“Here we go.” I gave her a crooked smile. “It’s not like we’re going to have a hundred people on our doorstep the minute we put this up but you know, it feels so very official, doesn’t it?”
She nodded, a glint in her eye. “Yeah . . . who knows where this will lead for both of us?”
As she held the sign, I pounded it into the ground, first scooping away a good foot of snow to reach the dirt. As we finished and stood back, I realized that in some weird altaverse I’d been hoping that a throng of people would descend on us, but for the moment, we were alone, standing in the snow. I brushed back my hair and glanced up at the sky.
The clouds were rushing by, white cotton mixed with gray haze, and always the ever-present silver sheen that accompanied snowstorms. They were billowing by in the stiff breeze and the temperature was steadily falling. I turned, slowly, staring down the street, across the road, at the woods.
Everywhere, a silver and blue wasteland. The Ice Queen held the world in her grasp, and she was steadily squeezing tighter as her magical storms passed through. We were up to a good four feet of snow in parts of the yard. Drifts were higher. In Seattle, they were reporting the coldest winter in recorded history, with fifteen inches to two feet depending on how far out the neighborhoods were.
And in that moment, I knew. “She could do it.”
“Who could do what?” Peyton glanced around, then at me.
“Myst. She could bring on another ice age. I can feel it in the wind—I can feel the shifting of currents and the cooling gusts racing around the world. She’s sent her people into all corners of the northern lands. And they all carry her magic.”
“Ragnarök.”
I glanced at her. “Not quite. That’s the twilight of the gods. This could be the twilight of the mortals. And this will be ice, not water.”
“Stopping her won’t be easy.” Peyton stared at her feet. “When she held me captive . . . Heather and I were put into the same cell and Myst came to me. She was so beautiful . . .” Her voice drifted off. “I couldn’t believe how beautiful she was. But so cold, and so . . . inhuman.”
I nodded. “She has no more humanity in her than a rock.”
“Yeah. She was so aloof. It wasn’t as though she cared, one way or another. We were just . . . objects. She made us get down on our knees—or her guards did. And then she walked up and said, ‘One of you will walk out of here alive. One of you will join my court. It’s up to the two of you, which one.’ And then . . . and then Heather stood up and faced her and said, ‘Take me. Let Peyton go.’ Myst shrugged and motioned to her guards and said, ‘As you wish.’ And then she just turned and left. The guards threw me across the room. As I slammed into the wall, they forced Heather to leave with them.”
I hung my head. We hadn’t heard about this before, though we had some inkling of what had happened.
“Heather saved me—at least for the time being. If you hadn’t rescued me, I doubt I’d still be alive. I owe your aunt—I owe you everything.” Peyton reached out and brushed her hand across my cheek. “Whatever you need me to do, however you need me to back you up, you’ve got it.”
I felt shaky. So much had gone wrong. To have someone on our side, clearly, ready to take up the battle flag without complaint, meant so much. “Thank you,” I whispered. “I’ve been feeling so mired. And after last night . . .” I told her what had happened with Crawl and Lannan and Grieve.
“I’ll help you get the antidote. Whatever you decide, I’m in on. Just tell me what to do. I’m your soldier.” She gave me a buck up smile and, throwing her arm around my shoulders, turned me toward the house. “It’s cold. Let’s go in before we catch our death.”
By afternoon, we both had our first customers—Peyton had a tarot reading walk-in, and I was talking to Dorthea, a local woman who was frightened because her neighbor had been one of the ones killed in the theater incident. She wanted a protection charm to wear, and one to put in her house.
Dorthea looked like she didn’t have much money—she was dressed in a faded housedress, and her eyes had a look of hunger in them. New Forest had its share of povertystricken individuals, and this woman fit the bill.
I took her name and then, with a momentary hesitation, followed Marta’s instructions in her Book of Shadows and took Dorthea’s hand. I cautioned her to be silent and lowered myself into the slipstream, trying to suss her energy.
As I listened to the currents, I could hear whispers surrounding my client.
