busy dealing with the aftermath of the vampire rebellion to play Irish war games.”

I hoped so. We needed some good luck.

We sat in silence for most of the journey, all of us probably worrying about the same thing: what was going to happen to us. Mrs. Yaga’s will could change everything.

Margie finally
pulled up outside a small office complex. We got out of the car and looked around. There was no sign on the front door, nothing that identified the building.

I stared up at the windows. “You sure this is the right place?”

“It’s the address he gave me,” Anka said, looking as puzzled as I felt.

The door opened slightly, startling all three of us. I pushed the door, a little disconcerted by the darkness of the corridor on the other side.

A young woman stood at the end of the hallway, bathed in the only light.

“This must be it,” Anka said, striding forward.

“You’re here to see Mr. Breslin?” the woman asked when we reached her.

Margie nodded. “We have an appointment.”

The woman gestured toward the open door behind her. “Take a seat. He’ll be with you shortly.”

We did as she asked, entering a small reception area and sitting in silence. There were no sounds of phones ringing or footsteps or anything that might have been typical for a business during normal working hours. The young woman disappeared through a second door. We waited, our collective anxiety ripening.

A few minutes later, she reappeared. “He’s ready for you now. It’s the door at the end.”

She led us through the second door and around a corner. We walked down another long hallway. There were three doors, and we took the last. We entered a small room packed with shelves stuffed full of books. A large oak desk and a couple of chairs filled up the centre of the room.

An old man greeted us, his smile warm and welcoming. He stepped carefully around the desk, looking thin and frail, but when he shook my hand, his grip was reassuringly strong. His head was bald and tanned, and his bushy white eyebrows almost hid his bright blue eyes.

“I’m Martin Breslin,” he said. “I’ve been looking forward to this meeting. Baba Yaga told me a lot about you all. We have much in common. Please, take a seat.”

As we sat before the desk, realisation hit me. “You’re human,” I blurted.

His smile widened. “Did that break a rule?”

“Sorry, I’m just surprised. I expected… never mind. How did you know our landlady?”

“I found her when I was just a boy.” His smile wan
ed. “When I was lost. I’ve worked for her ever since. And that’s why you’re here, I suppose.”

I frowned, confused. “We’re here to find out what’s going to happen to our homes, and if we have to move on, how long we have to find somewhere else.”

He nodded enthusiastically. “Of course. She warned me of the situation, and when she made her decisions, she provided for the inevitable outcome.”

I was beginning to think he would never make sense.

He sat heavily in his chair and laid his palms on the desk as if steadying himself.

“Ms. Delaney, I won’t pretend to understand it all—I’m not privy to every secret—but a blood protection surrounded Baba Yaga’s properties. Of which, she had many.”

“She was attacked in her own home.
Killed
in the cul-de-sac. The protection wasn’t worth much.” I couldn’t keep the bitterness out of my voice.

He sucked on his upper teeth. “There are loopholes, you see. There’s always a loophole. Whoever wanted her dead knew exactly what they were doing and when to attack. She was protected by ancient laws. She was untouchable. That is, until she gave up her neutrality and took your side.”

“She didn’t take my side. She defended herself, defended the people she had already promised to protect.”

He cocked his head, sadness dulling his eyes. “I agree, but semantics can play against us. She knew what she was doing, and so did those who struck against her. Her own protection had been taken away. She didn’t get the chance to adjust. Whoever organised her death must have known this because they acted as soon as Baba Yaga was judged by her peers.”

“Her peers? Judged?” I glanced at Anka, who shrugged and held her finger to her lips.

Breslin leaned forward eagerly. “There’s so much you don’t know. The judgement was decided, and the attack came almost immediately. Clever move because only the spilling of her blood by an enemy would permit entry by those who intended harm. When she was injured at her home, the protection temporarily fell from the cul-de-sac because they spilled just enough of her blood to weaken the magic. Upon her death, it fell for good.”

“So there’s no hope,” Margie said in a dull voice. “We’ll never be safe there again.”

“The others won’t interfere, but there
is
hope.”

Others
?

Breslin slipped on a pair of glasses and shuffled through the papers on his desk. “Ah, here it is. Her heir’s blood will provide the same defences on the homes of those who were under Baba Yaga’s protection. It all comes with a price, of course, but there can be protection once again. Provided the heir stays out of the bloodshed and doesn’t try to influence anyone to take actions that the heir would profit from.” He looked up and smiled as if he expected us to be happy.

But I was more confused than ever. “Why would her heir give us his blood protection?” I asked, choosing to lead with the least complicated one of my questions.

“It’s a lifetime commitment, really, but it’s not as serious as it sounds.” He patted the pages in front of him. “It shouldn’t hurt so much. I can organise everything, but I’m more concerned with the long-term options.”

“We’re all concerned with long-term changes,” Anka said sharply. “How long do we have to find new homes if the heir refuses?”

Breslin shot a concerned glance at Anka. “I’ll read her will as soon as you’re all ready. Upon speaking the words, the clauses therein will be invoked, and I would rather we all know where we stand first. Mrs. Yaga wished to provide for all of her souls. She left the homes to those who still live in them. It was the fairest way she could think of.”