A plaintive child’s voice. Mom, I’m hungry—what’s for breakfast?
You’ve got to get a handle on the spending. I can’t make enough to keep up with the bills if you don’t start cutting corners. The gruff sound of a man on the edge, trying to keep his temper.
I’m doing the best I can. What do you expect from me? Dorthea herself.
Then, the crack of flesh on flesh, a whimpering cry, and a man’s voice. I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to do it. I promise—this time I mean it. I won’t do it again. Only the energy behind the voice didn’t ring true. It was only a matter of time before it happened again—and worse.
And . . . the faintest sparkle of magic, hidden deep within, unnoticed and buried through the years. I opened my eyes and let go of her hand. As I stared at her money on the table, I let out a long sigh and pushed the ten-dollar bill back to her. “Keep it.”
“But the charms—”
“I’m giving you a charm to protect you and your child. Use the money for food, or to get yourself and your son to a women’s shelter. Don’t let him have another chance at you.” I knew it wouldn’t do any good. Dorthea wasn’t ready to hear that it wasn’t her fault, that she couldn’t change her husband. But I had to try—had to reach out.
Her eyes went dark and I could feel her shut down as she slammed up her barriers. I shrugged and pushed the charm across the table. “Tie this over your front door, and use this oil on the window latches and any other doors to the outside in your house. It will keep the monsters out.”
But only the monsters that you haven’t already allowed in your house. I wanted to blurt out another warning—that he would hit her harder next time. That maybe he’d take it out on their child.
Ulean swept around me, a soft cloak against the frustration I was feeling.
You can’t save the world, Cicely. You can’t stop her from going home to her husband. You couldn’t save your mother and you can’t save every woman in danger. You do what you can, and you accept the fact that you aren’t a goddess. You aren’t a superhero. All the magic in the world can’t help someone who’s not ready to listen.
I nodded, softly. Thank you, my friend. It’s a hard thing to face.
I know.
Dorthea picked up the charm, hesitating for a moment. She looked at the money I’d pushed back across the table. “I . . . are you sure?”
“Ten dollars can buy soup, macaroni and cheese, a loaf of bread. Put it to good use, please.” I gave her a soft smile, even though I wanted to reach across the table and shake her by the shoulders.
She pocketed the money and, with another smile, headed out the door, charm and oil in hand. I sat back, wondering what Marta would have done. Would she have taken the money? Or turned away the woman? Or would she have done what I did? This was new territory, and I had the feeling it wasn’t going to be easy to pick my way through the landscape.
After a few minutes, Peyton waved to her reading, and as the woman left the room, we turned to each other. Her face had the same stricken look as mine.
“Rough reading?” I pushed back my chair and stood up, shaking the cobwebs out of my brain.
She nodded. “Woman wants to find love, has a bad habit of self-destructing in good relationships and going for the bad ones. Had to tell her that Prince Charming is more likely to be wearing a pair of geeky glasses than riding a Harley, but she didn’t want to hear.”
I let out a long breath. Were we all lost and confused, searching for our loves, searching for the answers when they were there in front of our faces?
“I think we need a drink. Can I make you a latte?”
“Mocha would be better.” Peyton grinned. “I need me some chocolate!” She glanced around. “Where are the guys?”
“Out and about. At least Leo is. Kaylin might be with Chatter, wherever he is. One mocha, coming up. Iced or hot?”
Peyton glanced outside at the blowing drifts. “Hot. Today I need warming inside—something to convince me that there’s hope and sunlight around the bend.” We headed toward the kitchen.
“Sometimes I think it would be a whole lot simpler to be a vampire, you know? They don’t feel the cold or heat, they have their own agendas, they . . .” I stopped. “Geoffrey offered to take me into his stable, to turn me.”
“No! You can’t let him do that. I know you’re upset, but Cicely—that’s not the answer.” Peyton looked horrified.
“No, it’s not,” I said slowly. “But . . . what if he thought I was interested? What if I asked him to show me his stable of vamps, to introduce me, so I could think about it? And what if I brought you and Rhiannon with me, and while Geoffrey was off with me, you guys just happened to find the antidote? I know it’s a long shot. I know it’s dangerous, but damn it, that’s the only way I can think of to get invited into his house without waiting for him.”
Peyton stared at me, her mouth agape. “I dunno about that. It sounds like a setup for a bad end. You know I’ll do whatever you need me to, but are you sure you want to put your cousin in danger? What if they catch us?”
Reality hit with a sledgehammer. “Yeah . . . I know. A bad idea all the way around, I guess—”
“What if who catches us?” Rhiannon entered the kitchen, cocking her head to the side. “What’s going on? What are you planning?”
I frowned. “I thought of a way to go after the antidote. But Peyton’s right. I can’t risk you guys.” I quickly explained Geoffrey’s offer to her. “If I could get in there, keep him occupied, maybe . . .”
“Too dicey. But what about this? It’s still dangerous, but . . .” She hesitated.
“What is it? Dangerous I can handle, as long as there’s a chance of breaking through.”
“Kaylin took you dreamwalking once before. Suppose you go dreamwalking through Geoffrey’s mansion and find out where he’s keeping the antidote? If you can find it, and nobody’s guarding it, maybe you can manage to steal some for Grieve?”
Rhiannon looked positively shocked at herself, and I almost laughed. She had spent so long keeping her nature under wraps that it was going to take some time for her to get used to putting herself out there.
“That’s actually got a chance of working. It means getting Kaylin on our side.” I bit my lip. “But it’s the only way I can think of. It also means I have to find a safe place to keep him once we have him free, because even though I love him with all of my life, I won’t chance you guys living in the same house with him. I’m not that stupid. Even without the light-rage, he’s still plenty dangerous.”
I thought of Leo, of how he’d react. “We’re going to have to tell all the guys, but we have to put up a united front or they’ll let testosterone get in the way. This isn’t up for a vote. I’m going to do this . . . well, if Kaylin agrees.”
“Leo will be home in a few minutes for an early dinner. He’s got some evening chores to attend to for Geoffrey. I guess I’ll go get Chatter and Kaylin.” Rhiannon pulled out a frozen pizza. “Here, stick this in the oven. Make sure we have something sweet for dessert. You know the best way to influence men is through their stomachs, and we need all the help we can get.”
Then she took off to look for Kaylin and Chatter. Peyton unwrapped the pizza while I dug through the cupboards and found pudding mix and cookies. I whipped up some instant chocolate pudding and topped it with whipped cream, then set it in the refrigerator and opened the cookies.
“Do you trust Leo?” Peyton suddenly asked, her voice low.
I glanced at her, surprised. “He can be a butthead, but yeah, I guess. Why?” Actually, I’d had nagging doubts over the past week or so, but ascribed it to my own nerves.
“I don’t know. He’s in thick with the vampires. He owes his loyalty to Geoffrey—and every time we bring up your connection with the vamps, he seems defensive, like he thinks he’s being edged out.” She shrugged. “Maybe I’m imagining things, but I am a little uneasy with the way he acts.”
I blinked. I’d had the same thoughts but hadn’t wanted to articulate them because they sounded petty. Coming from Peyton, they sounded reasonable.
“I . . . I’m not sure. I kind of wondered, but Leo’s in love with my cousin. They’re engaged to be married. I can’t just up and ask him, ‘Are you jealous because I’m indentured to Geoffrey and Regina? And Lannan, by default.’”
“Yeah, I guess not. If he were, he wouldn’t admit it. And if he’s spying on you for them, he’s not going to tip his hand.”
Now I was nervous. The thought that Leo might be spying on me for Lannan made me queasy, and I would have wiped the thought right out of my mind if I were sure about him. But honestly, I didn’t know. I couldn’t say for sure how much I trusted him.
Stricken, I stared at Peyton. “What if you’re right? What happens if he runs back and tells Geoffrey what I’m planning?”