My mouth dropped open. “She’s
giving
us the houses?
All
of us?”

“Yes,” he said. “Her first priority has always been to protect those she accepted under her wing. The only proviso is that the tenant had lived in the property for at least twelve consecutive months up to the point of her death.”

I stared at the floor. “That counts me out.”

“Well, no.” He removed his glasses. “Baba Yaga had an important role to play. She made a choice a long time ago, a choice that brought her some
unusual
advantages. Her death marks the end of an era and leaves empty a role that has to be filled.”

“What are you saying?” I asked impatiently. “That there’ll be another landlady or…?”

“Of course,” he said. “That’s how her role evolved. You couldn’t understand. Her deals were made in darker days. They’re older than those in power. There are higher beings than Councils and governments, Ms. Delaney. There are those who are outside of the normal laws, who are untouchable. But those untouchable beings cannot take sides. They are not politicians. Baba Yaga was one of them. She was the Matriarch of Lost Souls, and her seat has to be filled in order to maintain the balance set in this world long before anyone alive on this island existed. The circle of protection has now been broken.” He held up his hands. “As I said, I don’t understand it all, but Baba Yaga’s vault can be opened by the one who will replace her. Only then will all of the secrets be revealed.”

I exchanged a glance with Anka.

Margie asked, “Where does this leave us?”

Breslin’s gaze locked with mine. “We need a new Matriarch, partly to maintain neutral status on the properties to protect them. Times have changed, but other things never do. My business has always had one client only, and we’re waiting to serve. The lost souls need to find their way. She insisted she had found her replacement. She intended
you
to replace her, Ms. Delaney.”

I let out a shaky laugh. “I’m not her replacement.”

He blinked rapidly. “I was under the impression this was already agreed upon.”

I opened and closed my mouth, glancing at all three of them in turn. “But I don’t have power. I don’t have deals or—”

“If you don’t replace her, the people you hide in her buildings will lose her protection.”

“Why can’t some other hag replace her?” I asked. “Why can’t—”

“You’re missing the point. It isn’t about the power you wield or the circumstances of your birth.”

“Then what the hell is it about?”

He took a deep breath. “It’s about the right person at the right time, but I’m not the person to ask. There’s a role that needs to be filled. Baba Yaga sought out her replacement, and according to her, you already agreed to this. If you don’t accept, the role will remain empty unless someone suitable comes along. That may or may not happen, but unfortunate events come to pass when there is an empty seat for too long.” He gazed at me. “
Everything
happens for a reason.”

Frowning, I stood. “This is a mistake. I was made to be a warrior, to fight. I can’t be neutral when our country is going to hell. Mrs. Yaga saw that herself.”

“There’s a bigger picture,” he said softly. “The only way you can protect your neighbours and yourself is to step into the role and fulfil the terms of the will. Are you ready for me to read the will? It will set everything into motion.”

I walked toward the door. “I’m going home, where I know what the hell I’m doing some of the time. I’m going back to fight in the war that’s coming our way, the war your so-called neutral Matriarch was prepared to take part in.”

I left the building in a hurry, but I had to wait outside for nearly an hour until Margie and Anka emerged.

“He’s going to give you some time if you really want to leave,” Anka said.

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” I said. “You know what I have to do. I don’t get to give up in the middle and claim neutrality. That doesn’t save us.”

“It protects you,” she said urgently. “Didn’t you hear him? You would be untouchable! Do you not understand? Even if we fail, the Council can never touch you.”

“And where does that leave the rest of you?”

“You could protect us,” Margie said. “You could do for us what Mrs. Yaga did for so long.”

“She died,” I hissed. “She wasn’t so untouchable when she died to protect you.”

“She gave up her protection to help
you
,” Anka said sharply. “Don’t be so ungrateful.”

I took a couple of steps away from her. “I made a deal with her. She gave me a price, and I paid it. She never mentioned me giving up what I’m doing. Why would she? She
joined
us.”

Anka’s gaze was unwavering. “She never told you she thought you were like her? She never mentioned lost souls?”

“She never said I had to… I had a
choice
. She was vague, and…” I tried to remember the hag’s exact words.

“If you don’t take her place, it might never be done,” Margie said. “We need you. Emmett could come back. You could—”

“Why does everyone need me for something?” I realized I was yelling and sucked in a breath to try to calm down. “I’m not Mrs. Yaga. I’m not anybody. I’m just…” I shook my head. “Don’t tell the others about this. Not now. I can’t deal with all of this as well.”

“See the bigger picture and know that this could change everything for you.” Margie linked her arm in mine. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, but at least think about it.”

“Wait. Why were you two there? He barely spoke to either of you until I left.”

Margie exchanged a glance with Anka before answering. “Love, I think we’re supposed to convince you. All I know for sure is that there are worse things than the Council. There are far more terrifying enemies. We
need
you.”

I pulled away from her. “If anyone wants to explain it to me, feel free, but if you’re just going to keep hinting then I don’t want to hear it.”

“You’re not ready to listen to anybody these days,” Anka said in a voice that reminded me of when she scolded her daughter.